Interesting Articles
White Cane Day Information | click here to view
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Winter Travel Information | click here to view
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ACB Releases a New Edition of its Pedestrian Safety Handbook Sections in the handbook include Finding the Crosswalk and Aligning to Cross, Accessible Pedestrian Signals, and Crossing Where There Is Now Traffic Control. http://www.acb.org/node/625
(AER) Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired | Orientation and Mobility Division
view listing of O&M Position papers: http://oandm.aerbvi.org/position_papers.htm
Car-Free in Boston Book. Published by the Association for Public Transportation Inc. (APT) It’s back! Car-Free® in Boston, the area’s ultimate transit guide since 1977, is back and better than ever. Covering everything from getting around the T, to how to get to Arnold Arboretum, to how often Amtrak trains run, this book is both an essential guide for newcomers, students, and visitors, as well as a valuable resource for long-time residents.
Find it on amazon.com.
Consortium for the Educational Advancement of Travel Instruction (CEATI)
www.ceati-travelinstruction.org was created to enhance through education the knowledge and skills of those professionals who are teaching travel skills to persons with disabilities and seniors. Members of the Board of Directors include experienced practitioners in the fields of travel instruction and orientation and mobility instruction. CEATI consists of a dedicated group of professionals who believe in the right of every individual to have freedom of movement to the maximum degree possible and to be instructed by the knowledgeable professionals from the field of travel instruction.
Community Based Instruction Infusion Scope and Sequence Chart. By Karyl Moore, of Corpus Christi Independent School District.
click here to view
Educating Blind and Visually Impaired Students; Policy Guidance. Orientation and Mobility Section. Federal Register, US Dept. of Education.
click here to view
Guidelines For the Specialized Assessments of Students with Visual Impairments is a document released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Schools in July 2012. This document details the requirements for qualified service providers, the types of assessments to appropriately define the needs of these students, and resources for locating specialized professionals and materials. Service providers, families, students, teachers and administrators can use this document to justify appropriate services. Click here to download.
Orientation and Mobility (O&M) in Natural Settings. This is an AER Orientation and Mobility Division: Position Paper. Assessment and instruction of safe, efficient, purposeful travel for people who are blind or have low vision (O&M) are provided in a wide variety of natural settings. Unlike conventional classroom instruction, O&M assessment and instruction for children and adults with visual impairments must occur in the environments in which the skills will be used (the natural setting). Lessons take place in all areas of the community, at all times of the day and in all kinds of weather, including at night or in dim lighting.
http://oandm.aerbvi.org/position_paper2.htm
O&M Listserve: A website resource for teaching students with sensory impairments. Join AER and take advantage of opportunities for professional growth and development, timely news and research information, career advancement, education enrichment, plus numerous networking opportunities at regional and international conferences and chapter meetings. http://aerbvi.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=76
O&M Program Supervisors and Planners – Problems and Solutions. From Dona Sauerburger’s website: http://www.sauerburger.org/dona/divcaseload.htm.
O&M Scholarships: Blasch Scholarship Awards of $1,000-The Scholarship Committee of the O&M Division invites all individuals who are currently enrolled or planning to enroll in AER-approved University O&M programs to apply for this Scholarship. Two scholarships are awarded each year. For more information or to receive an electronic application, contact the Co-Chairs of the Scholarship Committee: Richard Long, COMS, 269-387-3451; Richard.long@wmich.edu or Susan Wizorek at chhs_adga@wmich.edu. Blank application forms are available from the AER office, from O&M university program staff, or from Nicole Anstett at chhs_adga@wmich.edu. PLEASE PUT THE WORD BLASCH IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF ALL CORRESPONDENCE ABOUT THIS SCHOLARSHIP.
Sighted Guide information, from (RNIB) Royal National Institute of Blind People, London. There are no hard and fast rules on how to guide people with sight problems but these are the guidelines we offer because they are safe and sensible. You may find the person you are guiding doesn’t follow our guidelines, but chooses to do something different that works for them.
http://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-family-friends-and-carers/guiding-blind-or-partially-sighted-person
Teaching Students with Sensory Impairments, Strategies for Mainstream Teachers.
http://www.trinity.edu/org/sensoryimpairments/index.htm
Vision Access Resource Handout
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind provides this handout, listing publications describing and defining strategies for supporting access by individuals with sensory impairments to community and home environments.
click here to download this document