it's always with me everywhere except at home

I use my cane every place except traveling within my own home.

If I was at a friend's home and I trusted them well enough, or if we were just watching Netflix together I would either fold my cane away or store it in a corner by the door.

I often collapse my cane at restaurants, at movie theaters, while riding the bus, etc, a cane folds in four pieces because of the elastics holding it together. However, elastics can break, and oftentimes the lifetime of my canes is one year, unless I am unique in accidentally damaging my canes.

Not a cane user or VI myself but I know several people who are.

In short it varies but here are some examples.

I know someone whose sight used to be much better and they only produced a white stick (a shorter symbol cane) when they were travelling by plane and needed assistance. "It saves a lot of explaining" they said,

Now their sight is much worse they even use a long cane when when I am there to guide them on walks. It gives them a bit of extra confidence in case I forget to call out an kerb or a puddle in our path. This lasts until their arm gets tired and they hand the folded cane and the full responsibility for calling out hazards to me to carry.

Other people I know will carry a folded cane with them when out drinking with their mates, relying on being guided most of the time but deploying the cane so they can get themselves to the toilets independently.

I know some guide dog owners who I have never seen with a white cane, relying on friends to guide them when out and about without their canine compass. For them access to the toilet depends on a companion of the same gender to guide them their and visual instructions of what lies ahead. Accessible toilets in public places (UK) are of a fairly standard layout and sometimes have high contrast fittings.

I've seen sturdy long canes used for general outdoor meanderings and then swapped for lightweight and compact canes (carbon fibre) for special indoor events.

> if blind people take their cane everywhere with them or if they maybe leave it at home when they go to a friends place?

The cane if needed to get to the friends place might get left near the front door or in the cloakroom along with the coat. Whacking the hosts furniture or the ankles of the other house guests would be seen as infra dig.

It's welded to my soul, but then I'm a full time cane person, I don't do dogs. Even so I'd have thought most people have one in a backpack. You can get belt holsters for them, and usually the only time I realise it's there is when I sit on it.

Except in houses I use my cane in mine or others houses I use proprioception. So yeah. I am really good with spacial stuff, I am also very kinesthetic though.

It really depends. I take mind with me in public to get around and so people can see that I'm visually impaired. But when I'm home or at my parents' house I wont use it. My best friend who is also visually impaired only uses hers when we are somewhere super crowded like am amusement park. So it really depends on the situation. You should also consider that there are different types of canes, such as identification canes. My cane folds and has a roller tip and is alot thicker than my friend's becuase I use mine for mobility. Hers is thin and folds much smaller than mine and has a small tip since she only used her to let other know she is visually impaired. It is exciting to hear you are writing about a blind character, there isnt much representation :) I would love to read it once you finish.

Depends on the character. I have a white cane on me if I'm in public but I only use one when I'm in direct sunlight. If I go into a store I don't need it (unless they are a super bright store.) My eyesight changes a lot depending on light.

I'm always legally blind, but my watercolor vision turns to just bright yellow in bright lighting.

So you really gotta know how your characters vision works. (also less than 10% of blind ppl are totally blind. It's usually on the spectrum of sight).

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