Orientation and Mobility
We are a social and mobile society.
Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training plays a crucial role in teaching people with visual impairments to travel independently, safely and efficiently.
O&M Specialists teach their clients how to answer the following questions:
“Where am I?”, “Where am I going?” and “How am I going to get there?”
O&M specialists teach people how to move about their homes, schools, communities, and workplaces with safety and confidence.
Examples on how O&M Specialist can help:
Teach an individual to use a cane when traveling in a crowded mall.
Teach one how to use public transportation to go meet a friend at a favourite Café.
Teach a woman who recently lost her vision to travel safely, efficiently, and independently to work.
Teach a senior how to manoeuvre his walker and/or wheelchair around obstacles, indoors.
Teach the blind and the visually impaired how to move with a cane, find objects that are dropped, determine ordinal directions, ask for help, utilise landmarks, cross streets, navigate airports, and any of a thousand other tasks that increase independence.
Work with community planners on developing safe street crossings, transportation, and other community resources.
Teach people with vision loss to develop visual efficiency using telescopic aids and GPS devices.
Teach people with low vision adeptness to safely use powered wheelchairs and/or low-powered scooters in familiar environments.
