Ron Later
New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
LECTURE with hands-on activities
Attendees will be introduced to the O&M Inventory, a tool that:
- is free
- gives O&Ms an overview of student/client progress
- compiles data for the O&M over 12 assessment periods
- enables O&Ms to answer questions about when a client/student is "done" with O&M
- provides justification for extended school year or agency instructional hours
- reduces assessment writing time to about 20 minutes
- reduces IEP goal writing time to about 2 minutes and eliminates skill specific goals that don't provide an overview of student/client performance
- reduces progress note writing time to about 2 minutes
- can be forwarded to an O&M receiving a student/client so that O&M won't have to essentially start over
Attendees will be encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet so they can pull up the O&M Inventory and play with it during the session.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Attendees will be able to use the Inventory to:
- assess students/clients
- re-assess students/clients and determine at a glance the amount of progress the students/clients have made over the entire scope of O&M curriculum
- write a comprehensive, detailed evaluation in about 20 minutes
- write an easily measurable IEP goal in 2 minutes
- write a comprehensive, detailed progress note in 2 minutes
- determine what skills a student/client needs to work on just by looking at the Inventory
BIO:
Ron Later began working with students with visual impairments as a TVI in 1994. He completed his O&M certification while working as an itinerant TVI in Texas. Since 1999 he has worked for the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NMSBVI) at the residential campus in Alamogordo, a small town about 100 miles north of El Paso. For a person of his hygiene he doesn't steal as much as you'd think.
Audrey J. Smith, Dean, College of Education and Rehabilitation, Salus University, Elkins Park, PA
Anisio Correia, Vice President for Programs, Center for the Visually Impaired, Atlanta, GA
Laura Bozeman, Ph.D., COMS, CLVT,
Associate Professor/Director: Vision Studies,
UMass Boston
LECTURE / Interactive session
We as educators and professionals are facing many changes impinging upon the effective delivery of rehabilitation services to adults who are blind or have low vision.
In light of New York State's move toward licensure of vision rehabilitation professionals under a single designation, "Visual Impairment Specialist," the history of efforts to establish Medicare reimbursement, the creation of the Forum for the Advancement of Blindness and Vision Impairment Professionals, and the ongoing challenges of a shortage of personnel and training programs, this session will provide a brief introduction to the above topics and familiarize participants with the ongoing efforts of the Forum.
These include a single professional designation, with accompanying certifications (e.g. O&M, LVT, VRT), the establishment and delivery of a core curriculum for personnel preparation, the creation of a national database of expert courses, etc.
This presentation will also explore the opportunities and obstacles that our field faces in ensuring the ongoing viability and vitality of services offered by O&M Specialists, Low Vision Therapists and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists. The presentation will include an interactive/brainstorming discussion on the pros and cons of considered educational and professional changes, solicitation of opinions, suggestions, and concerns toward reconsidering professional preparation, curricular programming and consolidation of professional roles and expertise.
How would this be interactive?
For the first half of the session, presenters will lecture.
For the second half of the session, participants will engage in discussion with the presenters.
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will:
- identify key factors affecting the changing landscape of the field of blindness and low vision (BLV).
- identify key points of national dialogue on a single professional designation, with accompanying certifications (e.g. O&M, LVT, VRT), and the pros and cons of a "core curriculum" for personnel preparation programs in addition to discipline-specific certifications.
- engage in a dialogue offering their opinions, suggestions and concerns as they pertain to overall field of blindness and low vision rehabilitation, including the discipline of O&M.
BIO:
Audrey J. Smith has been practicing in the field of blindness and low vision for 45 years. She has served the field in multiple roles as an Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Low Vision Therapist, Personnel Preparation Faculty and Administrator. Fabiana Perla has been teaching Orientation and Mobility for over 20 years. She is currently the Dean of the College of Education and Rehabilitation at Salus University. Additionally, she is a member of the current Forum for the Advancement of the Field of Blindness and Vision Impairment Professionals.
Anisio Correia has been practicing in the field of blindness and low vision rehabilitation for 40 years. He has served the field in multiple roles as Board Member and President-Elect of the New York State AER Chapter, Chair of the Maine State Rehabilitation Council, and Chair of the national AER Leadership and Administration Division. He is currently Vice President for Programs at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, GA. Additionally, he is a member of the current Forum for the Advancement of the Field of Blindness and Vision Impairment Professionals.
Laura Bozeman entered the vision profession in 1974 as an Orientation & Mobility Specialist in Texas. After working in direct service for 20 years, she received her Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of Texas-Austin. Dr. Bozeman has served as a faculty at the University of Texas-Austin, North Carolina Central University, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand, University of Guam and UMass-Boston. She has worked with all ages and been fortunate to teach in Taiwan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Micronesia, American Samoa and the US.
Dr. Bozeman has been involved with the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI) on the Chapter, Division, and International levels for many years. She has served multiple terms on the international and chapter boards of directors as well as the chair of divisions and committees.
Dr. Bozeman serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (JVIB) and the International Journal of Orientation and Mobility (IJOM). She is a reviewer for numerous professional journals.
Dr. Bozeman holds certification in Orientation & Mobility, Low Vision, and was licensed as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments.
Karen Walker
Ashland, Virginia
LECTURE
This session will review various assessment tools utilized in O&M, discussing the pros and cons and differences between them and considerations for which might be most effective for different situations.
TIME: 90 minutes
BIO:
Karen Walker, COMS: President, Allied Instructional Services Ashland, Virginia
Kathy Zwald
Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
LECTURE
This session focuses on using a variety of O & M assessment tools used to drive and monitor an intensive O & M instructional program for students who are blind and visually impaired at the Arizona School for the Blind (ASB). It focuses on the assessment tools and processes used to determine present levels and O & M needs of instruction; how we design, implement and manage the different models of intensive instructional programs based on the student needs; and the results of the intensive instructional process on students as measured through the assessment tools and by individual student reports.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will
- learn how we go about using a combination of assessments to determine present skill levels and educational needs, as well as tools for monitoring student progress once instruction begins.
- have an opportunity to see why and how we implement different models of instruction based on the assessment results and other educational variables & standards.
- have an opportunity to view video clips of students speaking about their own progress as a result of participating in the assessment driven, intensive instructional program at ASB.
BIO:
Dr. Kathy Zwald has been an Orientation & Mobility Specialist since 1977 after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Orientation & Mobility from Stephen F. Austin University. Since that time she has provided services for adults, children, young adults, working age adults and seniors that include vocational rehabilitation centers, itinerant public schools, residential schools, private contract and university settings. These settings were located in Australia, Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona. During this time Dr. Zwald also received her MS in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of North Texas and a MED in Physical Education from the University of Georgia and held positions in administration, research and grant writing. Dr. Zwald has been involved with Sports Camps for students with Visual Impairments since 1995 and continues her quest to provide physical exercise consultations with her students and the community.
Dr. Zwald received her Ph.D from the University of Arizona's Specialization in Visual Impairment Program in 2008 and was the O&M Coordinator for the University for 5 years until the program lost its funding. She is currently an adjunct professor with Salas University and North Carolina Central University's O&M satellite programs along with teaching Orientation & Mobility at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.
Susan Austin
Dallas, Texas
First-time presenter at a large conference
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
I am the yoga teacher and will be advertising those services, which at this time are limited to Dallas, Texas. I may also bring copies of the radio shows that will be available for purchase.
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
When I learned that there were no yoga classes for the visually impaired in Dallas, Texas, I decided that I could teach the visually impaired. And then I realized it would be a very different experience that teaching the sighted. My session will be what I learned during that process, and the best class setting, size, sequencing, and props for the visually impaired.
I will show how to teach one or two basic yoga poses to the group, asking them to keep their eyes closed to simulate a visually impaired class.
TIME: 45 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will learn that the practice of yoga is appropriate and beneficial for visually impaired students. The participants will experience one or two yoga poses, with their eyes closed, to learn the challenges of visually impaired yoga, and how those challenges can be managed.
BIO:
Years of Practice: 8
Certifications:
200 hour certification earned at Dallas Yoga Center 2007
500 hour certification earned at Dallas Yoga Center 2012
Teaching Experience:
Dallas Yoga Center: 2010 to current
Creator of Yoga for Diabetes 2012 to current
VIP Yoga (Visually Impaired Practice) 2014 to current *
VIP Yoga radio show through Reading and Radio Resource 2014 to current
*Susan started VIP Yoga to fill a need in the DFW area. Susan became aware of Reading and Radio Resource, a non-profit that provides resources for the visually impaired. After speaking with some of the RRR clients, Susan learned that there are very few exercise classes for the visually impaired in DFW. Through some research, she learned there were no yoga classes for the visually impaired. Currently, VIP yoga classes are held at Wilshire Baptist Church, and using what she has learned in the live classes, Susan has recorded yoga classes that are aired through the Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS).
Lynn Gautreaux, COMS
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Receive product design royalties from Ambutech and book royalties from AER
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Participants will learn how to repair, modify and completely refurbish straight and folding canes without using chemicals or solvents. This process can be completed in any office or storage area without the need for costly ventilation, chemicals or cleaning systems. The session will also discuss how to set-up an "in office" cane repair station that requires very little space. Techniques to be demonstrated will include removing/replacing worn grips, restringing folding canes with and without grips, converting a folding cane to use slip-on tips, how to use an "arc extension" that serves as a transition tool for students and/or clients who are not ready for or are unable to maintain appropriate frontal protection during travel and much more.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn how to
- repair, modify and completely refurbish straight and folding canes without using chemicals or solvents; and,
- set-up an in office cane repair station that requires very little space
BIO:
Bachelor in Recreation Education from Northwestern State University; Masters in Recreation Administration with emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi; Orientation and Mobility Certification from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; employed at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired (LSVI) August, 1980 to May, 2013; while at LSVI, served in the capacity of Recreation Education Director, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Outreach Director and Orientation and Mobility Director; currently an independent O&M contractor
Lynn Gautreaux, COMS
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Receive product design royalties from Ambutech and book royalties from AER
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Participants will learn how to decide when and if the use of an AMD is appropriate. Techniques for making a variety of easy in-office AMD configurations and cane modifications and attachments will be demonstrated. Discussions and demonstrations will also include products that are currently available through commercial purchase and products that are relatively new to the market. Since the VI/Blind population is a very diverse group, it is important to have equipment and modification resources available in order to find a good functional and instructional fit for each individual student or client. The session will explore the various types of cane modifications and AMDs and the specific conditions or situations under which they can be used most effectively.
TIME: 75 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn how to
- match a student or client with a specific type of AMD or cane modification;
- use and teach the skills associated with specific AMDs or cane modifications;
- how to make a "straight" AMD every time and make and modify roller mechanisms for specific situations; and,
- set up an "in office" work station to make quick and easy AMDs or cane modifications as needed
BIO:
Bachelor in Recreation Education from Northwestern State University; Masters in Recreation Administration with emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi; Orientation and Mobility Certification from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; employed at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired (LSVI) August, 1980 to May, 2013; while at LSVI, served in the capacity of Recreation Education Director, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Outreach Director and Orientation and Mobility Director; currently an independent O&M contractor
Lynn Gautreaux, COMS
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Receive product design royalties from Ambutech and book royalties from AER
half-day preconference workshop
This session will demonstrate the correct process for making a "straight" AMD every time. Participants will also have the opportunity to make and take an AMD of their choice. In addition, the session will demonstrate how and when to use the traditional rectangular shaped AMD as well as the "L" and "I" configurations. Other techniques to be demonstrated include quick and easy AMD repairs, modifying the traditional roller mechanism to extend the functional "life" of an AMD, how and when to use non-traditional roller mechanisms, adding stair extensions, folding AMDs, tandem bars and generalizing AMD skills when transitioning to a straight cane and much more.
All participants will make their own AMDs and have the opportunity of learning the pros and cons of using the different types of AMD configurations
TIME: half-day preconference workshop
Restricted to 20 people
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn how to
- make specific types of AMDs & cane modifications including an AMD or cane modification of their choice;
- teach the instructional skills associated with specific AMDs or cane modifications;
- make a "straight" AMD every time including various types of roller mechanisms for specific situations; and,
- set up an "in office" work station to make quick and easy AMDs or cane modifications as needed
BIO:
Bachelor in Recreation Education from Northwestern State University; Masters in Recreation Administration with emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi; Orientation and Mobility Certification from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; employed at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired (LSVI) August, 1980 to May, 2013; while at LSVI, served in the capacity of Recreation Education Director, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Outreach Director and Orientation and Mobility Director; currently an independent O&M contractor
Lelan Miller
Austin, Texas
First-time presenter at a large conference
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Because some of our clients and students who are blind or visually impaired also have a hearing impairment, the O&M instructor needs to understand and interpret audiological evaluation results in order to plan and develop an appropriate auditory training program. The participants will learn how the O&M specialist can work with the audiologist to understand an individual's auditory capabilities and prescribed amplification; plan and implement an auditory training program for a deafblind individual; and learn to provide auditory training activities that focus on environmental sounds necessary for safe travel for children, youth, and adults with dual hearing and visual impairment. Some listening and hands-on activities may be provided during this lecture. The content of this presentation is appropriate for O&Ms working with children, youth, and adults who have dual hearing and visual impairment.
TIME: 75 minutes
BIO:
Lelan Miller has a master's degree in deaf education from Illinois State University and is ACVREP certified in O&M. She has worked with the deaf and deafblind population in the Texas public schools for over ten years. Her O&M internship was completed at Affiliated Blind of Louisiana in 2014. Lelan Miller is an Independent Contractor with DARS in Texas providing O&M instruction to deafblind individuals and also supports training for SSPs in Austin, Texas where she now lives and works. She has written "Ten Thousand Miles from Home" as part of an anthology of stories and essays by and for those with Usher Syndrome, slated for publication in late 2015.
Judy Byrd
Atlanta, Georgia
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Beep Kickball is a new sport for children and adults with vision loss. The session will cover how the game is played, who plays it, how to start a kickball league and the benefits to the players. If possible, it will include a demo and allow participants to put a blindfold on and play!
If possible, we will demonstrate the sport and invite participants to put a blindfold on and play.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will learn how to play and start a team and the benefits to players.
BIO:
In 2010, Judy Byrd volunteered at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta and was asked to help start a beep baseball team.
She noticed all the players were older teens and adults and wondered what sport the younger children played.
Then it came to her: same rules, different ball- Beep Kickball!
Now after four years, it is played in over 150 locations across the nation.
Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Ed.D. O&M Specialist, Safe Toddles, LLC, Wappingers Falls, NY
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
I hope to develop this product.
LECTURE
This session will describe a wearable mobility device (WMD) suitable for learners with visual impairments. The WMD is designed for learners who are walking, but are either too young to (or for another reason are unable to) maintain a grasp on a mobility device (AMD/push toy/long cane) as they walk about independently.
Recent studies have documented that preschoolers with visual impairments remain stationary and engage in solitary play in preschool settings (Celeste, 2006; Celeste & Grum, 2010). The proposed WMD for toddlers with visual impairments solves a critical educational problem for this population of learners, the ability to safely move when they explore their world. Lack of safe movement interferes with the developmental process and thus contributes to the habitual, global developmental delays in concepts as well as language, social and motor skills in children with visual impairments (Erin, 2014).
The WMD prototype has been created and used by very young learners. This presentation will discuss the research on learners who are congenitally visually impaired, the prototype WMD, the results from the pilot testing and the plans for moving forward on producing and making available the wearable mobility device.
TIME: 45 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- The participants will learn about the current research on learners who are congenitally visually impaired links o delays
- The participants will learn about the prototype WMD.
- The participants will learn the results from the survey and the plans for moving forward on the creation and testing of a wearable mobility device for toddlers.
BIO:
Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Ed.D. has been a grant associate professor for the Department of Special Education, Hunter College of the City University of New York since 1997. She coordinates the VRT and O&M programs and is the instructor for the advanced O&M courses.
Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed COMS
Lenexa, Kansas
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Humanware provides compensation for teaching.
LECTURE
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Orientation and Mobility are made for each other. By providing a "virtual doorway" to the environment, the traveler with a visual impairment now has more opportunities to interact with the environment and develop "environmental literacy" and control. It is a technology that has grown and should be an essential part of Orientation and Mobility instruction. Unfortunately, one of the prevailing thoughts in our "instant solution", widget-driven society believes that O & M Specialists can simply put a GPS device in the hands of a traveler with a visual impairment and all will be right with the world. Not so fast, my friend…the devil is always in the details. And…there are details that must be addressed to integrate the dynamics of GPS information into effective use for the traveler with a visual impairment. Many questions need to be addressed to integrate electronic "orientation" information effectively into "mobility" for students, clients, and instructors. Frequently asked questions are:
- "Who are the best students?"
- "What is the best device or app to use?"
- "Where do I find support for purchasing a device?"
- "Why is it a necessary part of instruction?"
- "How do I integrate GPS effectively in my Orientation and Mobility instruction?"
The parameters of GPS for the traveler with a visual impairment, examples of how to effectively use the information to nurture the development of travel confidence, environmental literacy, and tactics to foster the development of control in the environment will be discussed in this presentation.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- Participants will gain an overview of Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
- Participants will learn the parameters of integrating Global Positioning Systems' (GPS) technology for the traveler with a visual impairment.
- Participants will be provided with suggestions and methodologies for teaching effective GPS skills to students and clients from childhood to adulthood.
BIO:
Craig L. Phillips is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and licensed Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
His teaching experience has been in the public and residential school setting, with adults through state rehabilitation services, and as an adjunct instructor for Missouri State University's program to train Orientation and Mobility Specialists and Teachers of the Visually Impaired.
His article Getting from Here to There and Knowing Where: Teaching Global Positioning Systems to Students with Visual Impairments was published in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness in November 2011. He has been playing with GPS since 2002.
Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed COMS
Lenexa, Kansas
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Humanware provides compensation for teaching.
All-day preconference workshop
Does learning new technology intimidate you? Would you like see how the Trekker Breeze+ works but just didn't know where to start? Are you interested in learning how to integrate GPS information into your O & M lessons? Do you have a Breeze but find it spending more time on a shelf or in a drawer than hanging around your students' necks? If so, this feet-moving, hands-on, brain-expanding, ACVREP approved (6 CE hours) seminar that will provide you with the basics of GPS and how to use the Trekker Breeze+ just might be for you.
You will learn to travel through the environment as our students/clients do by listening, learning, walking (3+ miles), and developing control of their traveling in the environment through the development of environmental literacy from the information that GPS provides.
Each participant will be provided with a Trekker Breeze+ to use for the day.
Teaching materials and the tips and traps from many years of teaching GPS usage will be shared.
How participants will be involved:Participants will learn how to foster the development of environmental literacy when traveling through the environment by listening, learning, and walking while learning the functions of the Trekker Breeze+. Each participant will be provided with a Trekker Breeze+ to use for the day.
NOTE: Humanware will be introducing an upgraded Trekker Breeze+ in the summer of 2015 and this workshop will feature the updated improvements.
TIME: all-day preconference workshop
Limits in participants?
OBJECTIVES:
- Participants will gain an overview of Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
- Participants will be provided with suggestions how to nurture the development of environmental literacy through the use of the incidental information that GPS provides.
- Participants will learn methodologies for teaching effective GPS skills to students and clients from childhood to adulthood.
- Participants will learn the functions and process of backtracking, creating routes, setting routes to manually created landmarks and preset Points of Interest (POIs), and the dynamics of incidental learning with GPS.
- Participants will learn the parameters of integrating Global Positioning Systems' (GPS) technology for the traveler with a visual impairment.
BIO:
Craig L. Phillips is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and licensed Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
His teaching experience has been in the public and residential school setting, with adults through state rehabilitation services, and as an adjunct instructor for Missouri State University's program to train Orientation and Mobility Specialists and Teachers of the Visually Impaired.
His article Getting from Here to There and Knowing Where: Teaching Global Positioning Systems to Students with Visual Impairments was published in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness in November 2011. He has been playing with GPS since 2002.
Cyndy Greenacre
Richmond, Virginia
LECTURE/interactive session
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can develop in adults and children, civilians and service members as a result of terror, trauma, natural disaster, accidents and abuse- or witnessing these events.
Visual dysfunction and atypical visual processing in the setting of PTSD are often overlooked as confounding influences in client progress during rehabilitation therapies and training.
Informal field surveys show that PTSD-related visual disorders slow progress in binocular vision training, scanning and visual awareness training and activities of daily living including mobility.
Research suggests that these symptoms may arise due to the sensory vision system interacting and connecting with the limbic system or from the effect of anxiety disorders on the visual brain's ventral and dorsal processing streams.
Likely neurological mechanisms for these dysfunctions (more poster) and approaches to treatment/training (more presentation) are explored.
Best Practice suggests a strong collaboration between mental health, optometry and vision/blind rehabilitation providers.
The presentation will focus more on awareness of the impact of PTSD on rehabilitation training and strategies to use with clients or students with PTSD.
Explain how the participants might be involved with activities:
If there is enough time, participants will discuss strategies etc and apply to case studies or generate ideas from their own experiences on working with clients.
TIME: 75 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- The participants will list visual/behavioral consequences of PTSD that may impact blind rehabilitation and O&M training.
- The participants will review major findings from neurological studies (including brain scans) on PTSD-related changes in the brain pertinent to vision (and learning)
- The participants will learn/apply tips and strategies for working with a client or student with PTSD
- The participants will review and collect educational and community resources for PTSD.
BIO:
Cynthia L Greenacre, PhD COMS, CLVT, CVRT
Has been a Polytrauma Blind/Vision Rehabilitation Specialist at McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia for over 7 years.
Her patients with vision impairment/blindness often have multiple disabilities, such as brain injury, cognitive disabilities or hearing impairment or multiple forms of trauma including blast injury incurred during military service.
Dr. Greenacre holds certifications, and supporting degree work, in Orientation and Mobility, Low Vision, Vision Rehabilitation, Brain Injury, and special education certificates/endorsements in Vision Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Learning Disabilities, Mental Disabilities and Cross Categorical/Multiple Disabilities.
She has been working with special needs populations with vision impairment and cognitive deficits/brain injury since 1988.
Current Research interests include vision rehabilitation and the impact of brain injury and its multifaceted sequelae on the intertwining visual sensory and visual perceptual systems.
Sheena Manuel, NOMC
Ruston, Louisianna
LECTURE
This session is about adding another tool to the O&M toolkit in assessing children of all ages. The National Orientation and Mobility Assessment (NOMA) aids the administrator in determining if children who are blind or visually impaired can benefit from orientation and mobility services in order to become an independent traveler. My session will give the participant an inside view of what the assessment looks like and what benefits this assessment brings to our data-driven world.
TIME: 45 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn how to assess children who are blind or visually impaired for orientation and mobility services using the NOMA.
Participants will learn about other resources available.
BIO:
I am the Outreach Specialist for the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness in which some of my time includes teaching children in local school districts and coordinating monthly enrichment activities. I have master degrees in Business Administration and Arts in Teaching (Teaching Blind Students). I have obtained the National Certification in Literary Braille, National Orientation and Mobility Certification, National Certification in Unified English Braille, and completed Immersion Training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. I have been in the field of Special Education for 7 years, 4 of which have been spent in the field of blindness.
Jessica Bimmermann
White Lake, Michigan
LECTURE
As an Orientation and Mobility Specialist or guide dog Mobility Instructor you will at some point in your career be faced with questions such as "Is a guide dog the right mobility aid for this aging client?", or "What happens when a dog dependent client no longer has the physical ability to work a guide dog?"
This lecture will discuss what criteria guide dog schools consider prior to accepting or denying a client, and how as service providers we can help our clients understand what mobility aids are best suited for their needs.
TIME: 45 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this session the participant will have a clearer understanding of what criteria guide dog schools use when selecting clients for a guide dog mobility class, and why it is important to recommend the client choose the appropriate mobility aids for their specific needs to enhance their travel skills.
BIO:
Jessica Bimmermann: Team Supervisor and GDMI at Leader Dogs for the Blind. Purina Certified Pet Weight Coach, and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, Member of Society for Human Resource Management and a Member of American Talent Development.
Received an undergraduate in Behavioral Science from Western International University, and is currently enrolled in a MBA program.
Chris Tabb
Lakeway, Texas
LECTURE
After learning that Audiologists as a standard of practice work to eliminate "noise", the same "noise" that Orientation and Mobility Specialists advocate the use of for orientation to the environment, when prescribing and programming assistive devices for students/clients with dual sensory loss, it became apparent that we need a way to have our two fields work together rather than opposite one another. This session provides tools and strategies for the Orientation and Mobility Specialist to use with the student/client for evaluating and developing auditory skills, as well as for educating and collaborating with the Audiologist, Specialist for the Auditorily Impaired, and the Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) on the environmental hearing needs of the student/client with a dual sensory loss.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn to communicate the auditory needs of individuals with dual sensory loss of both visual impairment and auditory impairment to other specialists whose specialty area is focused on hearing loss. Participants will also learn strategies to evaluate the ability to access auditory information and use auditory skills effectively in various travel environments, as well as strategies to develop these skills.
BIO:
Chris Tabb is an Orientation and Mobility Specialist working to advance independence of students and clients, provide training opportunities and knowledge exchange for professionals and families, and bring accessible information to the community. He is presently employed at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) Outreach Programs as the Statewide Orientation and Mobility Consultant. Chris has worked in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas. He has provided orientation and mobility services in residential programs, as an itinerant, and as a private contractor; he has worked with school age students, adults, and senior populations.
Developmentally Appropriate O&M: Using Play as a Movement Motivator
Tanni Anthony (not yet confirmed)
Denver, Colorado
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
O&M specialists working with young children will benefit from knowledge of both play and motor skill development as separate domains and interactive entities. This session will highlight seven types of play that occur between ages birth through six years, common motor development challenges associated with pediatric blindness/visual impairment, and key play strategies to address and enhance a child's concept and motor development for purposes of spatial awareness, quality and endurance of movement, motor milestone attainment, and early cane skills. There will be opportunity to use play props to discuss and brainstorm their role to entice, expand, and refine movement and mobility skills.
How would this be interactive?
interaction with play props / onsite problem solving
Limits in participants?
Yes, probably 30 to 45 max
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- Understand the common early motor / movement development challenges (what and why) typically facing the young child who is blind/visually impaired.
- Identify the seven types of play that young children experience between the ages of birth through six years of age.
- Select age-appropriate play-based interventions to facilitate the self-initiated and expanded / refined motor development.
BIO:
Dr. Tanni Anthony is the Director of the Access, Learning, and Literacy Team of the Exceptional Student Leadership Unit within the Colorado Department of Education. She serves as the State Consultant on Visual Disabilities and the Project Director of the Colorado Services for Children and Youth with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss.
Dr. Anthony received her Ph.D. from the University of Denver in the area of Child and Family Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies. She is a certified teacher of students with visual impairments, low vision therapist, and orientation and mobility specialist. She presents frequently on the topics of sensory disabilities in the early years and working with children and youth with sensory and additional disabilities.
Dawn Werner
Snyder, New York
WORKSHOP (hands-on)
Laughter Yoga is appropriate for all ages and abilities. The session includes gentle stretching, yogic breathing, laughter exercises and meditation. No special clothing or equipment is necessary. A willingness to laugh is essential. A leading motto: Fake it until you make it!
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- Participants will experience the freedom that comes from laughter.
- Participants will reduce stress.
- Participants will learn the joy of communicating laughter to others.
- Participants will learn how to incorporate laughter into their daily lives.
BIO:
Dawn Werner is a proud graduate of Florida State University's O&M program (Hill and Ponder era). She also received her MS from Florida State. After working with Visually Impaired people of all ages, she retired from teaching in order to harass her husband/ travelmate full time. Becoming a Certified Laughter Yoga teacher in 2006, Dawn introduced Laughter Yoga at the Chicago International AER and NYSAER Annual Conferences. She coordinates a weekly Laughter Yoga Club. She and her husband, Craig, introduced Laughter Yoga to Camp Abilities campers, Brockport NY in July 2015.
Dona Sauerburger
Gambrills, Maryland
LECTURE with some hands-on interaction
Independent travelers who are visually impaired need to be able to analyze crossings where there is no traffic control, including recognizing when they don't have enough warning of approaching vehicles ("Situations of Uncertainty").
APH is developing a kit that provides simulation and instruction to help O&M specialists teach their students to analyze these crossings.
This session will briefly explain what Situations of Uncertainty are and why it is so important to be able to recognize and deal with them, and then outline a curriculum which they can use to teach their students to analyze these situations.
Participants will then experience learning some of the concepts and skills needed to recognize Situations of Uncertainty, using simulations from the APH kit.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will
- learn a systematic process for teaching students to analyze uncontrolled crossings;
- learn about an APH kit that can help them teach these skills and concepts;
- experience learning some of these skills with simulation.
BIO:
Dona Sauerburger is a Certified O&M Specialist who has a special interest in street-crossing. She has done workshops and presentations on the topic around the world, and has done research and written articles and co-authored a Foundations of O&M textbook chapter about teaching people with visual impairments to cross streets.
Janet M. Barlow, Lukas Franck
Asheville, North Carolina
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) are being installed in many cities in the US. The specifications for APS in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices changed in 2009, and O&M specialists, rehabilitation teachers and counselors, and vision teachers need to understand the current installation guidelines in order to provide accurate information to their students/clients, and in order to provide feedback to traffic engineers and others about installations. In addition, the Access Board's Proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way should be finalized by the time of this conference. In any case we'll update the attendees on progress of that rulemaking and if it's completed, provide information about what the final rule says.
Even in new installations, there are many issues and problems that need to be resolved and vision professionals need to understand potential problems and solutions and be able to provide accurate information to their students and clients. We'll present some information, then ask participants to share their experiences, ask questions and work together to brainstorm solutions to some difficult installation situations.
explain how the participants might be involved with activities:
We will ask participants to share their experiences, specific intersection questions, etc. If participants don't share issues, we'll have some example intersections where there are some potential installation problems and questions, and get audience participation in looking at solutions in those situations, in small groups if we can.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will be able to:
- list features of APS that their students/clients should know about
- describe placement and functioning of new types of accessible pedestrian signals
- brainstorm practical solutions to installation problems
BIOS:
Janet M. Barlow is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist with extensive experience teaching street crossing skills to pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired. She has worked for the past ten years on research related to accessibility and safety of sidewalks and street crossings to pedestrians with disabilities
Lukas Franck is a dog guide instructor and COMS. He has been working in the field since 1978, and on issues of Environmental Access since 1995 as a member of the Environmental Access Committee of AER's O&M division.
Dr. Gene Bourquin, COMS; Tara Brown-Ogilvie, M.S.Ed., COMS; and Dona Sauerburger, COMS
Sands Point, New York
LECTURE and hands-on feet-in-the-street
This session will share strategies and principles for teaching students who are deaf/hard-of-hearing or deaf-blind to communicate and interact with the public.
Participants will then plan a lesson and go to a nearby store and practice.
TIME: Half-day workshop
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn principles for students who are deaf or deaf-blind communicating effectively with the public, and practice the skills.
BIO:
Dr. Eugene Bourquin is a native New Yorker who works at the national center on deafblindness in suburban New York (HKNC), and has served as a senior instructor, supervisor, coordinator, and director in programs providing services to individuals who are deafblind. He also worked as the O&M specialist and travel instructor for more than a decade at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City. Gene has lectured internationally and nationally on topics related to drivers’ yielding, sign interpretation, and communication and mobility with deafblind people. He maintains his COMS certifications; he formerly held a CLVT certification and two national certifications in sign language interpretation. Gene has published regularly regarding travelers who are deafblind and drivers' yielding and enjoys teaching in personnel prep programs at Salus University and Ratchasuda College, Mahidol University, Thailand.
Tara Brown-Ogilvie is a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS) at The Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf and Blind in Sands Point, NY. She specializes in working with Deaf-Blind adults in the areas of orientation & mobility, vision rehabilitation, and sign language interpreting. Tara has co-published in the Council for Exceptional Children: Division on Visual Impairments along with excerpts in the textbook Student Perspectives: Personal and Professional Impact in Service Learning.
Dona Sauerburger is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist.
She has a special interest in teaching people who are deaf-blind to travel independently.
On this topic, she has written articles and co-authored a textbook chapter, conducted research, and produced a videotape.
In 1994 she received the AER Warren Bledsoe Publications Award for her book Independence Without Sight or Sound: Suggestions for Practitioners Working with Deaf-Blind Adults.
Dr. Gene Bourquin, COMS, Dr. Rob Wall Emerson, COMS
New York, New York
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Pedestrians must be able to analyze levels of risk in order to make decisions about street crossings, such as considering how much risk is acceptable Assessing the level of risk can include determining the likelihood that drivers will yield to a pedestrian. Research has looked at drivers' yielding habits at roundabouts and other uncontrolled crossings but very little research has been done at signalized crossings where traffic is turning and is supposed to yield to pedestrians crossing. We previously presented on the effect of some pedestrian behaviors on driver yielding (control, cane present, flagging, hand up and reversible step) and are currently extending that research to consider additional behaviors such as "looking" at the vehicle. This presentation will review the historical data as context to the current experiments' findings and look at ways orientation and mobility specialists can incorporate the finding into their teaching.
We'd like to try to develop this for an on the street session, in combination with some overview lecture/presentation but are a little uncertain about that and would appreciate the program committee's advice. Obviously if we doing something on the street, we need a lot more time and have to limit the size of the group. Whether we can do it on the street will also depend on finding sites that are appropriate for demonstrating and practicing the ideas near the hotel.
If we just do a lecture, we'd like there to be some discussion and brainstorming of how to use these ideas with clients/students, as well as some demonstration of the various techniques.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- discus and enumerate current O&M specialists' practices related to drivers yielding
- review studies on drivers' yielding and discuss results
- introduce recent findings on drivers' yielding at typical crosswalks
- discuss practical implications of research findings
BIO:
Dr. Eugene Bourquin is a native New Yorker who works at the national center on deafblindness in suburban New York. He has lectured internationally and nationally on topics related to travel and deafblind people. Dr. Bourquin is published on various topics: deafblind people including children in Thailand, drivers' yielding, and sign language interpreting. He maintains certification as a COMS and CLVT, and holds two national certificates in sign language interpretation. He is co-author of the Foundations of O&M chapter on students with vision and hearing loss.
Dr. Wall Emerson is a professor in the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies at Western Michigan University. Dr. Wall Emerson has been an itinerant vision teacher, a certified orientation and mobility specialist, and researcher in the blindness field for 23 years. Originally from Canada, Dr. Wall Emerson has spent the last 17 years living and working in the United States. Dr. Wall Emerson has been involved in projects in a wide range of topics including brain plasticity in braille reading, how low frequency sound is used in blind navigation, how long cane biomechanics change as people learn cane skills, the accessibility of complex intersections for blind pedestrians, the development of literacy skills in young blind children, the availability of braille and large print in the United States, the impact of low vision devices on reading skills, and the impact of quieter vehicles on blind pedestrians.
Sue W. Martin, MA
Springville, AL
LECTURE
This is a story about rebuilding life after traumatic blindness. It's a story of crippling depression culminating in a suicide attempt. It's a story of how my O&M instructor changed my life. He taught me to use a cane, yes, but he taught me much more than that.
From the very beginning I was captivated. The intensity in his voice as he explained what he could teach me convinced me that this course of instruction was going to change my life. Well, I had made rather a mess of my life up until that point and it was about time for some change.
I have to admit that I was also intimidated. Recognizing my craving for independence coupled with the fear of my future as a person who is blind, my instructor gave me exactly what I needed. It was complete immersion. I loved it that he taught me not just how to do things, but why I was to do things in a certain way. Then he added another element to my training. He taught me to get there, yes, then he taught me to get there gracefully. Eventually I traveled, and still travel with grace and confidence.
My O&M instructor challenged me. He didn't explain traffic patterns, he taught me to figure them out. He didn't always give me the answers, he taught me to seek answers, to formulate theories, to figure out what to do to prove or disprove theories, to work through problems until I reached a solution. Through my O&M instruction I learned a new approach to life.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will gain an understanding of:
- The basic thought patterns of someone who is in a suicidal crisis
- The impact they, as orientation and mobility instructors, can have on their student(s) lives.
- Having attempted suicide is not a life sentence. Nor does it bestow immunity.
BIO:
Since the publication of her book, Out of the Whirlpool, a memoir of remorse and reconciliation, Sue W. Martin has been on a mission. Martin spoke, by invitation, at the Library of Congress in October. She told her audience,
"We have no problem discussing visible disabilities like cancer or blindness, but suicide and depression are hidden disabilities. If you have a hidden disability, no one is going to refer you to a professional for help. You have to admit the problem and ask for help. We have to break the silence."
In her mid twenties Sue Martin was deeply depressed. Always striving for perfection, she had failed. She felt she had failed in marriage, business, socially,
economically, in short, she felt she had failed at everything. When she thought she had no other option she put a loaded gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Things had been bad. Then they got worse, immeasurably worse. Martin felt she had lost everything, her entire way of life.
Putting life back together was not easy but she did it. With the teaching of two excellent rehabilitation professionals Martin learned the skills and attitudes she needed to live her new life. She went on to earn a masters degree in blind rehab and worked in the field for over twenty years.
Martin now works for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the Office of Information & Technology.
Martin lives with her husband and assorted cats and dogs in the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau. She enjoys writing, taking long walks and hikes with her Seeing Eye Dog, and growing her houseplants and herbs.
Linda Chung, CVRT
La Canada, California
First-time presenter at a large conference
WORKSHOP (Hands-on)
Have you wondered how to assist your student in the school's marching band? In this hands-on session, you will learn techniques used by the Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band. Staying in step, formation, and maintaining orientation on the field and in parades will be taught.
how the participants might be involved with activities:
Participants will be learning how to march and maintain orientation with blindfolds or under simmulation and learn alternative teaching strategies to assist their students to better advocate for their own needs in and outside of class. Please see the Learning Objectives below.
Limits in participants?
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
-
Using auditory, visual, and tactual senses to maintain one's orientation getting on and off the field, during field performances, and before, during, and after parade routes.
- Spatial awareness of maintaining rows and proper spacing among other band members.
- Staying in step and in rhythm using orientation clues and cues (visual/auditory/tactual with feet); counting and remembering beats and steps to take before turns or other maneuvers.
- Learn to march forwards, backwards, and make 90 degree turns and teach these skills to your student.
- Learn to pivot while marching and teach these skills to your student.
- Simulate multi-tasking playing instruments and marching while wearing occluders or simulation goggles. (Participants will be paired with other sighted participants for some activities and roles will be reversed).
- Learn to implement basic adaptations for totally blind students (ropes, sighted assistants, tapping on back, etc).
- Learning basic adaptations for low vision students (marching on particular side, using colored tape underfoot or on instruments as needed).
- Suggestions on what to do with cane/dog guide while marching; how students can incorporate dog guides in parades; learning to use cane in non-dominant hand for some tasks; learning other techniques when a cane cannot be used.
- Keeping open communication with band director as needed once initial instruction has been provided by the O&M instructor.
-
· Marching band promotes these O&M and life skills: Music (memorization, counting, mathematics), exercise, using all senses, teamwork, time management, asking for public assistance when lost, using cane skills or dog guide when traveling to new cities/towns for band competitions or parades, money management skills when purchasing food, and promotes confidence, creativity, and independence!
BIO:
Linda Chung graduated from Western Michigan University in 2005 with a Master's degree in Vision Rehabilitation Therapy after completing her BA in sociology from Westmont College in 2004.
She was a CVRT with the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired's Adult Services and worked at University of Vermont's Academic Support Programs primarily with deaf and Hard of Hearing students.
In 2008 Linda became the first itinerant CVRT in rural Central and South Central Kentucky working with Office for the Blind and private consumers.
Linda has been on several state and national task force committees including the Vermont Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired and American Council of the Blind's Guide Dog Users, Inc.
In 2010 Linda received an award for dedicated service from the Kentucky Chapter of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER).
Last November 2013 she joined AER's University Review Committee.
Currently Linda is completing her Graduate Certificate in Orientation and Mobility at the University of Arkansas Little Rock.
She founded Pacific Christian School for the Deaf and Blind in May 2014.
Cynthia Greenacre, COMS, PhD
Richmond, Virginia
LECTURE
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
BIO:
Cynthia L Greenacre, PhD COMS, CLVT, CVRT
Has been a Polytrauma Blind/Vision Rehabilitation Specialist at McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia for over 7 years. Her patients with vision impairment/blindness often have multiple disabilities, such as brain injury, cognitive disabilities or hearing impairment or multiple forms of trauma including blast injury incurred during military service. Dr. Greenacre holds certifications, and supporting degree work, in Orientation and Mobility, Low Vision, Vision Rehabilitation, Brain Injury, and special education certificates/endorsements in Vision Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Learning Disabilities, Mental Disabilities and Cross Categorical/Multiple Disabilities. She has been working with special needs populations with vision impairment and cognitive deficits/brain injury since 1988.
Cynthia Greenacre, COMS, PhD
Richmond, Virginia
LECTURE
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
BIO:
Cynthia L Greenacre, PhD COMS, CLVT, CVRT
Has been a Polytrauma Blind/Vision Rehabilitation Specialist at McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia for over 7 years. Her patients with vision impairment/blindness often have multiple disabilities, such as brain injury, cognitive disabilities or hearing impairment or multiple forms of trauma including blast injury incurred during military service. Dr. Greenacre holds certifications, and supporting degree work, in Orientation and Mobility, Low Vision, Vision Rehabilitation, Brain Injury, and special education certificates/endorsements in Vision Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Learning Disabilities, Mental Disabilities and Cross Categorical/Multiple Disabilities. She has been working with special needs populations with vision impairment and cognitive deficits/brain injury since 1988.
Paul H. Olson and Gord Hudek
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Paul Olson assisted Ambutech in putting the Dakota tip into production but has no financial arrangement with them.
Gord Hudek is CFO for Ambutech, which is producing the tip.
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Participants with an interest in rural travel and travel over snow covered ground will learn about the advantages of using the Dakota Disc tip to negotiate challenging surfaces. The design of this disc shaped tip allows the user to receive superior feedback about the surface as it glides over uneven terrain without becoming lodged.
I will cover the reasons why I developed this tip and how I suggested the development with Ambutech
I will cover how the design changed over time to make it as light and functional as possible over multiple surfaces.
I will also review it potential use with children and individuals who may struggle to use a cane with a regular tip.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
- Participants with an interest in rural travel and travel over snow covered ground will learn about the advantages of using the Dakota Disc tip to negotiate challenging surfaces.
- Participants will also learn how this tip along with a regular cane may be an alternative to pre-cane or alternative mobility devices for children and individuals with other disabilities.
- Each participants will be provided the opportunity to walk over several surfaces with this tip.
BIO:
Paul Olson M.A. Ed, COMS, CVLT
is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and has been employed at North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind in various capacities throughout his career. He currently is the Superintendent of this state agency that serves both children and adults. One of Paul’s career highlights was the development of the O&M game “Treks” with the American Printing House for the Blind. He is married and has three children.
Gord Hudek
holds a B. Comm (Hons) degree from the University of Manitoba and is a CPA.
With over 40 years' experience in a manufacturing setting ranging from soft drinks to heavy equipment, he also holds a Yellow Belt in LEAN Manufacturing principles from the CME.
During the last 13 years as CFO for Ambutech and Melet Plastics in Winnipeg, MB and Fargo, ND, Gord has been involved in working with O&M specialists and consumers to develop mobility aids such as the Alternative Mobility Device and the Dakota Disc. Currently he is considering a redesigned Bundu Basher cane tip, among other things. He is married with 3 adult children.
Joseph Cioffi and Billie Louise Bentzen
Minneapolis, MN
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Joe Cioffi is CEO of ClickAndGo;
Beezy Bentzen is Senior Advisor/Consultant
interactive session (discussions/brainstorming)
Few of the numerous wayfinding systems for VI people have met with wide-spread success for one or more of the following reasons: they require that users purchase and maintain expensive technology; that users master a complex interface; and/or that properties purchase, install and maintain devices. ClickAndGo is the first accessible wayfinding technology to seamlessly bridge indoor and outdoor environments. It is free for users, who access the wayfinding information using any web interface they have and prefer, or any telephone, using interactive voice response. All wayfinding data is also delivered via iPhone and Android apps. Properties do not need to purchase, install or maintain any devices; they only pay a modest cost to use the ClickAndGo system and to have as extensive a database compiled as they choose.
ClickAndGo is a patented accessible cloud-based wayfinding and navigation technology for visually impaired travelers. The system includes route directions, virtual tours, and low vision maps, that are customized with features especially helpful to visually impaired travelers such as changes in texture or slope, as well as acoustic landmarks. The C&G system can also deliver real-time location-specific messaging using i-beacon technology. Unique to ClickAndGo is the user option for pre-journey exploration and learning of any venue. Travelers can take a virtual tour, or become familiar with a walking route or information about specific intersections before leaving their home. The database can also be customized for other user groups such as travelers who use wheelchairs.
The full range of ClickAndGo elements and capabilities will be demonstrated in the session.
ClickAndGo is a useful tool for O&M specialists, whether or not it is currently available for venues traveled by present clients. A database of narrative maps can be created for areas and routes typically used by an instructor. Individual folders can be created for clients, keeping their personal routes easily accessible. Individual folders can be maintained as long as visually impaired travelers care to use them. There can even be an option for individuals to store their own "self-described routes" into that private folder.
ClickAndGo is now in use in transit facilities, universities, public buildings including government buildings, hotels and parks.
TIME: 75 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn how excellent verbal directions (narrative maps) compiled by O&Mers, become part of a cloud database of wayfinding information that is available free via ClickAndGo to any traveler using any web interface they already have and use, including iPhone and Android apps, and by any kind of telephone using interactive voice response. They will learn the many uses of this system, including both travel planning and step-by-step directions between landmarks, from transit and central business districts to universities and other public venues, to narrative maps created for and stored by individual users.
BIO:
Joseph Cioffi, M.Ed.
Joe Cioffi worked as an orientation and mobility specialist for over 30 years, specializing in work with deafblind clients. His experience includes supervising the O&M and Low Vision departments at the Helen Keller National Center in the 90's, directing the first Masters level O&M program in Thailand, and providing numerous workshops and trainings on deafblindness nationally and internationally. In 1990, he founded InTouch Graphics, which has been a leading designer of tactile maps for over 20 years. In 2010, he founded ClickAndGo Wayfinding.
Billie Louise Bentzen, COMS, Ph.D.
Beezy Bentzen is an orientation and mobility specialist, having taught people who are visually impaired to travel independently for more than 30 years. She is best known for her research on ways to improve environmental access for people who are visually impaired including such means as large print, tactile, and electronic signs, audible signs, tactile maps, accessible pedestrian signals, visual contrast, detectable warnings, and various wayfinding technologies.
Joy Bieder
Bronxville, NY
First-time presenter at a large conference
LECTURE / INTERACTIVE SESSION
As an Itinerant TVI, COMS, CVRT, I wear many hats, see a variety of clients, carry numerous forms, documents, and equipment, and am on the go all the time. It is important to keep up with the paperwork in order tto track progress, address goals, retrieve information in a timely manner, schedule appointments, and get paid….and there is always a possibility of being audited. I was audited through NYS Early Intervention services and would like to share my experience with the group. As teachers, we teach organizational skills to our clients but may find it hard to practice what we preach. How you organize yourself is a personal preference, however, certain documents and procedures are protocol and I would like to offer some ideas and share best practices.
TIME: 45
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will
- learn and share strategies for organizing pertinent documents related to their caseload.
- learn what to expect and how to be prepared for an audit of your files.
BIO:
I am a TVI, COMS, and CVRT in NY. I work throughout NYC and the lower Hudson Valley. Work with infants through adults through early intervention and NYS Commission for the Blind. Full time TVI/COMS of New Rochelle school district
Jamie Maffit, MS, COMS, CLVT, Assistant Professor & Coordinator, O&M Program, Salus University
Fabiana Perla, EdD, COMS, CLVT, Associate Professor & Director, O&M Program Chair, Department of Blindness & Low Vision Studies,
Salus University
LECTURE
This presentation discusses the use of O&M portfolios by children with visual impairments and their potential to promote student ownership and improve teacher-family communication.
There is evidence in the education literature that creating portfolios can help students assume more responsibility for their learning. During the portfolio development process, students are asked to reflect on, summarize and interpret learning in their own words. By making it "theirs" (i.e., relevant to them and their lives), this process can promote a sense of pride and ownership of their O&M experience. In addition, sharing their work and accomplishments with others can have significant impact on student self-advocacy, and assist in opening a dialogue with family members and administrators.
In this presentation, suggested uses of a mobility portfolio will be discussed, illustrated with concrete examples from real students. Suggestions for constructing O&M portfolios that match the style, level of ability, and needs of various students, including the use of multimedia or electronic portfolios, will also be presented.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will:
- Become familiar with the concept of student-created portfolios and their purpose
- Identify key reasons why student portfolios are well suited for the field of O&M
- Learn practical ways to incorporate this tool into their practice and tailor it to the needs and preferences of their individual students.
BIO:
Fabiana Perla has been teaching Orientation and Mobility for over 20 years. She is currently chair of the Dept. of Blindness and Low Vision Studies at Salus University and directs their O&M program. Her main interests include working with families and promoting shared ownership of the learning experience.
Jamie Maffit is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies and Coordinator of the Orientation and Mobility program at Salus University. She is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and Low Vision Therapist who has worked with both adults and children in the Philadelphia Metro region.
Charlotte Tompkins, Margaret Wilson, and Elizabeth Armstrong
Mineola Texas
LECTURE
Elizabeth Armstrong is a 10th grade student who has albinism. She experienced severe harassment and bullying in middle school. She became very depressed, withdrawn, and started cutting herself. With the help of her VI teacher, she began talking to organized groups of students in her school about her condition in an attempt to help people understand her disability and then become more accepting of her and others with albinism. She wrote articles that were published in Scholastic Magazine, NOAH Insight magazine, and Texas SensAbilities. She participated in many Expanded Core Curriculum events such as Night of SuperStars and the First Annual Whitehouse Student Film Festival and won Honorable Mention out of 2500 entries across the United States. She was selected as the Success Student of the Year for Texas Council of Special Education Administrators and participated in the Carolyn Garrett Leadership Conference in Austin Texas. She has been awarded honors at her high school and the Tyler ISD school board. She has presented at the Texas AER conference in Arlington Texas March of 2015. She is currently employed at a local restaurant.
She has a unique and life changing story that will encourage teachers to participate fully in the Expanded Core Curriculum, which can provide opportunities for students to develop socially, build confidence and employability skills.
TIME: 60 minutes
BIO:
Charlotte Tompkins is an educational diagnostican, teacher of the visually impaired and COMS in Tyler Texas. She has been in education for over 30 years.
Margaret Wilson has been a COMS for 25 years in the east Texas area.
Elizabeth Armstrong will be an 11th grader at the time of the presentation. She is a student with Albinism who has made great strides since middle school ( having several articles published in several different publications - Scholastic Magazine, NOAH Insight, and Texas Sensabilities)personally, academically, and emotionally by participating in Expanded Core Curriculum activities. She has spoken to several groups since 8th grade and has a very unique and interesting story .
Diane Brauner & Ed Summers
Pittsboro, NC
Half-Day pre-conference workshop -- Part I: LECTURE; Part II: WORKSHOP
Join a successful tech-savvy blind traveler and a veteran COMS as they share how to use technology to enable independent travel in a variety of specific real-world contexts. For example, finding bus stops, planning a route, building mental models, pedestrian travel in campus environments, etc. You will learn strategies for nurturing curiosity and confidence in young travelers as well as how to use cutting edge technology with students/clients of all ages. Technology topics will include accessible maps, GPS apps, and an exciting new technology that incorporates iBeacons to provide O&M information and accurate positioning for indoor navigation. Part I of this session will be lecture style in the classroom; Part II will include "feet-in-the-street" activities using iBeacons around the conference center. Part II will use iPhones and the free BlindSq Event app, which will be available in the App Store a week prior to the conference.
How will this be interactive? Part I will be lecture style in the classroom; Part II will start in the classroom, moving to "feet-in-the-street" with the iBeacons which will be deployed around the conference center.
NOTE: This session will NOT include learning VoiceOver and will not include all the apps and activities that will be used in the full day session.
TIME: 90 minutes for each Part
OBJECTIVES:
PART I:
- Participants will learn strategies for building mental maps.
- Participants will learn hi-tech strategies for community travel including pedestrian travel in campus environments and automobiles/public transportation.
- Participants will learn how to merge traditional and hi-tech O&M skills.
PART II:
- Participants will learn to use the BlindSq Event app.
- Participants will learn about iBeacon technology and how this technology can be used provide indoor navigation information.
- Participants will learn about indoor navigation and will have the opportunity to use these skills in the conference hotel throughout the conference.
BIO:
Ed Summers is a blind software engineer and an accessibility specialist. He has a B.S. in Computer Science and 20 years of professional experience as a software developer and a development manager. Ed's personal mission is to enable people with disabilities to realize their full potential in the classroom and the 21st century knowledge economy. Ed leads the accessibility team at SAS, the market leader in business analytics software and services that is used at more than 70,000 sites around the world. He is the Chairman of the North Carolina Commission for the Blind. He is also a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education Advisory Council for the Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
Diane Brauner is an educational accessibility consultant working with Perkins School for the Blind to create and manage the Paths to Technology website. Diane continues to collaborate with SAS on a variety of accessibility projects including iPad accessibility trainings. Diane has 25 years experience as a COMS, working primarily with preschool and school-age students. She holds degrees in Rehabilitation, Elementary Education, Visual Impairments, Hearing Impairments, and Orientation and Mobility.
Diane Brauner & Ed Summers
Pittsboro, NC
all-day preconference workshop
Join a successful tech-savvy blind traveler and a veteran COMS for a full day, in-depth session as they share how to use VoiceOver gestures and then how to use technology to enable independent travel in a variety of specific real-world contexts. For example, finding bus stops, planning a route, building mental models, pedestrian travel in campus environments, etc. You will learn strategies for nurturing curiosity and confidence in young travelers as well as how to use cutting edge technology with students/clients of all ages. Technology topics will include accessible maps, GPS apps, functional daily living skill apps, activities to create digital O&M cheat sheets and an exciting new technology that incorporates iBeacons to provide O&M information and accurate positioning for indoor navigation. This session will include hands-on time to using the iBeacons that will be deployed around the conference center. Each participant must have an iPhone and the free BlindSq Event app, which will be available in the App Store a week prior to the conference. Additional recommended apps will be listed on the pre-conference flier.
How might the participants be involved with activities?
This session will be hands-on activities within the classroom followed by feet-in-the-street activities using the BlindSq Event app and iBeacons that will be deployed around the conference center.
Limits in participants?
TIME: All-day preconference workshop
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn -
to use Voiceover screen reader gestures with an iPhone.
- to use technology to develop curiosity, knowledge and mental maps about their community and/or surroundings and to pre-view new environments.
- to use apps to plan and travel routes.
- to use apps for outdoor and indoor navigation.
- to use a core suite of apps that are commonly used for O&M purposes.
- how to teach these apps and strategies to O&M students and clients.
BIO:
Ed Summers is a blind software engineer and an accessibility specialist. He has a B.S. in Computer Science and 20 years of professional experience as a software developer and a development manager. Ed's personal mission is to enable people with disabilities to realize their full potential in the classroom and the 21st century knowledge economy. Ed leads the accessibility team at SAS, the market leader in business analytics software and services that is used at more than 70,000 sites around the world. He is the Chairman of the North Carolina Commission for the Blind. He is also a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education Advisory Council for the Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
Diane Brauner is an educational accessibility consultant working with Perkins School for the Blind to create and manage the Paths to Technology website. Diane continues to collaborate with SAS on a variety of accessibility projects including iPad accessibility trainings. Diane has 25 years experience as a COMS, working primarily with preschool and school-age students. She holds degrees in Rehabilitation, Elementary Education, Visual Impairments, Hearing Impairments, and Orientation and Mobility.
Sarah Bussey and Valery Kircher-Herring, COMS, Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, Virginia
Savannah GA
interactive session (discussions/brainstorming)
The session would engage participants in brainstorming to justify for school districts community based O&M instruction for school aged students. Once justification is shared amongst colleagues we will then discuss ideas for taking students off campus which aligns with school district policies.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
-
Participants will discuss the importance of O&M training in the community for school aged individuals.
-
Participants will discuss methods, strategies and justification when working with school district for taking students off campus for community instruction.
BIO:
Sarah Bussey is a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist, Certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist. She earned her undergraduate degree in Visual Impairments from Florida State University and her two Master’s Degrees in Orientation & Mobility and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy from Hunter College. Over the past, almost, 9 years, Sarah has worked at Perkins School for the Blind, the NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Savannah Center for Blind and Low Vision, Savannah-Chatham School System and is currently employed with Allied Instructional Services as an Instructional Specialist overseeing GA. Sarah has been married to her husband for 7 years and is still beating the odds! They reside in Savannah, GA with their 4 furry children (Sidni, Crash, Divot & Ford). When she’s not working, Sarah enjoys spending time with her hubby, riding bikes, running marathons, traveling and getting lost! Right now since she’s not doing any of the aforementioned activities and she’s letting her students run wild for a couple of days! Sarah’s ready for some fun conversation with fellow O&Mers!
Ms. Kircher-Herrings' current position with DBVI encompasses O&M instruction given to adults to assist with travel in various environments including at an employment site, post high school site, or to travel in their community. Ms. Kircher-Herring has previously worked in a Virginia school system as an O&M instructor.
Daniel R. Simmons, M.Ed., COMS, TVI
Invision Services, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina
LECTURE
Second Sight's Argus II Retinal Prosthesis is an exciting advancement in the field of visual impairment. The Argus II retinal prosthesis (also known as a bionic eye or retinal implant) electrically stimulates the retina causing visual perception. This informative session is will provide an overview of the Argus II's components, controls, and functions. Daniel will share his experiences providing instruction with an Argus II patient, and suggest best practices for service provision. The presentation will end with a brief question and answer session.
First-time presenter at a large conference
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Attendees will
- be able to identify the primary components of the Argus II retinal prosthesis.
- be able to identify the Argus II retinal prosthesis' controls and their respective functions.
- learn suggested best practices for:
- client intake
- assessment
- instructional sequencing
- collaboration/communication with other rehabilitation professionals
BIO:
Daniel Simmons is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, and enjoys the challenges of providing educational and rehabilitation O&M services in North Carolina. Daniel is a graduate of the North Carolina Central University Visual Impairment Training Program, and has a Masters of Education in Visual Impairment, Orientation and Mobility. Currently, Daniel works part-time as a COMS for Invision Services and full-time as itinerant O&M Specialist for Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Additionally, Daniel is the Immediate Past President of the North Carolina Chapter of AER, and Director of Raising Cane, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing physical recreation activities for people with visual impairments. Daniel is married to his wife of 10 years, and they stay busy raising their two daughters.
Janet M. Barlow and Chris Cunningham
Raleigh, NC
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
This session provides an overview of the recently-published guidelinesfor evaluating the accessibility of crosswalks at roundabouts and channelized turn lanes ('slip lanes'). These guidelines were developed as part of a National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project, "Guidelines for the Application of Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities" (NCHRP 03-78b) which provides concepts to understand and evaluate the accessibility of these intersection forms to pedestrians who are blind. The research is expected to be used by engineers and transportation professionals, who are designing roundabouts and channelized turn lanes, but also offers important information to blind travelers and O&M specialists. The research includes ways to assess the effect of crossing treatments that are intended to improve the accessibility of a site, as well as a focus of wayfinding features. A significant portion of the guidelines is also focused on general design principles that are likely to enhance the accessibility of a site through reduced vehicle speeds, increased driver yielding, and enhanced visibility of the crosswalk. In addition, examples can be shared from the research at 16 different roundabout crossings and 12 channelized turn lane crossings, both of designs that seemed effective and ineffective, and actions and strategies used by blind pedestrians participating in the research.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
-
The participants will learn about national guidelines for evaluating roundabout accessibility for engineers and transportation professionals, which will help the audience better understand and relate to the design process of roundabouts and other intersection forms.
- Participants will learn about performance of blind pedestrians at crossings of roundabouts and channelized turn lanes and techniques that may be helpful
BIO:
Janet M. Barlow is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and has extensive experience working with adults who are blind or who have low vision in a rehabilitation center setting. With Accessible Design for the Blind, she is currently involved in research on street crossings and accessibility issues. Janet is chair of the Environmental Access Committee of the Orientation and Mobility Division of AER.
Chris Cunningham is a researcher at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), who has worked on research with an accessibility focus for over 10 years.
He has assisted on several National Cooperative Highway Research Program, National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Sciences, and Federal Highway Administration projects dealing with accessibility issues.
Maria E. Delgado
Louisville, KY
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
Maria Delgado is an employee of the American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. (Field Services Rep.)
LECTURE
For over 150 years, the American Printing House for the Blind has developed products for individuals of all ages. This presentation will give an overview of some of our customer's favorite O&M products. The presentation will include low tech as well as hi tech products, and everything in between. Participants can expect to see tactile maps, tactile drawing tools, games, exploration software, and GPS apps.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will learn:
- How virtual exploration products, may provide VI users useful information typically acquired by sighted persons through incidental learning when they look at maps, street signs, and signage on buildings.
- How tactile products, may assists in the development of cognitive mapping skills by helping students who are visually impaired and blind perceive and organize their physical environment.
- How playing games, can make learning O and M concepts both, challenging and enjoyable.
BIO:
Maria Delgado is a native of Mexico. She became totally blind after graduating from High School at the age of 19.
She attended a rehabilitation program in Louisville, KY, and after finishing this program, she trained in New York with her first guide-dog and months later attended college. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Communications.
Her former work experience ranges from hosting a bilingual radio show, to testing web pages and applications for accessibility. She is also a Level I Legal Interpreter and a certified Medical Interpreter.
Currently she works as a Spanish Translator for the University of Kentucky and as a Field Services Rep. for the American Printing House for the Blind.
Christopher M. Cunningham, PE, Raleigh, NC and Janet Barlow, COMS, Asheville, NC
LECTURE and FEET-IN-THE-STREET
This workshop will focus on signalized intersections and the variations in how they work and how that should affect what we teach. Presenters and workshop attendees will discuss how intersection phasing and timing relates to crossing by pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired, and techniques and modifications to address issues identified. We'll go out to some nearby intersections and talk through their timing from a traffic engineering perspective and from the perspective of an individual who is blind or with low vision with a focus on effective techniques and strategies.
TIME: Half day workshop with some discussion indoors, experience on the street with different signals and additional discussion
Limited to 20 people
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will be able to discuss:
- the basics of traffic signal phasing with particular emphasis on left turn signal phasing options
- the traffic engineering perspective on intersection phasing and timing
- pedestrian pushbuttons and how they affect the timing of signals
- effective techniques that can be used by blind and low vision pedestrians at signalized intersections, as well as techniques that are now outdated and should no longer be taught due to the changes in traffic signal timing and traffic engineering practice
BIO:
Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham is a researcher at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), who has worked on research with an accessibility focus for over 10 years.
He has assisted on several National Cooperative Highway Research Program, National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Sciences, and Federal Highway Administration projects dealing with accessibility issues.
Janet M. Barlow is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and has extensive experience working with adults who are blind or who have low vision in a rehabilitation center setting. With Accessible Design for the Blind, she is currently involved in research on street crossings and accessibility issues. Janet is chair of the Environmental Access Committee of the Orientation and Mobility Division of AER.
Christopher Cunningham, Janet Barlow, and Kevin Hollinger
Raleigh, NC
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
This session focuses on several new alternative intersections being considered by the transportation engineering profession across the country. Termed "unconventional" or "alternative", these intersections do not take the form of a normal signalized intersection and require an understanding of how they work to teach crossing and wayfinding to the visually impaired. Just like the roundabout, which used to be considered one of these innovative intersection types, there are challenges to understanding how they work and when it is safe to cross. In many cases, an O&M instructor may tell their client to cross somewhere else to ignore the intersection, when in fact it is actually safer to cross. And in some cases, there concerns are warranted. This workshop will explain the concepts of these intersection types and their impact on wayfinding and crossing. Based on past presentations, there is little doubt there will be lots of questions!
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will learn about unusual and innovative intersection forms that are being constructed across the US, things they should consider when teaching O&M from a wayfinding and crossing standpoint, and the positive and negative aspects as they relate to people crossing that may have visual impairments.
BIO:
Chris Cunningham is a researcher at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), who has worked on accessibility research with a focus for over 10 years. He was the assisted on several National Cooperative Highway Research Program National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Sciences, and Federal Highway Administration projects dealing with accessibility issues.
Janet M. Barlow is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and has extensive experience working with adults who are blind or who have low vision in a rehabilitation center setting. With Accessible Design for the Blind, she is currently involved in research on street crossings and accessibility issues. Janet is chair of the Environmental Access Committee of the Orientation and Mobility Division of AER.
Kevin Hollinger is a National Board Certified Teacher in Visual Impairments, a Certified O&M Specialist and a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. Kevin has been the Director of the Summer Orientation & Mobility and Adapted Living Resource program (S.O.A.R. - St. Louis) for the past 9 years. He is currently the Past-Chair of the O&M Division of AERBVI, a current ACVREP Board Member, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Lindenwood University.
Heather MacKenzie
Louisville, KY
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
I am an employee with American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., the developer of Nearby Explorer.
LECTURE
While there are many off-the-shelf GPS applications available, both on dedicated devices and as apps on a phone, none provide the kind of details a traveler who is blind requires.
Information that can readily be obtained through observation of the landscape and environmental signage is not available to the blind traveler. In addition, the method of delivery must occur in a way that does not overwhelm the treveler.
This presentation describes the tools, techniques, and philosophy used to develop Nearby Explorer, an Android based full featured GPS system for users who are blind.
TIME: 45 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
-
The participants will learn about both the interface barriers to off-the-shelf GPS apps and the kinds and methods of delivery of environmental information not readily available to a blind traveler.
BIO:
Heather MacKenzie is the Technology Program Manager at APH. She graduated from Indiana University Southeast with a B.S in Computer Science and B.A in Spanish. She later graduated from the University of Louisville with a M.A in Spanish. Heather has worked in the field of technology for 15 years and has taken on the role of Software Developer, Business Analyst, and Project Manager.
Mickey Damelio
Tallahassee, Florida
LECTURE with interaction and audience collaboration
Behavior is a particular passion of mine. When working with children with disabilities I've often used skills in behavior science to modify behavior that was found to be objectionable in a student, or create new skills that didn't previously exist.
I'll outline the basic science of behavior, giving a refresher to people that may feel a bit rusty, then give specific stories and ideas on how I've used the science covered to work with students with visual impairments. I've worked with students with multiple disabilities often and have a number of successes and failures that I can share with participants so that we can all become better practitioners.
Audience members will be encouraged to share their own interventions for particular students.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn the fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis, and the science of behavior. They will learn strategies that have worked and not worked for me in specific scenarios that will likely be familiar to a practitioner. Participants will learn from each other additional strategies.
BIO:
Mickey Damelio is the Orientation and Mobility Coordinator for the Florida State University Program in Visual Impairments. Additionally, he works as a teacher of the visually impaired, and orientation and mobility specialist for Leon County Schools in Tallahassee, Florida where he was awarded teacher of the year for the 2007-2008 school year.
He's traveled multiple times internationally to countries like India and Vietnam working with people at schools and agencies for the blind assisting them to become better visual impairment professionals.
He earned his Master's degree in teaching students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility from Florida State University. He currently is the chair of the board of directors of ACVREP the organization certifying most visual impairment professionals in the US and abroad.
Mickey Damelio
Tallahassee, Florida
LECTURE
Working with young children with visual impairments, I've found it can be easy to lose track of what typical motor development looks like. Knowing what is typical is fundamental to recognizing needs in our students. This lecture will focus on the typical developmental timeline of a little person, and then we'll discuss where milestones can become delayed and the theories as to why. Next we'll talk about how we might as professionals scaffold the learning so that the delays are minimized or prevented.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn the basics of motor development in preschool children. They will learn about common delays in children in visual impairment and how to prevent or minimize them.
BIO:
Mickey Damelio is the Orientation and Mobility Coordinator for the Florida State University Program in Visual Impairments. Additionally, he works as a teacher of the visually impaired, and orientation and mobility specialist for Leon County Schools in Tallahassee, Florida where he was awarded teacher of the year for the 2007-2008 school year.
He's traveled multiple times internationally to countries like India and Vietnam working with people at schools and agencies for the blind assisting them to become better visual impairment professionals.
He earned his Master's degree in teaching students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility from Florida State University. He currently is the chair of the board of directors of ACVREP the organization certifying most visual impairment professionals in the US and abroad.
Dona Sauerburger, COMS
Gambrills, Maryland
Interactive full-day workshop
Independent travelers who are visually impaired need to be able to analyze crossings where there is no traffic control, including recognizing when they don't have enough warning of approaching vehicles ("Situations of Uncertainty") and objectively considering the risks of crossing there.
This workshop will cover a comprehensive, systematic curriculum for helping their students gain the skills and concepts they need to deal with these crossings.
Participants will learn these through interactive/hands-on experiences such as using traffic simulations which were developed for an APH program; videos of students learning the skills; and in-the-street experience analyzing the risks of crossing.
How the participants might be involved with activities?
Among other things, participants will:
- gain intuitive understanding of their own crossing time,
- use simulation to learn to judge warning time of approaching vehicles;
- work with a team to go to a street and assess the risks of crossing;
- practice scanning techniques to look for vehicles.
TIME: All day
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn AND experience a training curriculum that can be used with their students to teach skills and concepts needed for crossings with no traffic control.
BIO:
Dona Sauerburger, COMS is a Certified O&M Specialist who has a special interest in street-crossing and developed this curriculum through decades of teaching students to deal with uncontrolled crossings.
She has conducted dozens of workshops and presentations around the world, done research, wrote articles and co-authored a Foundations of O&M textbook chapter as well as developed an on-line course about teaching people with visual impairments to cross streets with no traffic control.
Diane Brauner
This workshop will take a Sneak Peek at the soon-to-be-launched Paths to Technology, a Perkins website designed to assist educators, families and students to learn and stay current on ever-changing technology for students with visual impairments and blindness. Want to know more about technology options for students with low vision? The latest accessibility features in iOS 9? The best educational Android apps? How to start teaching JAWS? How to use BlindSquare and other Hi-Tech O&M ideas? Ask a question. Share your teaching hints and fun activities. Join the Paths to Technology community of practice, where you can learn, ask questions and share technology related information!
OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn
- how to perform basic and advances searches in order to find specific types of posts on the Paths to Technology website.
- how to share information, post questions and answers, and how to rate apps on the Paths to Technology website.
- about the Student section and how to encourage their students with VIB to actively access, register and post within the student section.
BIO:
Diane Brauner is an educational accessibility consultant working with Perkins School for the Blind to create and manage the Paths to Technology website. Diane continues to collaborate with SAS on a variety of accessibility projects including iPad accessibility trainings. Diane has 25 years experience as a COMS, working primarily with preschool and school-age students. She holds degrees in Rehabilitation, Elementary Education, Visual Impairments, Hearing Impairments, and Orientation and Mobility.
Dr. Dawn Anderson, Dr. Rob Wall Emerson, Julie Maner and Loreta Martinez-Cargo
Western Michigan University, Holland, Michigan
Interactive half-day workshop
This session will explore the importance of an O&M assessment process that is performed in a standard way across professionals including the use an assessment tool that has clear protocols for administration and scoring. An effective assessment tool will need to be determined to be valid and reliable and widely implemented with results that are trusted. When we as professionals have done this work we will then have the tools in place to measure the efficacy of O&M training.
We will unveil the new O&M Skills Inventory for children ages birth through six and train professionals in it's use.
Then as a group, we will set to work on the O&M Skills Inventory to refine and improve the items so that together we agree on the items to be included and ensure that the instruction and scoring protocols clear and free from misinterpretation. The session will end with a time for sharing tips for using the assessment and presenting of results in professional reports.
How the participants might be involved with activities?
Participants will give feedback from their experience as we review the O&M Skills Inventory. Input from experienced users and professionals in the field of O&M will serve to strengthen the content validity of the instrument. So the work we do together will refine a promising tool for assessment in the field of O&M for both kids and adults.
They will also practice using the New O&M Skills Inventory for Children Birth Through Six Years of Age.
TIME: Half-day
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will
- Explore the efficacy of O&M instruction.
- Discuss how we currently measure and report progress.
- Introduce the new O&M Skills Inventory for children birth to six and review protocols for use of the inventory.
- Discuss the process for testing validity and reliability of assessment tools and what steps need to be taken to do that work.
BIO:
Dawn Anderson, PhD, COMS, TVI, is an assistant professor at WMU and coordinates the TCVI and O&M with children programs. She spent 20 years teaching children and adults with visual impairment and has additional training in, Assessment, Montessori and early development of language and movement. Her research includes reliability and validity testing of the Michigan Severity Rating Scales and analysis of data from the SEELS data set looking at the efficacy of O&M instruction and associations between O&M instruction and demonstration of skills and the factors related to reading and math skills for student with visual impairment. Her current research with Rob Wall Emerson focuses on image description in math and science for students with visual impairment.
Rob Wall Emerson is a professor in the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies at Western Michigan University. He is not known to bite and can, on occasion, be downright friendly.
Sue Glaser & Andrea Wallace
Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired, Tampa, Florida
LECTURE with some interaction and hands-on activities
Goalball originated in 1946 as a sport for veterans who lost their sight in World War II. It was then introduced in 1976 as a competitive sport at the Paralympic Games in Toronto. Students who are visually impaired and mainstreamed in general education classrooms often miss the opportunity to participate in competitive sports with their peers. Goalball can increase students' opportunity to play a sport with their peers since all players are blindfolded. This helps level the playing field since everyone is required to rely on the same senses to play. Not only does goalball provide students who are visually impaired with a physical recreation activity, but the sport also reinforces many skills within the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), such as orientation and mobility, self-determination, social, career education, sensory efficiency, daily living and compensatory.
Since goalball is a team sport it can be difficult to implement in districts that serve students on an itinerant basis. The Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI) has been working with goalball coaches from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (FSDB), the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), and Florida Association for Blind Athletes (FABA) to train teachers of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility instructors, physical education teachers, and support staff throughout Florida to introduce goalball to students who are visually impaired. The trainings consist of suggestions and strategies for the school districts and community rehabilitation providers (CRP) to implement this sport with a limited population of students, including how to play, get a local program started and generate interest among communities.
Included in this presentation is an overview of the sport, how it can be used to reinforce and teach a multitude of areas of the ECC, ideas for local districts or CRPs to get started, and resources to teach the sport.
How the participants might be involved with activities?
Participants may be involved in blindfold activities, such as using sound localization to track a moving goalball, modeling player positions, and demonstrating spatial awareness.
TIME: 90 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will
- learn how goalball can reinforce orientation and mobility skills
- learn how goalball can support growth in other areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum
- learn various ways to implement and teach goalball in their local districts/agencies.
- be exposed to multiple resources to teach the skills needed to play goalball.
- learn strategies to advocate for goalball as a competitive sport within their agency or school district.
- learn an overview of the sport of goalball.
BIO:
Sue Glaser is a Florida certified teacher of students with visual impairments and endorsed orientation and mobility instructor.
Sue taught as a TVI and O&M instructor in Hillsborough County Schools for 12 years while also coordinating several other programs.
She currently coordinates and teaches for Florida State University's Satellite Program in Visual Disabilities, is a teacher on special assignment for the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired, and is the transition coordinator for Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind.
Her responsibilities at FIMC-VI include coordinating statewide events such as, four Florida Regional Braille Challenge competitions and Florida Cane Quest; as well as conducting regional goalball workshops and tournaments.
Andrea Wallace is a certified teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI) and orientation & mobility specialist (COMS). Andrea began her career as a COMS at Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind in Pasco County and then worked as a TVI for Pinellas County Schools. Currently, she works as a district resource teacher for the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired, adjunct instructor for Florida State University's Satellite Program in Visual Disabilities, and transition teacher for the Lighthouse of Pinellas.
Marjie Wood
Austin, Texas
All-day preconference workshop
Participants will learn strategies and techniques to help our wee ones in the early phases of O&M, using hands-on experience to learn how to encourage purposeful movement and the importance of exploration and play.
TIME: all-day preconference workshop
Limits in participants?
Yes -- limit is 20 participants
BIO:
Marjie Wood is a COMS and TVI who's provided O&M services for children at the Texas School for the Blind and as an itinerant for school districts in the Austin area. She has worked with infants and toddlers for over 25 years both in a center-based program and in their homes. Ms. Wood has given presentations and workshops on encouraging purposeful movement in infants and toddlers throughout the US and Canada.
Marjie Wood, M.Ed., COMS, Chris Tabb, COMS, Susan Langendonk, COMS
O&M Hot Topic / Emerging Issues
Who should be responsible for determining if or when a student with a visual impairment will receive an (initial) O&M evaluation? The TVI? The O&M specialist? Have you ever gotten frustrated having to wait to have a student referred for an O&M evaluation or known of a student who graduated from high school without ever receiving any type of O&M service? Come learn what's going on in states that have current O&M laws, how they got to where they are today, and ideas on how you could start the conversation in your area and state.
BIO:
Marjie Wood is a COMS and TVI who's provided O&M services for children at the Texas School for the Blind and as an itinerant for school districts in the Austin area. She has worked with infants and toddlers for over 25 years both in a center-based program and in their homes. Ms. Wood has given presentations and workshops on encouraging purposeful movement in infants and toddlers throughout the US and Canada.
Chris Tabb is an Orientation and Mobility Specialist working to advance independence of students and clients, provide training opportunities and knowledge exchange for professionals and families, and bring accessible information to the community. He is presently employed at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) Outreach Programs as the Statewide Orientation and Mobility Consultant. Chris has worked in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas. He has provided orientation and mobility services in residential programs, as an itinerant, and as a private contractor; he has worked with school age students, adults, and senior populations.
Susan Langendonk has been a certified O&M Specialist for over 35 years, primarily working with the school-aged population and also contracting with the State of Michigan for O&M services for adults. She is the current Chair of the AER O&M Division and has worked with the O&M Division ad hoc committee on OT/PT/O&M Scope of Practice as well as the AER Licensure Task Force.
Mike May
Sendero Group, Davis, California
Financial connection with any products or services highlighted in the session?
I am an accessibility consultant for Uber.
LECTURE
One of the hottest topics in the news these days as well as a life-changing app on our smartphones, is Uber. This is the leading ride share service which is changing the way people get around in more than 300 cities in 58 countries.
The benefits of this service to be covered in this presentation are:
- Fast reliable service.
- Reliably going to the correct destination on the most efficient route.
- Safety.
- Safe accurate payment.
- Good expense reports.
- Accountability about taking guide dogs.
- Clean and comfortable.
- Cheaper.
Once a person signs up with a credit card and registration details, they can quickly use Uber to get a ride within minutes in a safe, professional and convenient manner. Payment is automatically handled by the credit card after one arrives at the destination. The user can rate their driver, make comments or report issues easily through the app and there will be a prompt response from Uber support.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will learn:
- The value of Uber Rideshare services
- Benefits of using Uber Rideshare over other methods of transport
- How to set up an account and instruct your clients to use the service
BIO:
Mike May has been a pioneer in new product development since 1980. He has also worked for the CIA, Bank of California, TRW and Arkenstone.
Mike May is co-founder and CEO of Sendero Group, developers of the first accessible GPS for the blind in 2000 and distributors of various adaptive technologies. He has been the principle investigator on several US federal grants as he works with numerous organizations to advance wayfinding technologies around the world.
facilitated by Nancy Parkin-Bashizi
ROUNDTABLE
Instructors of school age students -- did you ever wonder how well your students have transitioned to being adult travelers?
Adult blind travelers as well as instructors of adults, would you like to give feedback to instructors of children?
All are welcome to join this discussion on how well students are prepared for and using independent/adult travel skills.
This RoundTable discussion will focus on O&M training strategies to develop student’s self-advocacy skills and the ability to effectively orient to new environments.
Patrick Glines, MA, COMS, GDMI
Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and America’s VetDogs, Smithtown, New York
LECTURE
Learn how to recognize, manage, and track various metrics to monitor the health of your training department, and track the success or failure of programmatic changes.
This presentation is effective for all guide dog schools, large or small.
We will discuss ways to utilize historical data, and learn what to record for future tracking.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
Panelists: Sarah Arch, COMS, CLVT, Susan Langendonk, COMS, and Lisa Harrison, PT, DPT, GCS
Moderator: Carol K. Cornett
Panel will address communication between and professional boundaries of Physical Therapists and O&Ms, and impact of O&M intervention early in the adjustment process.
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will:
- gain the background information for Orientation & Mobility Instructors' concerns for Physical Therapists providing instruction in Orientation & Mobility to patients.
- leave the session with strategies for positive interactions and collaboration with Physical Therapists and Orientation & Mobility Instructors.
BIOS:
- Sarah Arch is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and a Certified Low Vision Therapist at Leader Dogs for the Blind working with teenagers and adults. She has been employed at Leader Dog for the past 8 years. She received her Master of Arts degree in Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Arizona. Previously, she worked with adults and children through the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Arizona Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind.
- Susan Langendonk has been a certified O&M Specialist for over 35 years, primarily working with the school-aged population and also contracting with the State of Michigan for O&M services for adults. She is the current Chair of the AER O&M Division and has worked with the O&M Division ad hoc committee on OT/PT/O&M Scope of Practice as well as the AER Licensure Task Force.
- Lisa Harrison, PT, DPT, GCS is the Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dr. Harrison is a Board Certified Geriatric Specialist, American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She has over 30 years of clinical practice with a focus in Geriatrics, Inter-professional Education and Administration. She recently completed the Faculty Scholars Program in the Geriatric Education Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her practice areas include Acute Care Hospital, Skilled Nursing Facilities and Home Health. Her scholarly activity focus is in Functional Mobility of the Older Adult.
Dorothy Morris and Kitty Burnett Cress
FEET-IN-THE-STREET
We can talk the talk, now we'll Walk the Walk!
Come use the skills which you teach, and don your blindfold, vision simulator, mobility aid, or cane to travel from our hotel to a restaurant or other destination.
This activity is intended to last about an hour and ends at a restaurant--you can start any time between 5:30 and 6:30; meet in the Grand Dome Lobby for your instructions.
This is approved for ACVREP credit, and is designed to have some fun while learning!
NOTE: Be sure to bring a cane or other mobility aid and a blindfold or vision simulator.
TIME: 60 minutes
OBJECTIVES:
The participants will:
- apply skills which they teach;
- experience some of the challenges, successes, and problem-solving involved in traveling with a visual impairment
Dr. Melody Moore Jackson, Ph.D.
PRESENTATION includes hands-on demonstration
This session will cover:
- The FIDO project overview - the vests, the sensors and affordances we have tested, and a live demo of a medical alert vest and/or a discrimination vest.
- Our haptic vest that allows silent communication from handler to dog.
- Our in-home touchscreen work for medical alert or discrimination.
BIO:
Melody Moore Jackson, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech.
Dr. Jackson directs the Animal-Computer Interaction Lab, investigating ways that technology can enhance communication between humans and animals.
She has been training dogs and horses for more than thirty years.
She has served as a volunteer puppy-raiser for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) since 1995, and has raised and trained five service dog puppies.
She has also ridden and trained horses her whole life, and is an active competitor in equestrian Dressage, competing at the International levels.
Dr. Jackson resides with her family, three dogs, and three horses in Atlanta, GA.
Instructor education & O&M skills training in preparation for guide dog mobility instruction - IGDF Standard 4
Marc Gillard COMS, GDMI, O&M Services Specialist - Guide Dogs for the Blind
The presentation is directed toward applicant and enquiring organizations to assist with understanding Standard 4, Guide Dog Instructor Education and how to meet the Standard prior to an accreditation assessment. It will provide explanation of the subjects in the IGDF syllabus giving some understanding of the theoretical and practical requirements.
(This presentation will be given at the IGDF Seminar in Hvar, Croatia in May 2016).
The Changing Face of Guide Dog Services
John Byfield G.D.M.I. Director of Southern Operations. Freedom Guide Dogs. New York.
Guide Dog Services from the 60s to the present day will be addressed: differences between then and now; the evolution of services; factors that have influenced change -- have we reached the pinnacle?
JoAnne Chalom, COMS and Dr. Gene Bourquin, COMS
Discover the exciting attributes of self-driving vehicles. Join us to understand the unique features of this transformative technology. How many ways will automated vehicles impact pedestrians who are blind or have low vision? Join this interactive session as we discover the potential implications of self-driving vehicles.
Objectives:
- Understand the features of Automated Vehicles.
- Understand the potential safety issues of Automated Vehicle and pedestrians with low vision.
- Understand the potential the impact of Automated Vehicles and O&M strategies.
Facilitator: Tiffany Paschal, TVI/COMS
As we all know, many of our students rely on others to problem solve for them.
Please join this roundtable to discuss strategies to foster independence in students and ways to encourage families and other professionals to allow students to learn through real-life experiences without unnecessary prompts and supports.
Yoga in the morning
Susan Austin has graciously offered to lead us in yoga exercises each morning -- no ACVREP credit for these sessions, these are a treat just for you!
7:00-7:45 Monday, March 14
Come and try a 45 minute beginner level yoga session to get your day started!
You will need to bring 2 bath towels, wear comfortable clothing, and be able to get up and down off the floor (with minimal assistance).
Stretching and some gentle movement will get your body and mind ready for this great conference day.
7:00-7:45 Tuesday, March 15
Come and try a 45 minute Chair Yoga class.
If you have difficulty getting up and down off the floor or are balance challenged, this yoga class is for you.
We will do yoga poses seated and standing while holding on to the chair.
You will need to bring a bath towel and wear comfortable clothing.
This class will give you some techniques to relieve tension from sitting!
Licensure and Medicare for O&M
Grace Ambrose-Zaken and Elga Joffee
The bill to license Orientation and Mobility Specialists and Vision Rehabilitation Specialists was passed on both houses in New York. Governor Cuomo vetoed the bill. This discussion will provide background about the licensure effort in New York. Review the Governor's veto message and describe next steps that will be taken in New York. In addition, there will be time for broader discussion about Medicare funding and how the licensure of these professions throughout the U.S. may impact future funding and access to these services.
Kevin Hollinger, Kirsten Peahl
This session will provide attendees the opportunity to learn how O&M interns seeking ACVREP certification from AERBVI Approved University programs provide instruction during the Summer Orientation & Mobility and Adapted Living Resource (S.O.A.R. - St. Louis) program. Specific discussion will occur about the Clinical Competencies in regard to the Scope of Practice for O&M
Specialists. The specific duties for the O&M interns, as well as Supervising Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS), will also be discussed in conjunction with the evaluation procedures, programming, and transdisciplinary collaboration among all staff members. The S.O.A.R. - St. Louis program is specially designed for twelve youth, ages 15-21, who plan to attend college, a vocational training program, or seek competitive employment upon graduation from high school. The program provides pre-vocational skills training by emphasizing independence including nine domains of Activities of Daily Living instruction, expectations related to transition, orientation and mobility training and career exploration. The session will focus on the role of the interns for the pre-program interviews, case study, staff training, direct instruction, on-going collaboration, night lessons, and transdisciplinary instructional models. Our model of Intern-Supervisor collaboration will encourage COMS to consider supervising university interns, as well.
Objectives:
The participants will
- explore how S.O.A.R. - St. Louis utilizes the ACVREP Clinical Competencies for interns from AER approved university programs to provide pre-program evaluation, staff training, direct instruction, and comprehensive report writing.
- determine the impact of a transdisciplinary model of instruction and collaboration among O&M Specialists and instructors of Activities of Daily Living.
- increase awareness of role-release and role-definition between an intern and a COMS Supervisor within an intensive summer residential program.
BIO:
Kevin Hollinger is a National Board Certified Teacher in Visual Impairments, a Certified O&M Specialist and a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. Kevin has been the Director of the Summer Orientation & Mobility and Adapted Living Resource program (S.O.A.R. - St. Louis) for the past 9 years. He is currently the Past-Chair of the O&M Division of AERBVI, a current ACVREP Board Member, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Lindenwood University.
Kirsten Peahl graduated with her M.A. in Orientation and Mobility for Children in December of 2003 from Western Michigan University. She has completed 10 years of service as a COMS for School Association for Special Education in Dupage County (SASED), IL. In addition, she has created and implemented a Goalball program for the High School students to travel and compete against other Goalball teams. Since 2005, she has been contracting O&M services through the State of Illinois and through a private residential facility for adults with visual impairments. Recently, Kirstin gained additional experience as an O&M Supervisor for the S.O.A.R. - St. Louis program for many summers.
Kevin Hollinger and Dr. Justin Kaiser
This session is specifically designed to discuss transdisciplinary teaming and collaboration among Orientation & Mobility Specialists, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists. The role of these professions will be defined and described in the context of visual impairments and the impact on evaluation, establishing goals and outcomes, outlining instructional responsibilities, and exploring role release. Discussion and demonstration of the School Function Assessment (SFA) and Community Based Instruction will be demonstrated through case study videos and collaborative evaluation report.
Objectives:
The participants will
- gain information of role-release within collaborative evaluations of persons with visual impairment
- increase their knowledge of interdisciplinary teaming for establishing program / instructional outcomes for persons with visual impairment.
- gain functional knowledge to complete the School Function Assessment with students who are visually impaired.
BIO:
Kevin Hollinger is a National Board Certified Teacher in Visual Impairments, a Certified O&M Specialist and a Teacher of the Visually Impaired working in the Francis Howell School District. Kevin is currently the Past-Chair of the O&M Division of AERBVI, a current ACVREP Board Member, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Lindenwood University. His lovely wife Julie of almost 15 years is at home with their three kids, Noble, Lincoln, and Cora.
Justin Kaiser, PhD., is an Assistant Professor in the Visual Impairment Program at the University of South Carolina Upstate. He graduated with his PhD in Special Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. Justin is certified as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialist receiving his Masters in Education in 2004. He has worked as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the St. Louis Society for the Blind and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in Pittsburgh.
Karen Walker, TVI/O&M, President, Allied Instructional Services, Ashland, Virginia
John Higgins, COMS, CEO, Invision Services, Inc
This panel discussion will cover some of the basics of setting up a private contracting business – paper work and record-keeping; referrals and contracts; liability, etc.
BIO:
Karen Walker, COMS: President, Allied Instructional Services Ashland, Virginia
John Higgins, COMS, CEO, Invision Services, Inc
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