Kadyn Czepiel, a 6th grader at Dassa McKinney Elementary, practices using his cane with Jessica Sloan, vision impaired instructor in the Moniteau School District, on Oct. 13.

The National Federation of the Blind celebrates White Cane Awareness Day every year on Oct. 15.

The day is meant to raise awareness and promote understanding of the white cane, an essential tool used by people with vision impairments that allows them to live a more independent life.

“It's great for the public to know if you see a person with a cane and it's red at the bottom, just be patient,” said Jessica Sloan, vision teacher with Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV.

Sloan works on orientation and mobility with more than 40 area students with visual impairments.

One of Sloan's students is Kadyn Czepiel, a sixth-grader at Dassa McKinney Elementary School.

Czepiel, 11, has lost all vision in his left eye and is learning how to use a white cane, so he can travel independently. Sloan said there are four basic techniques needed to learn when using a white cane: constant contact, two-point touch, trailing and going up steps.

Read more in Thursday's Butler Eagle.