Maddox is visually impaired due to microphthalmia and coloboma in both eyes. At the age of 2, Maddox walked very slowly and carefully, because his vision impairment made it difficult to avoid colliding and falling over obvious objects. Maddox’s physical therapist tried making a belt cane using a PVC pipe and velcro, before reaching out to Safe Toddles. At 25 months, Maddox got his first belt cane. Wearing his belt cane, he started walking independently with confidence in all environments. After two months of wearing the belt cane, Maddox was walking and running. His language skills are expanding as he freely explores his world.

Ysabella is visually impaired due to cortical visual impairment. Before the belt cane, although able to walk, she only moved in circles and with a great deal of prompting, spending most of her waking day seated in a therapy chair. She was tactilely defensive, refusing to touch anything. Whenever she was led over a door threshold, she froze and cried. It took several weeks to get her to wear her belt cane. She began wearing it most of the time and slowly door thresholds were walked over without notice, she walked towards people and toys in a straight line. She began touching and exploring the world now open to her through the benefit of wearing her belt cane.

Jaxon's visual impairment is due to Retinopathy of Prematurity (he has tunnel vision, nystagmus, myopia). Jaxon got his belt cane in 2018. Before receiving the belt cane, 2 year old Jaxon was eager to run, his tunnel vision unfairly enticed him to run towards the grass, but hid the deep step that separated the driveway from the grass. The constant falls and trips began to inhibit Jaxon- he became scared to run. Once Jaxon put his belt cane on he began running again. Jaxon uses his speedy pace to satisfy his natural curiosity about the world around him.

Matias is blind due to Leber's Congenital Amaurosis. Before wearing a belt cane, Matias was dependent on the support of people or furniture to move around. His blindness makes walking without holding on to something or someone next to impossible. At the age 21 months, Matias received his belt cane. Matias cried the first time his parents put on his belt cane, he was afraid of new things, but his family helped him to understand. By 22 months, wearing his belt cane Matias started walking independently. A month later, he was climbing stairs and at 2 years old, Matias was dancing to music wearing his belt cane.

Charna, blind since birth, was kept out of a toy room her parents created for her sighted sisters in an effort to protect her from tripping over toys left on the floor. Within two weeks of wearing her belt cane, Charna was allowed into the toy room and soon toys were scattered throughout their home. In a months’ time Charna was walking to the playground and independently playing among her neighbors. Because her parents adopted the belt cane, Charna became a confident, independent child able to join her peers in a regular classroom.

Alilah’s visual impairment is due to Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. Alilah was one of the first children to wear a belt cane. Safe Toddles observed that Alilah preferred stationery play even at fifteen months. Within two months of wearing the belt cane, Alilah got comfortable standing without any assistance and started saying words “cane” and “outside”. At eighteen months, within three months of starting to wear a belt cane, Alilah started freely running around the mall, outside the grasp of her mother.