When I was moving out of my dorm at the end of the school year and rearranging items inside a box, a staff member asked why I don’t take my blindness cane with me everywhere I go. They were wondering how I was able to walk independently without it and where I put it when I wasn’t using it. It was a great educational opportunity and I was glad to take the time to talk to them, even though I was frantically trying to pack everything into plastic bins. Here are seven places I don’t take my white cane/blindness cane, and why I don’t need it in these scenarios.
Inside my house
When I am inside my house, I store my blindness cane on a hook or otherwise fold it in my backpack. I feel confident enough to navigate my house without assistance, given that I am used to the layout and there are people around to help me if need be. If I am visiting a friend’s house for the first time, I will keep my cane with me, but my friends are great human guides so I typically don’t need to take out the cane unless there are pets sleeping on the floor or other major obstacles.
Related links
- How I Set Up My College Desk With Low Vision
- Twelve Blindness Cane Storage Solutions
- How To Be An Effective Human Guide For People With Vision Loss
- Dorms and Campus Housing: College O&M
Airport security
Whenever I go on a plane, I have to set my cane on the conveyor belt with the rest of my possessions. Having a TSA Pre-Check has helped to speed up my trip through security dramatically, though I try to make sure my cane is the first item on the conveyor belt so I can get it back quickly. Since all I have to do is walk in a straight line into the metal detector, I don’t need to rely on a white cane too much anyway.
Related links
- How A TSA Pre-Check Helps Me As A Visually Impaired Traveler
- Airport Security and Low Vision
- Tips For Passing Time On Flights With Low Vision
- Accessible Maps and Wayfinding Tools For Low Vision
Inside my dorm room
Okay, I do keep my canes inside my dorm room— they hang on a hook next to the door. But I don’t use my cane when I am walking around my dorm room or apartment. This confused my suitemates a lot, because they expected that a visually impaired person would constantly be carrying a blindness cane everywhere, so I had to explain this at the beginning of the semester. I had to share this again after one of their friends took a photo of me not using my cane and threatened to “expose” me as not actually being visually impaired (thankfully, I de-escalated the situation quickly).
Related links
- How I Decorate My Dorm Room With Low Vision
- Dorm Room Disability Hacks For Chronically Ill Students
- Seven Things I Tell My College Suitemates About My Disability
- Dealing With Paparazzi/Unwanted Attention: College O&M
- How I Respond To Questions/Comments About My Eyes
- How I Respond To Questions/Comments About My Glasses
- How To Make A Dorm Room Completely Dark
Familiar classrooms
If I am walking around a familiar classroom, I will not use my cane to navigate because I know the layout well. That said, students who use blindness canes in school will likely not need to have their cane out all the time, since they spend a lot of time in the classroom.
One important thing to note though is that teachers and professors should let a visually impaired student know if the layout of the classroom has changed. My teachers watched me walk into many desks because no one told me they had been moved around!
Related links
- How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
- Elementary School Classrooms And Low Vision
- Middle School Classrooms and Low Vision
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For POTS
- Ten “Odd” Things I Do With Double Vision
- Dealing With Imposter Syndrome: College O&M
To take out the trash
If I am walking a very short distance, such as to take out the trash or meet someone at the door, I do not use my cane because I am not going outside or somewhere where there are crowds or a ton of people. This seems to confuse a lot of people, because they often see me walking around campus with my blindness cane and will ask me why I’m not using it at that exact moment. Since there aren’t too many obstacles from my dorm to the trash room or to the front door, I don’t feel the need to use my cane.
Related links
- Tips For Doing Laundry In College With Low Vision
- Tips For Keeping A Dorm Room Clean With Chronic Illness
- What If I Lock Myself Out Of My Dorm?
- Creating Accessible Bulletin Boards For College Dorms
- How To Create Dorm Door Signs and Decorations For Low Vision
- Smartphone Apps For Orientation and Mobility
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Navigate Your Dorm
Into the bathroom/shower
Okay, this one is a little strange, but I’ve met people who were convinced I would take my blindness cane into the bathroom, shower, swimming pool, or other places involving water. While I do hang my cane on the door hook if I am using a public bathroom, my cane does not get submerged in water unless I accidentally fall in a river or something like that. I do use my cane when walking on a pool deck or in locker rooms if I don’t have access to a human guide.
Related links
- Low Vision Assistive Technology For The Bathroom
- Nail Trimming and Low Vision: Adapted Nail Clippers
- Organizing Hanging Storage With Vision Loss
- Going To Amusement Parks With Low Vision
- How I Respond To Children’s Questions/Comments About Low Vision
On stage for performances
Whenever I am performing with my college pep band or am otherwise on a stage, my cane is out of sight. I can’t hold my cane and play bass clarinet at the same time, and I’m usually not walking anywhere while I am playing. Many students who participate in theater also do not use their canes onstage and instead rely on human guides or tactile guides on the floor to get to where they need to be.
On rare occasions, I have played in pep band with my cane leaning against my shoulder, usually if I had to quickly start playing after arriving at a venue. For the most part, my cane remains in a chair folded behind me, or on the ground behind my feet where no one can trip over it.
Related links
- How I Play In GMU Green Machine/Pep Band With Low Vision
- Participating In Drama and Theater Programs With Low Vision
- Dance Classes and Low Vision
- Swing Dancing And Low Vision
- Requesting Extracurricular Accommodations
- Marching Band and Low Vision
- Concert Band and Low Vision
More places that I do take my blindness cane with low vision
- Navigating College Campuses/College O&M series
- Ten Things To Know About Going To College With A Blindness Cane
- Incorporating Blindness Canes into Halloween Costumes
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Decoding The Tips of Blindness Canes
- Decoding The Colors of Blindness Canes
- Disability Accommodations For Graduation
- How I Learned To Use The City Bus System With Low Vision
- Learning To Navigate My Internship Building: PM Intern With Low Vision
Published May 27, 2019. Updated January 2025