SOMA Program 2024

 8:30-9:30 Opening session

Exhibitor Highlights - Our exhibitors will share what innovations or treasures we can find at the exhibit tables this year!

 10:00-11:00 Concurrent Session A - Part 1

• Wayfinding, from the Cane to Autonomous Vehicles - Mike May
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  There are many accessibility tools for orientation, mobility, and navigation available to blind and low vision students and adults. We will discuss various products and how to choose the best fit.
• Move Me! – Motivating Movement and Effective Cane Usage in Children - Karen Walker
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 11:15)
  Are your students only travelling compliantly, simply following your directions, or worse yet, failing to follow your directions, or unable to understand your request? Or are they moving purposefully with effective cane usage? Do your lessons truly motivate a student to want to move, learn more, and become more independent? This session shares tips on instilling the desire and confidence to move, travel safely, explore, and use cane appropriately vs compliantly, and invites you to share tricks that you have found to be successful.
• 3D Printing - Materials for Mobility - William Adams
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 11:15)
  Use off the shelf and more importantly FREE software to make to scale area and interior maps using a 3D printer. See other uses for 3D printing that help those with vision loss.

 11:15-12:15 Concurrent Session A - Part 2

• GDMI PANEL: Apprenticeships, The Foundation: Let's talk about the best way to learn the basics - Facilitated by Lukas Franck (panelists TBA)
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  
• Implications of O&M Referral Policies and Professional Practices - Justin Kaiser, Tina Herzberg and Tessa McCarthy
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  O&M referrals and assessments are used by professionals to determine eligibility and make instructional decisions. The presentation will focus on practical strategies for professionals, effectiveness of current policies, and implications from research. Everyone is encouraged to share about their experiences and discuss possible next steps.
• Move Me! – Motivating Movement and Effective Cane Usage in Children - Karen Walker
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 10:00)
• 3D Printing - Materials for Mobility - William Adams
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 10:00)
  
  

 1:45-3:15 Concurrent Session B - Part 1

• All About Street Crossings - William Adams and Yolanda Smith
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Teaching street crossings is always the best part of being an O&M but when you have different situations it’s not always clear how to proceed. So come learn about new tools and techniques to teach or use when crossing. We have some great tips to help teach those who are deaf-blind, when there is low traffic, how to advocate for accessible pedestrian crossings, and a new way of teaching if you can’t do the normal progression and ways of simplifying teaching when time constraints are evident from being itinerant.

• Teaching Touch and Exploratory Skills to Prepare for Tactile Graphics Learning - Alicia Wolfe and Jennifer Brooks
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:30)
  Tactile graphics literacy instruction for students with visual impairments is essential to the development of map skills. Strategies for teaching touch and exploratory skills to developing tactile learners will be discussed. Participants will learn the development of exploratory skills serves as a foundation for braille readiness and meaningful tactile graphics experiences for students with visual impairments. This foundation is essential to a student’s success in understanding and using electronic haptic maps.

• The DeafBlind and Adaptive Services Program at Leader Dogs for the Blind - Sarah Duyck
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:30)
  This presentation provides an overview of the DeafBlind and Adaptive Services Program at Leader Dogs for the Blind including how the program began, dog selection and training, application process, matching the client-dog team, and how services are provided. Attendees will gain knowledge about how GDMIs at Leader Dog approach effective communication during lessons, tips for working with ASL interpreters, and street crossing strategies for individuals with hearing loss.
• Goldilocks and the Three Cane Skills – Verification Technique could be Just Right - L. Dianne Luce
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:30)
  The Verification Cane Technique is a well-documented long cane skill best suited for the individual with low vision who retains significant functional sight, but who can still occasionally benefit from the tactile feedback provided by the long cane. Come learn about this lesser-known skill and how to teach it successfully.
• Using the Finding Wheels Curriculum to Build Independent Travel Skills - Tina Herzberg
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:30)
  Secondary students with visual impairments need a broad understanding of the options they may use for transportation. Come learn how we implemented the Finding Wheels curriculum with two groups of students and what students reported they learned. We will divide into small groups and complete some of their favorite activities!

• Practitioner input to improve current and future O&M tools from APH - Mike May and Lee Huffman
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:30)
  Discuss the O&M tools and techniques at the APH workshop including cane navigation, GPS apps, tactile maps, and more. APH wants to learn from you what is working and what needs improvement with O&M products. Provide feedback about rural vs. urban challenges, and address multiple disabilities. Dive into APH Quota purchases and identify top priorities for future development. This is your opportunity to shape current and future student resources.

 3:15-3:45 Break - snacks in exhibit area!

 3:45-5:15 Concurrent Session B - Part 2

• The hard-learnt lessons – O&M for adults with CVI - Nicola McDowell
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!) - presenter will be on screen remotely from New Zealand
  In this session, Dr Nicola McDowell will share both her personal and professional experience of O&M for adults with CVI (Cerebral Visual Impairment). This will include understanding how CVI can impact on independent travel in different contexts and environments, the main differences between supporting someone with CVI compared to ocular visual impairments (OVI) and the most important components that need to be included in O&M programme for adults with CVI.

• Teaching Touch and Exploratory Skills to Prepare for Tactile Graphics Learning - Alicia Wolfe and Jennifer Brooks
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:30)

• The DeafBlind and Adaptive Services Program at Leader Dogs for the Blind - Sarah Duyck
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:30)
• Goldilocks and the Three Cane Skills – Verification Technique could be Just Right - L. Dianne Luce
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:30)
• Using the Finding Wheels Curriculum to Build Independent Travel Skills - Tina Herzberg
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:30)

• Practitioner input to improve current and future O&M tools from APH - Mike May and Lee Huffman
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:30)

 8:30-9:45 Concurrent Session C - Part 1

• GDMI: Safe and Comfortable Guide Dog Mobility - Use of Braille Tile - Takashi Shimanoto and Ryo Hirano
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!) - presenters will be on screen remotely from Japan
  Description TBA

• The Ups and Downs of Elevator Accessibility - L. Dianne Luce and Joey Gan
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Functional challenges with access to elevator use have always existed for travelers who are visually impaired. As elevator technology has progressed, some design aspects continue to cause problems for users. This presentation will explore these topics and consider solutions that could and should be pursued.
• Empowering Movement: Practical Approaches to O&M for Adults with CVI - Michexa Jean-Paul
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 10:15)
  In this session we will discuss what we know about CVI (Cerebral Visual Impairment) and how to spot it in adults, and share strategies of how to teach adults with CVI to feel more safe in their travels.
• Round and Round: Sharing the Table with DOT - Autumn Booths
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 10:15)
  Join Autumn Booths, a COMS in Juneau, Alaska, as she shares the process for creating a roundabout from the beginning to the current stage of development with the DOT. Information to be included from the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices), PROWAG (The Public Rights of Way Access Guidelines), and TRB’s NCHRP Research Report 1043: Guide for Roundabouts.
• Never say NEVER! - Gwyn Suttell and Jenn Tharpe
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 10:15)
  Please join us for a session on “thinking outside the box” for students with different abilities. Gwyn Suttell, TVI/COMS, and Jennifer Tharpe, DPT, will share their experiences and ideas on collaborating with each other to maximize this population's unique needs and successes for independent travel. They will share their triumphs and fumbles with a focus on taking away practical suggestions to incorporate into your daily practice.
• What O&M Looks Like in Beirut, Lebanon - W. Paul Hull
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 10:15)
  A serendipitous three weeks' worth of O&M instruction given to Lebanese citizens as well as Syrian and Palestinian refugees with visual impairments despite the boundaries of culture differences and language barriers as described by the COMS who was fortunate enough to be there.

 9:45-10:15 Break - snacks in exhibit area!

 10:15-11:30 Concurrent Session C Part 2

• GDMI: Guide dog training programs around the world - their challenges and successes - Lee Stanway
  ROOM: TBA (presented only once)
  This interactive presentation will help create a wider awareness of Guide Dog Schools around the world who are members of the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) or are working towards becoming a member. We will look at the benefits of membership, the challenges and journey of guide dog organisations aspiring to become or maintain membership. Finally and not least we will look at the experiences of an IGDF assessor who gets to visit and assess guide dog schools. Those experiences include the first ever visit to assess a guide dog school in Moscow, visits to Europe, Scandinavia and Japan and what happens when your luggage gets lost along the way. We will learn about different breeds used around the world and the impact of culture and history on guide dog work internationally.
• Empowering Movement: Practical Approaches to O&M for Adults with CVI - Michexa Jean-Paul
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 8:30) - presenter will be on screen remotely
• Round and Round: Sharing the Table with DOT - Autumn Booths
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 8:30)
• Never say NEVER! - Gwyn Suttell and Jenn Tharpe
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 8:30)
• What O&M Looks Like in Beirut, Lebanon - W. Paul Hull
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 8:30)

 1:00-2:00 Concurrent Session D (part 1)

• GDMI PANEL: O&M Training for Guide Dog Instructors: How and how much? - Facilitated by Lukas Franck (panelists TBA)
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  
• O&M Support for Learners and the Critical Role of the Supporter - Garret Waldie, Erica Ihrke and Hannah Jones
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Having support is crucial to the growth of independent travels skills. Participants will learn about a model being used to upskill supporters of high school aged students. Experienced based approaches, observations, and other lessons learned will be shared so that we can apply approaches with other students/clients and their supporters.
• AMD Transitions: Modifications, Options, and . . . - Lynn Gautreaux
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 2:15)
  Participants will learn how to decide when and if the use of an AMD (Alternative Mobility Device) is appropriate. Techniques for making a variety of easy in-office AMD configurations, 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 new to the market. Since the VI/Blind population is a very diverse group, it is important to have equipment and modification resources available to find a good functional and instructional fit for each 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. Other topics that will be discussed include the appropriate use of AMDs on stairs, AMD skills that easily transfer to cane use, and how to choose specific AMDs for clients and/or situations.
• Empowering the Blind Worldwide-One Cane at a Time - James Boehm, Wendy Boehm, Ellie Carlson, and Dean Stonecipher
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 2:15)
  White Canes empower the blind. Most around the world, canes and training are sparse! Find out how others are addressing the White Cane Famine!

 2:15-3:15 Concurrent Session D - Part 2

• Diabetes Is an O&M Problem - Tommy Strasz, Hannah Jones, and Barry Stafford
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Sail the Islets of Langerhans, take a shot in the dark, and just to sweeten the pot, engage with a real time simulation in this informative session about the intersection of O&M instruction and diabetes management.
• AMD Transitions: Modifications, Options, and . . . - Lynn Gautreaux
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:00)
• Empowering the Blind Worldwide - One Cane at a Time - James Boehm, Wendy Boehm, Ellie Carlson, and Dean Stonecipher
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 1:00)
  
  
  

 3:45-4:30 Concurrent Session E - Part 1

• Assessing and improving visual efficiency for students with various visual conditions - Dona Sauerburger
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 4:45)
  This session will share strategies for teaching people with low acuity and/or visual field losses to use their vision more efficiently, including scanning techniques to find things, eccentric viewing, and looking from side to side to reliably detect approaching vehicles. Videos will illustrate what students with varioius visual conditions may see, and we will discuss which visual technique might help that student. At the end you can try one of these strategies.

• Thinking about a Group O&M Trip? Here’s What We Know! - Bethanie Mateer, Ellen Blaydes, Amy Hayslette, and Miriam Beall
  ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 4:45)
  Ensuring that students receive instruction in all the areas of O&M curriculum can be challenging. This is especially so when the student lives in a rural. CVRP has found a solution: mobility camp. Students put their skills to the test in a city that offers advanced O&M skills.

 4:45-5:30 Concurrent Session E - Part 2

• O&M in the Community: Breaking Down Barriers - Tiffany Conrad Samantha Kelly, and Elizabeth Anderson
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Discussion of barriers that exist for O&M service providers beyond the campus. Sharing of creative ways to move into community travel including finding support from IDEA.
• Assessing and improving visual efficiency for students with various visual conditions - Dona Sauerburger
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 3:45)
  
• Thinking about a Group O&M Trip? Here’s What We Know! - Bethanie Mateer, Ellen Blaydes, Amy Hayslette, and Miriam Beall
  ROOM: TBA (same as presented at 3:45)

 8:30-9:30 Concurrent Session F (part 1)

• Orientation VS Mobility - Garret Waldie and Thomas Strasz
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Participants will learn approaches to teaching self-familiarization strategies to clients using a cane or guide dog. Following a brief discussion, participants will engage in practical demonstration of these techniques.

 9:45-10:45 Concurrent Session F - Part 2

• Preparing Your Client for Guide Dog Travel - Barry Stafford and Brad Welling
  ROOM: TBA (Presented only once!)
  Successful guide dog travel requires a particular set of O&M skills. Not all independent travelers meet this criterion. Participants will learn what O&M skills are essential for guide dog travel, how to assist interested guide dog applicants, what steps to take, and how to support guide dog partnerships.
  
  

 11:00-12:00 Wrap-up crackerbarrel

ROOM: TBA
By now, our minds are blown with all that we've learned and shared at SOMA this year! Now's our chance to process and have a lively discussion on O&M topics that YOU choose. The first few minutes we'll collect ideas for topics and then vote on what to talk about, and away we'll go!