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Safe Toddles receives a $30,000 grant from the William G. and Helen C. Hoffman Foundation—their second year of support—to expand early mobility access for blind children through Pediatric Belt Canes, training, and family outreach.

Discover the fascinating origin story of orientation and mobility (O&M) for children born with visual impairments. From early pre-cane skills to the invention of the long cane, learn how blind children and WWII veterans shaped safe independent mobility, and why early intervention transformed the way blind toddlers learn to navigate their world.

From the 1700s to the 1900s, blind children were often excluded from mobility training and safe exploration. This post traces the evolution of early intervention practices—from the first institutions for blind youth to the emergence of orientation and mobility education. Learn how early efforts, both groundbreaking and flawed, laid the groundwork for today’s innovations in independent movement for children born blind.