Assistive Cane Etiquette

Assistive Cane Etiquette

July 16, 2020, Mumma Yaga


When I hurt my knee recently I began to use a cane while I recovered. When I was a senior care worker I often saw canes used inappropriately, pointed at things and people, set on tables, used to push elevator buttons. I have been unable to find anything on the web about etiquette for the walking cane user, except at this website:

Walking Cane & Walking Stick History | Fashionablecanes.com | Fashionable Canes  which says:

"After the 1600s, canes became fashionable for men to carry as part of their daily attire. New rules of etiquette were formed during this time. To break this code of behavior was considered a violation of good manners. In 1702, the men of London were required to have a license in order to carry a walking stick or cane. Cane use was considered a privilege, and gentlemen had to abide by those rules or lose the privilege.

One example of a cane license reads: "You are hereby required to permit the bearer of this cane to pass and repass through the streets of London, or anyplace within ten miles of it, without theft or molestation: Provided that he does not walk with it under his arm, brandish it in the air, or hang it on a button, in which case it shall be forfeited, and I hereby declare it forfeited to anyone who shall think it safe to take it from him." Signed________. (Source: Lester and Oerke Accessories of Dress, Peoria, IL. The Manual Arts Press.)"

That is why I have taken it upon myself to write a guide for polite and safe cane use.


Assistive Cane Etiquette


I will talk about the cane as mobility aid or "assistive cane". The recommendations herein may not all apply to canes for those with vision impairment.*

The user requires the assistive cane for mobility. It also acts as a social signal to others that they face a physical challenge when walking. 


#1 First, do no harm. This may sound strange but as the user becomes adept they (the non-gender reference pronoun) will be observant of others' feet, coats etc. not to snag or hurt. (If you do not see well you will need to compensate for that as well.)

#2 No part of the cane may be raised above one's shoulder and cane should be carried, when not in use, perpendicular to the ground. (See above: not under one's arm.)

#3 It is not acceptable to shake a cane at a person or a dog. (the latter may attack! dogs hate canes and sticks in hand.) (see "brandish" above.) 

#4 You may not point at any person or thing with your cane (either end): not anything. 

#5 It is not acceptable to use your cane to move, press or alter any object, from elevator button to piece of detritus on the sidewalk. It is a mobility aid, not a broom or an extended finger. Its tip, which touches the ground, must never touch a surface which a hand will touch. It isn't acceptable, either, to lie your cane on a table or seat: the ground end keeps a discreet distance from all higher surfaces. The crook or handle is within the grasp of your hand and never jumps to a weapon position. [there is a "hound of the baskervilles" exception!]

#6 When not in use:

There is often, wherever you are, a niche or corner spot where a cane can rest upright. It must be safely out of anyone's way, between you and a "blind" spot like an inside wall or corner.

At home, you may store it anywhere that takes into consideration your housemates' safety and sensitivities, (and your own safety!). A chair-back should be high enough that the cane doesn't stick out or impede chair movement. Allow space behind your chair for others to pass safely. A door handle, while convenient, is made less useable by a cane left there. A hook for your cane by the door is inexpensive and easy to install. Most doorways would safely accommodate such a hook. Good etiquette as well as ease of use would position a hook at about waist height with safe clearance.

In public, a chair-back is acceptable when the above conditions have been met of safety and respect. In a restaurant one may ask the host or waiter if it's okay. Explain that you need it nearby. Otherwise rest it between your knees, but check for others' feet! (Not across your knees!) Buses, trains, same applies. 

When you are a guest in a home or office, you may hold your cane "at rest" with one hand for short periods, but if you wish, assess the chair you are offered for cane safety, and ask your host if you may put your cane there. Consider whether or not your cane might scratch or scuff a chair. (That $400 antique at the lawyer's!)

Do not hang a cane on a hook higher than your shoulder. (See #2) 

Don't place it across your lap. 

Do clean the foot of your cane anywhere you would remove shoes or wipe your feet. A hankie or tissue in your pocket will suffice in most cases.

#7 Be gracious and and express thanks when others are polite and kind: this may be their first meeting with a person who has a disability. You can help them feel at ease by your straightforward treatment of your disability. 

Politely but without demur ask for anything you require.

Don't assume that others will let you go first, or in front of them, or that they will understand your needs. You must be as polite as they are and make eye contact to see their intention and focus. 

It is all really covered in "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."



Mumma Yaga, Assistive Cane Etiquette, 2020




Using a Cane | HealthLink BC


Walking Cane & Walking Stick History | Fashionablecanes.com | Fashionable Canes  


* How Do I Learn to Use a Cane? - VisionAware

This does not discuss etiquette.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

240819 cows foxes dragons dinosaurs

Image
     August 19, 2024 The cows belong to the farmer at our corner. They are brought up to graze from time to time. They are taken down the road to Rain's farm, too. Community. The smoke map does not show the green mountains' true situation. The smoke settles into the valleys for many days it seems. We have not properly seen the distant windmills to the south in over a week. being higher up here, we may be out of the worst, but across the Missisquoi valley at about our level the haze sits unmoving.  Even the dragon, (the hill above the barn), is hazy, and all the mountains beyond him gone. ***** I have been drawn into the material world of poverty and want, of the rich living on the toils of the poor, of the power in wealth. This, even as I benefit from wealth and power, to live here, to eat, to have a car, a phone, a computer. I am weighed down with the sadness of so much of humanity living difficult lives, even more by the loved ones whose struggles I watch, knowing ...
Read more

240926 september

Image
September 22, 2024 I like September, probably because it is my birth month, but also the leftover feeling from when it marked the beginning of a new school year, pristine new notebooks and pencils, anticipation. I sit on the porch with my coffee every morning and watch the sunrise. Sometimes the clouds lie in the valley looking as if the sea has risen to flood the world. The fog creeps along the ridge so opaque.   Some mornings there are deer at the apple trees, but this morning a coyote visited and enjoyed the apples. He took one a little way from the tree and lay down to munch it, then came back for another. He was the fattest coyote I have ever seen. They are usually thin and spare. I sometimes hear them howling and yipping at night, but then Blackie, our neighbour dog, barks on the hill and they go quiet.  The trees suddenly began turning this week. We are up before the sun now and see it break over the hills. The asters are one of the few wildflowers bringing colour, pale...
Read more

241108 october 2024 - we've had it

Image
 October 11 The wind has been howling in the night as if it would blow the house down. It was 15 degrees at four in the morning, but now it is down to 11 degrees. The leaves, which were splendid, have been torn from the trees in the millions. I am always astounded at the profligacy of nature, throwing a summer's work away like yesterday's newspapers. The abundance, then the destruction, so that it will go to soil for some future summer. The leaves lie years deep in the forest, making earth for a decade from now, when the trees will bring forth another season's leaves to be thrown away in that fall. Haha, I just saw the "fall" in fall. In the morning the sun hits the ridge and brings out the reds. After the winds, the trees are bare and a wintry sun sets early. The geese have suddenly taken to the sky, leaving (leaves) in a burst of urgency to be gone by first frost. The frost, like Thanksgiving, is late this year, especially since last night's warm wind. We ha...
Read more