Orientation and Mobility Specialist

Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree
Certification from the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and
Education Professionals (ACVREP)

Preferred Qualifications
Experience with school-aged children, including infants and preschoolers
Experience with children with multiple impairments
Experience working with teams

Major Responsibilities and Duties

• Assessment and Evaluation
• Perform orientation and mobility evaluations that focus on long- and short term needs of the student for new referrals and at intervals as designated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Identify the needs and strengths of the student and an estimate of the length and frequency of service necessary to meet determined needs and include such information in the assessment report
• Contribute to other appropriate portions of the IEP, such as goals and recommendations Provide consultation and support services to parents, educators, other team members, and students’ sighted peers
• Confer regularly with parents, classroom teachers, physical education teachers, physical therapists, and other school personnel to assist in home and classroom modifications to ensure reinforcement of appropriate O&M skills that will encourage the student who is visually impaired to travel independently in these settings and in the future
• Work with the teacher of students with visual impairments to conduct the functional vision assessment as it relates to independent travel
• Evaluate the student’s progress on an ongoing basis and keep progress notes on each student

Appropriate Learning Environments

• Instruct students with visual impairments in skills and knowledge that enable them to travel independently based on the IEP
• Teach students to travel with proficiency, safety, and confidence in familiar and unfamiliar environments
• Prepare sequential and meaningful instruction geared to the student’s assessed needs, IEP goals and objectives, functioning level, and motivation level
• Be responsible for the student’s safety during O&M instruction and in other environments while fostering maximum independence during O&M lessons
• Prepare and use equipment and materials, such as tactile maps, models, optical devices, pre-canes, GPS devices, and long canes for the development of O&M skills
• Provide orientation of new buildings and new class schedules to students with
  visual impairments as needed, including those community settings where
  students receive instruction

Instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)

• Concept development Gross motor skills Visual efficiency skills (with and without optical devices) Sensory efficiency skills Cane skills, including adaptive mobility devices Map skills Social skills Self-determination
• Independent living skills Recreational leisure skills Outdoor travel skills
• Residential Commercial Public Transportation Personal safety Support Services
• Provide assistance to the students with visual impairments in understanding their attitudes and those of others concerning their visual impairments
• Emphasize social integration with peers and facilitate opportunities for interaction Administrative/Record Keeping Duties
• Submit requests for instructional materials, conferences, and reference materials Be knowledgeable of community-based resources that may be available to and useful for students with visual impairments
• Provide in-service training to general and special education personnel, administrative personnel, sighted peers, and parents concerning the O&M needs of the student and appropriate methods for interacting with the person who is visually impaired that will foster maximum independence and safety
• Participate in parent conferences and meetings as well as teacher staffing meetings related to students with visual impairments Maintain adequate records on all evaluations, IEPs, and progress reports/data collection
• Provide progress reports to parents Arrange and prepare paperwork as appropriate and attend all staffing meetings on students with visual impairments as they relate to O&M Communicate with specialists in low vision, ophthalmologists, and optometrists concerning exams, and attend exams when appropriate Liaison between Community and School
• Provide information about the vision and O&M programs to the schools and community Professional Standards Maintain a reference library of current professional materials
• Maintain current certification Acquire information about current research, development, and technology by attending conferences and workshops, and by reading journals in the field of visual impairment

Working Conditions

• Mental Demands/Physical Demands/Environmental Factors:
• Maintain emotional control under stress. Frequent standing, stooping, bending, kneeling, pushing, and pulling. Move small stacks of textbooks, media equipment, desks, and other classroom or adaptive equipment.
• May be required to lift and position students with physical disabilities; control behavior through physical restraint; and assist non-ambulatory students.
• Exposure to biological hazards.