We will break this into 2 sections – Ascending or going up stairs and descending or going down stairs:
Ascending: Using constant contact or touch and slide to find the first riser. When toes are touching the first riser, they can use their cane to explore the width of the staircase as well as the height and depth of the stairs. They should also use the handrail if available. The child will then reach their cane out vertically in front of them so the tip is between their toes and their arm is stretched out 1-2 stairs in front of them. For longer canes, you might need to slide the hand grasp down to the bottom of the grip. We encourage them to use a thumb or index finger pointing down the grip where they maintain their hand position as in the diagonal cane position but they “flip their wrist” which puts their cane in a good position to “tip tap” the lip of each stair in front of them as they go up. When they reach the top landing and there is no other stair lip to tap, they just bring their arm down to return to the diagonal cane position to explore and clear the landing.
Descending stairs: As they approach stairs, they should use constant contact or touch and slide to locate the first step. They then lock the tip vertically against the stair edge and approach the first step straight on – bringing the toes to the edge and on either side of the cane tip. There is usually railing close by and we encourage them to search with their hand to find it. They can then hold the railing with one hand and clear the area in front of them and explore the depth and width of the stairs. They then place their cane in a diagonal position stretched out in front of them and letting it “float like a ghost” about 2 inches above the stairs as they descend the stairs, keeping their rail hand moving slightly in front of them. When they are close to the last step, the cane will touch the landing and glide forward letting them know there is 1-2 more steps and then they have reached the bottom landing.
Have fun exploring the world with your child!