All is right with the world on Seli's arm. Chatting happily, Luciana walks briskly along the pavement, swinging her long cane from side to side in front of her. "I can use it to feel obstacles and know where the pavement ends on the right and left", explains the 15-year-old schoolgirl, who has been blind since birth. Her companion Seli is Selina Wiedermann, Luciana's orientation and mobility teacher (see interview). Today, the two of them practise Luciana's way to school together.
And this one isn't easy: Around 15 kilometres separate the school and the boarding home where Luciana lives during the week. For them, that means 45 minutes on the light rail system through Stuttgart, including changing trains. Selina Wiedermann leads her protégé the 200 metres from the school to the platform by the arm, in what is known as a sighted escort. Then she pulls back and observes how Luciana implements what she has learnt on her own. The two have already been working on the school route for around three months. Without Seli's safe arm, Luciana becomes slower and quieter as well. "I can't speak and hear at the same time", she explains. After all, apart from the long cane as her extended index finger, hearing is her most important sense. "Children learn to judge traffic with their ears and also realise at some point that a person next to them sounds different to a house wall", says teacher Wiedermann, giving examples.
In Germany, there is no labelling requirement for visually impaired or blind people in road traffic. Nevertheless, it helps other road users if they do not automatically assume that a person has unrestricted vision – this promotes consideration. The following aids are available for labelling:
- Long cane for the blind
- Yellow armband with three black dots
- Guide dogs for the blind with a white harness
Asking for help is sometimes annoying
Luciana stands almost motionless at the boarding area on the platform – a square of studs on the floor that shows where the door will be. The train arrives. Luciana has to find out which line it is every day, as there are no announcements at the above-ground stops, partly because of noise protection for residents in the city. "It's annoying sometimes. Some people don't speak German or they ignore me", says the 15-year-old. Once on the train, she can only relax for a short time. Because she has to change trains after just one stop. Luciana makes her way out of the carriage with her swinging long cane. She also hits numerous feet in the process. That's just the way it is, very few passers-by complain about it. Changing trains goes smoothly, and the weeks of work with her teacher have paid off. She accompanies her protégé from a few metres away, visibly satisfied. "I'm still always very nervous", admits Luciana. "But at the same time, I'm proud that I can do it on my own. I'm the only one in my class. That's a nice feeling".
It gets tricky again after the final stop. On the platform, the 15-year-old uses the guidance system on the ground to make her way through the crowds to the stairs. "If I know that an upwards staircase is coming up, I don't mind", says Luciana. "I don't like going down by myself, I've fallen before". Once at the top, she has to walk a few hundred metres along a footpath. Here, too, the challenges quickly become clear: Cyclists don't see the long cane from behind and "speed past me far too quickly", as Luciana angrily puts it. Time and again, electric scooters are parked in the middle of the pavement, and there are more and more of them in the city. "They have an unfortunate shape and height. By the time you feel them with the cane, you sometimes hit your stomach against the handlebars", explains teacher Wiedermann.
Digital tools don't always make sense
There is now an app that recognises the scooters and makes them beep when someone approaches with a smartphone in their pocket. "But not all providers are participating yet", explains Wiedermann. In an increasingly digital world, aren't there many aids that can make life easier for blind people anyway? "There are few that prove successful because the target group is simply too small", reports the teacher. Of course, navigation apps are a good support. There are also apps that can recognise the colour of traffic lights, for example. "But that is always associated with a risk. You have to know exactly how to hold the mobile phone to find the traffic lights". The main aim of the training is therefore to learn how to walk with a long cane. Additional aids are tested and applied individually. When Luciana places the long cane upright next to her, it reaches roughly up to her nose – so she has enough lead time to recognise an obstacle and react. "It can also be a little shorter for more experienced adults", says Wiedermann.
1. Get out of the way: If an obviously blind or visually impaired person comes towards you, stay relaxed and get out of the way, if necessary.
2. Show understanding: Blind or visually impaired people can't see you - so they might bump into you or touch you on the leg with their long cane. There's no need to get upset about it - stay cool!
3. Do not touch: Pull them back suddenly on the platform, push them onto the bus or train or simply lead them across the street – you should never simply touch and patronise a blind or visually impaired person. Imagine how startled they are. Don't forget: These people can hear.
4. Listen: And they can also speak. That's why you should listen to them and first find out whether they need or want help at all.
5. Speak to them clearly: You won't be successful with a "Hey, you there" if you want to speak to a blind or visually impaired person. How are they supposed to know that they are meant? You will have more success with "Hello, you with the long cane" or a similarly specific form of address.
Final spurt on the long journey to school. Luciana swings her long cane until she feels the ledge of a starting bridge railing. This tells her that she now has to turn right and climb another small flight of stairs. "The path is firmly in my head", she says, visibly proud. When asked what she thinks of the training courses with Selina Wiedermann, she has a clear answer: "Fantastic. Better than any school subject. Seli is really nice and teaches me everything well". Wiedermann smiles – feedback that shows her how valuable her work is. Luciana is on her last few metres. When she realises that it is starting to go downhill, she knows that she has to make a turn again. Another 20 steps and she reaches the gate to the boarding home. Cheerful, but also visibly exhausted. Now she can rest before she sets off for school again the next day – then actually all by herself.
Selina Wiedermann is a youth and home educator and works at the Nikolauspflege Stuttgart, a foundation for blind and visually impaired people, with children, young people and adults who are blind or visually impaired or have multiple disabilities. She has also trained as a rehabilitation specialist for orientation & mobility and helps her clients to find their way around in traffic, among other things. During her training, she also had to push herself to her limits.
Ms Wiedermann, you provide orientation and mobility training – what exactly is that?
Wiedermann: O&M is a training programme that helps clients to be safely and independently mobile and oriented. It takes place both indoors and outdoors as road safety education. The learning content is very individualised: A child with a cognitive impairment may only learn the way from the classroom to the toilet and back. Others can make their way to school alone. The motto is: as much independence and as little dependence as possible.
How can you, as a sighted person, give such training to blind and visually impaired people? Don't you lack the perspective?
Wiedermann: A large part of the training is self-awareness. I spent many hours on the road with a blindfold on. I really had to push myself to my limits. Especially on platforms, I was very afraid of falling into the track bed – and afterwards I saw on videos how far away I had been from the edge. That helps a lot to be able to empathise with the clients.
When is the best time to start training?
Wiedermann: As early as possible. Children start in a playful way as soon as they can walk – for example with a doll's pram to recognise obstacles. The "classic" training then comes gradually. Theoretical knowledge transfer is also part of this: If you've never seen it, you've no idea how traffic works. I sometimes work with models of roads or junctions that the children can feel, and we drive toy cars. Conceptualisation is very important here: What is a kerb, what is a manhole cover and so on. Children must also learn to understand concepts.
Do children find it easier than adults?
Wiedermann: They definitely approach the matter in a more unbiased and fearless way.
Do children learn in a group? And how many hours of O&M training does it take?
Wiedermann: No, it's always individual lessons – because the requirements are so different and the distraction would be too great. The former is also the reason why there is no fixed number of hours after which you are finished. Road safety education is an ongoing process, especially for children. This is because, as with sighted children, some skills can only be taught as development progresses. For example, the ability to judge by ear which direction a siren is coming from.
What typical situations in road traffic are practised?
Wiedermann: For example, crossing different roads – with or without parked cars – or operating traffic light call buttons. A vibration can be requested at the bottom of the classic yellow triggers by pressing a button. The metal button on top not only vibrates, but also provides further information: The arrowhead indicates the direction, a notch in the arrow points to a railway crossing, a bulge to a traffic island in the centre of the road. This special “traffic language” needs to be learnt, as does the use of the long cane to feel for guidelines and areas of attention on the ground. In general, it is not memorising a route that is decisive, but developing strategies and techniques that can be used everywhere – if you can cross one traffic light, you can also do it at other traffic lights.
What can passers-by do to help or what is the right behaviour?
Wiedermann: Passers-by often mean too well. They push someone into an underground, pull them back on the platform or take them across the street even though they don't want to cross. This is not done maliciously, but it is important to first ask whether help is wanted at all. That's why children and young people need to practise saying clearly what they want and what they don't want or ask for help. This often makes them uncomfortable and requires self-confidence. It makes it all the more important to practise this in the training courses and thus give them important tools for their future lives.