Break out a legit cane and use it for the intended purpose. Thus will do many things. It will help you with mobility. It will reduce injury. As you get M OK re comfortable and confident with it, you will be more visible. A symbol stick might get some attention but it's borderline whether that attention will benefit you and you're not using it in a way that really shows how much you need it.

You've outgrown the lil guy.

Get in touch with an O&M wizard and let th show you what you don't already know. If people notice you using your cane with even a remote amount of familiarity, they'll realize you probably can't see them. That allows them to adapt how they interact.

None of this means crossing streets will become easy if that drivers will suddenly be perfectly accommodating. They won't. Some will be more helpful, though.

I wish you many FUN adventures with your new cane, friend.

I also have ROP. I did not aleays use a cane. I was mainstreamed. I got a cane when I turned 40. I use it still when I am not using a walker.
I would say use it and go through thr monility training.
Good luck.

I am partially sighted and use a long cane. I only started using mine age 29 when I moved to a much bigger city.

It sounds to me like you need more mobility training. They should not only teach you how to use a long cane (which is more widely recognised, more visible to others and also would be useful at night etc) but also do some work with you in the areas you travel around most.

Crossing roads without traffic lights / designated zebra crossing is difficult for people with sight loss and it would be safer for you to find alternative routes, which your mobility instructor could help you do. That may include walking a little further to find a crossing or quieter road, or using public transport, but it would be safer and less stressful for you.

Hi,

I'm in the UK and I accompany a VI person on walks and travels. I also hear their stories of when they travel around by themselves. They have a long cane so it is even more visible than a symbol stick.

Even in the UK there is little awareness of what to when you see someone with a white stick. This is most noticeable with other pedestrians when navigating crowded streets. As people approach us you can see the panic in their eyes, their minds desperately searching for "the right thing to do." If they were Canadians they would simply mutter an apology but being British they must act decisively. Children get snapped at, told to pay attention, boyfriends grab the girlfriend by the arm to steer them away from us while the girlfriend uninterrupted updates twittergram without a pause to look up. Other adults almost leap to the side as their time to react has been consumed by the puzzle of the unfamiliar.

I tell you all this because motorists, compared to pedestrians, are even more focused upon the act of progression. Vehicular velocity and attention to the tarmac will make a roadside bystander waving an albino wizard stick seem like just another escaped eccentric until they have passed your position and postulated perhaps a blind person. The automobile will be advanced around the next corner before they add the supposition of you wanting to cross. Maybe later the same day they'll wonder if they should have waited to allow you to cross.

At least at Zebra crossings I think you will get a benefit. Motorists are already expecting people to cross there. As long as you don't throw yourself unexpectedly across the black & white bands then the sight of a white stick appears to promote patience and preparedness to pause. The same is true of Pelican crossings where the white stick explains and lack boldness and decisiveness to cross under the protection of a traffic facing red light

Symbol sticks and long canes are very useful and the people I see using them do benefit. The general public, though slow on the take up, do eventually click that you don't see so well and benefit from a slightly different response to other people.

"I sometimes use my symbol stick because it saves time trying to explain I have rubbish eyesight and I need a different kind of help" is the simple explanation I was given.

I also have ROP and other eye conditions because of it. I didn't start using a cane until I was 40 and I really regret it. I wish I'd learned to use it when I was younger. I'd be so much better at it now and I wouldn't have spent so many years looking down at the ground, twisting my ankles on unseen curbs, and bumping into things.

One thing I have learned as I've gotten older - even if your vision doesn't get any worse than it is now, the older you get, the more it hurts to get injured and the slower your body heals. Building good O&M skills when you're young could save you a lot of pain and injury later on.

So don't let other people's ignorance put you off from using the cane, just think about how you're working now to better prepare yourself for a safe and healthy future.

Hi, I recommend you get lessons on how to use a cane. The ID cane is not a magic wand that will make trafic stop. You need to cross according to the trafic patterns, and the lessons should teach you these patterns.

Hard truth: The ID cane will help people realize that you are blind if you get ran over by a car.

I don't have ROP, but I have been visually impaired my whole life. From my experience, (in the US) using a cane can help sometimes, but some cars are still not going to stop for you. It sucks, but it's important to know how to react in those types of situations. I would see if you can get Orientation and Mobility in addition to a mobility cane. An O&M instructor would teach you how to use a cane properly and how to cross streets safely in various situations.

I don’t have any advice, but if you don’t mind my asking, I’d love to know what your vision is like, if there was a progression in it etc. I only ask because I too have ROP and was diagnosed around your age. I know it’s all individual, but I find it helpful seeing other people’s experiences.

I’d recommend getting training with a long cane.