When to use a mobility aid

A common question that arises amongst people with Stargardt's Disease and other vision impairments is whether I use a cane, a guide dog or neither. The question then  asked is visual acuity, how it helps and why some people use aids and others don't. I've been thinking about this question a lot lately and hope to help others with a vision impairment and without to understand why I choose to use a cane and what factors influenced my decision, and hopfeulyl help others to decide, whether to use a mobility aid.

As I've previously written, my cane and I have a love-hate relationship. I went through a period of using it to not wanting to know there were three in existence in my house, to becoming best friends with it once again. For the past few months I have made a conscious effort to get used to using it and taking it whenever I'm out. 

There were two main reasons I chose to use the cane:

• Crossing roads: My ability to cross a road is absolutely terrible. I'm an avid walker and love to get out in the fresh air and walk to calm my mind. Every time I found myself curbside, I felt vulnerable, clumsy and even more vision impaired. I couldn't make out whether there were cars coming, if near a busy road there was no auditory break in the traffic and I felt like I was walking into an abyss. Then came the anxiety from the feeling of vulnerability and the loss of control. When I walked with another person, I would solely rely on them to usher me across the road. I knew this wasn't healthy and I couldn't rely on others. So Mr Cane came back into my life once again like a clingy, annoying boyfriend although this time he had gotten his act together and we were actually getting along. I found just having the cane in my hand to indicate brought a sense of calm and confidence to crossing a road, it let others know that my vision sucked and they should be patient and careful if I start to cross. More than anything it was security. It was a way of announcing to the world I'm vision impaired. People's reactions were (mostly) helpful, they would stop and let me cross and some even reversed to let me pass. It restored my faith in humanity and made me feel like the world isn't such a scary place. 
• Pavement problems: I'm a klutz on the best of days and now I'm a super klutz. The pavement around where I live seems to be really bad, the huge eucalyptus and gum trees' roots have made the footpaths cracked and uneven. Since using the cane I haven't had any stacks or tripped over where I normally would. Just to reinforce this, I went for my usual walk the other day without my cane and I tripped numerous times and realised it was my karma for leaving the cane at home. It's actually quite surprising how helpful the cane is when on the street. I never noticed how much I was concentrating on where I was going and what I was walking into. When I started using the cane I found I could relax a lot more and take in my surroundings using my other senses rather than staring intently at the ground in front of me.

Choosing to use a mobility aid such as a cane or guide dog is a highly personal choice and isn't solely based on visual acuity or degrees of vision. Each person is different, has different experiences and different needs. Here are some of the things that are usually taken into account when deciding on an aid:

• Confidence: This is extremely important. Being confident with your surroundings, with the amount of vision you have and the way you use it will impact whether you decide to use a mobility aid.
• Lifestyle: This includes work - how you get there and what you do at work ie whether you need to navigate a great deal, leisure activities such as sports or running and social situations. Use of a mobility aid may not be needed in all areas of a person's life. It is pretty much impossible to run with a cane (yes I've tried and looked like a clown running down the street) and sometimes it's better left at home.
• Location: Where you live can also play a part. If you need to travel far on public transport or have access to lifts from others will influence the decision to use a mobility aid.
• Perception: How you perceive mobility aids plays a huge role, not so much for the positive. I personally have struggled with, and still do, the stigma surrounding using a cane. There tends to be a little less stigma associated with a guide dog as they are far more cuter than a cane! As much as I'd like to say how you perceive using a mobility aid doesn't attribute to whether you use one or not, it really does play a major part. I avoided using my cane for a very long time because I was embarrassed as to what people think and I still have times where I feel like people are staring and talking about me. 

The one thing I have learned is that if I need help to not be ashamed and to use it. If a cane, guide dog or anything else helps me navigate, feel confident and improve my quality of life I should use it. I also know personally and from others with a vision impairment that because we have some sight we don't 'deserve' a guide dog. This is utter rubbish. As I mentioned before, if it helps us in life, we deserve it. Be open to trying mobility aids, sometimes you find a use for them that you had never considered.

 Image source: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://4c1lions.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/white-cane-day.jpg&imgrefurl=http://district4c1lions.org/about/white-cane-safety-day/&h=399&w=600&tbnid=ELquhjxngEcDHM:&zoom=1&docid=XQcXF0wr-QH-OM&ei=44aOVb_HA9P68QWVnYDQDQ&tbm=isch&ved=0CDoQMygXMBc and https://www.pinterest.com/pin/274578908507893730/