Blind 7-year-old banned from using walking cane at school

'It's just ridiculous. If you took a walking cane away from a blind adult, you would say that was discrimination. It's the same here.'

A Brussels primary school banned a blind seven-year-old girl from using her walking cane at school in a shocking move after claiming she could trip other students or teachers.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Lily-Grace Hooper had a stroke when she was only four-days-old, resulting in the loss of 3D vision and all sight in her right eye. Though the now seven-year-old elementary student can still see lights and colors in her left eye, she is considered legally blind.

The girl began using wrapping paper cardboard tubes to find her way around her home and asked Santa for a proper stick to use. That was when charity group Common Sense Cane stepped in and donated a fiberglass walking cane to Lily-Grace earlier this year.

The child is a ballet dancer and began using the cane at school in April after practicing enough for it to become "an extension of her arm."

Unfortunately for Lily-Grace, her school, Hambrook Primary, conducted a safety assessment and believes the walking stick is high risk for other students and teachers.

The child was told she should have an adult with her at all times, instead of using the walking cane, needs to "walk carefully," and should take advantage of hand rails.

The assessment was conducted by Hambrook Primary School and the Sensory Support Service, and has infuriated 38-year-old Kristy Hooper, Lily-Graces mother.

Hooper has expressed concern over her daughter becoming entirely dependent on someone else to show her around, and believes a helper would cause Lily-Grace to stand apart from others in her class.

"I don't understand where the school is coming from," Hooper said. "Lily-Grace has taken to the cane very quickly, and she needs it as she travels to school, walks to the playground, or just being in school. I am absolutely livid. What about the health and safety of my girl? I like the school, they are a good school, but this really is very poor advice.

"It's just ridiculous. If you took a walking cane away from a blind adult, you would say that was discrimination. it's the same here ... It is a disability, but I want to celebrate it and make sure she can become independent."

Founder of Common Sense Canes, Sarah Murray, said the school's decision was "absolute nonsense," adding, "I've heard about this health and safety reasons, [sic] and I just cannot fathom what the school is thinking. Why are they taking a cane away from a little girl?"

Blind Children UK claims children should learn to be independent at a young age, with one spokesman saying: "Using a cane teaches a child to keep themselves safe and can help them to become less reliant on others. While a cane might not be suitable for every child or young person with sight loss, if they are taught how to use it by a trained habilitation specialist, then, in general, there shouldn't be an issue with using one safely around school."

Jo Dent, the school's head, agreed to discuss the situation further with the Hooper family. Dent also said, "The school's mobility officer raised health and safety issues around the new cane following a recent risk assessment. We have to consider all our pupils, so it is important that we have an opportunity to discuss the situation before we make any decisions.

"We are very keep to resolve this issue as soon as possible and have been actively seeking to engage with the parent to bring this to an agreeable conclusion. The pupil has not been banned from bringing in their cane, we have simply asked them not to use it around school as a temporary measure until we have the change to meet with the parent and discuss the situation. It was initially hoped that we would have this resolved within a day or two."

The risk assessment conducted by Sensory Support Services did say Lily-Grace could use a shorter cane, but Hooper claims it is not a suitable substitute as the current long and light stick was specifically designed for Lily-Grace.

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