Dozens of blind and visually impaired students ranging from age 5 to 21 from Allerton’s The New York Institute for Special Education (NYISE) took part in a march to celebrate White Cane Day on Tuesday, Oct. 15. October also marks Disability Awareness Month.
White Cane Day celebrates the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and originated in 1964. The marchers began at the Institute before crossing Pelham Parkway and walking down Williamsbridge Road to Lydig Avenue and concluded the route by returning to the Institute. One student said, “We use our white canes to help us go where we’re going.”
Alexandra Haley, an orientation mobility instructor at the NYISE, said “A white cane is an essential tool to give anybody who uses it the ability to achieve a full and independent life. It allows you to move freely and safely from place to place whether at work, school, or around your neighborhood.”
Haley told the Norwood News, “This is about educating the community, a way to celebrate, to break stereotypes that people might have of people who are visually impaired or blind. The cane is a tool for them to use to become more independent or be able to travel more safely, independently.”…