Have you ever seen someone in a wheelchair and thought "Look at that loser! He can't even walk!" Have you ever made fun of someone for wearing a hearing aid? Of course you haven't - you're a decent, respectful person and you don't think someone in a wheelchair or wearing a hearing aid is any less of a human being than you are. So why be afraid of what people will think when they see you using a white cane? Almost nobody cares, and the tiny minority that does are jerks anyway. Anyone who thinks less of you because of your white cane is way more handicapped in life than you are.

My advice is practice, practice, practice, not because you need practice to learn how (you don't, you already know), but because practicing in public with it makes you feel less self conscious using it.

Yup, newbies are always shy or self-concious about using canes, I totally understand it. Even I was like that in beginning. ROFL, then I got to know the respect that this cane commands in the society, Anything that get's people out of your way, makes them more helpful accept some select jerks, tells streat dogs to move aside and please don't bite if stepped on, the dores it opens, that is VIP grade :D. It outwayed anything I cared about.

P.S. not sure if this happens for everyone else, but, streat dogs in my area, always run away from my cane, and even when I accidentally stepped on one dog, he ran away, didn't bite. If someone trained them like this, then that is totally lovely, thank you so much.

The solution to not having great cane skills? Get great cane skills. Find your nearest organisation, tell them you're not able to go outside independently and you'd like to change that.


My first hour with an O&M instructor changed my life. I hope it can change yours, too.

If you’re in the US can you call your state’s dept for the blind and visually impaired for some O&M training? Or maybe even do an in-residence program for a few months if your schedule permits?

Don’t mind those people who make fun of you for using a cane.

Get some mobility and orientation training where you live if you need some sighted assistance get some to get out of the trailler park and then learn to navigate around the city. This can be achieved with orientation and mobility training.