Blind Childrens Center

4120 Marathon Street, Los Angeles, California 90029 (323)664-2153

A family-centered agency serving children with visual impairments

Standing on My Own Two Feet

A step-by-step guide to designing and constructing simple, individually tailored adaptive mobility devices for preschool-age children who are visually impaired

$10 Available in English only (36 pages)

From the introduction
One of the greatest joys I have experienced as an orientation and mobility specialist is empowering preschool-age children who are blind and visually impaired with the opportunity and skills that will allow them to negotiate their environment skillfully and confidently. Indeed, success in this endeavor will help ensure that these youngsters develop a healthy sense of self over the course of a lifetime as they grow into independent youths and adults. I have used — and continue to use — devices developed by other professionals. Clearly, these devices have paved the way for this publication. However, few devices exist to facilitate this process which are both personalized enough to meet the special movement needs of individual children, and economically accessible to most parents, schools, and other care providers. I wish to acknowledge and thank those who have made the scores of contributions that have made this work possible.

This booklet was developed to meet this need, by providing a step-by-step guide to designing and constructing simple, individually tailored adaptive mobility devices made from low-cost polyvinylchloride (PVC) materials. These devices are intended to enable preschool-age children who are blind to begin to master independent travel, which for many youngsters will precede long cane training, as appropriate. A number of the instructions for the devices which this booklet describes evolved from examining and analyzing the effectiveness of existing devices. This includes devices which I have found to be of great use, and those which have not proven to be effective. My goal is to help you create devices that address and meet the specific needs of each child with whom you work.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Device Instructions
MoveAbout
Pusher
L-Bar
Arc-Definer
Case Studies: Tiffany, Steven, Kimberly
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
About the Blind Childrens Center