Orientation and Mobility Services

Dona Sauerburger, COMS® offers orientation and mobility (O&M) services to all people with a visual impairment, including those with remaining functional vision and those with additional disabilities.

37 years of experience providing O&M services to visually impaired people
individualized instruction specifically designed to meet each person’s needs
author and international speaker on:

skilled in American Sign Language

Contracting O&M Specialists:

The Metropolitan Washington Orientation and Mobility Association has a list of O&M specialists willing to contract to provide orientation and mobility services in the metropolitan DC / Maryland area. Click here to reach the page with that list.

TRAINING PROGRAMS:

People with vision loss can learn the orientation and mobility skills and concepts necessary for safe, independent travel in order to get to work, shop and take care of their needs (click here for a list of skills and concepts).

Not just for “cane travelers”! Clients with low vision who don’t use a cane often benefit from learning to cross streets safely, use public transportation, and plan routes to unfamiliar destinations.

The following illustrate some of the various stages of orientation and mobility training:

A visually impaired elderly man wearing glasses holds a cane while Dona talks to him and points to the cane.

Basic skills include (among other things):

o orientation skills and strategies;

o cane techniques;

o using sensory information (kinesthetic, auditory, tactual and visual);

o problem-solving and confidence-building;

o walking with a guide.

Photo: Learning to use a cane means more than just learning to move it correctly -- it takes practice to notice and use non-visual information without concentrating, especially when distracted with functional vision (see article).

An elderly woman with a white cane has veered toward the street in a driveway; Dona stands next to her and points out the slope and grass.

Outdoor travel: orientation and problem-solving strategies are further developed.

Photo: Client learns about slopes and textures that distinguish driveways from streets.

A young woman with a cane walks across a street, while Dona walks about 10 feet behind.

Skills for crossing streets are developed for signalized intersections and stop sign or uncontrolled crossings, in residential and urban settings. The advanced traveler has learned to analyze and cross unfamiliar intersections.

Photo: Street crossing at modern intersections requires advanced skills and concepts.

A young woman enters a metro subway car, with her white cane on the floor inside the car.

Metro, bus and urban travel complete the program.

Photo: The advanced traveler independently gathers information and plans routes using the Metro and buses to go to unfamiliar destinations by herself.

ORIENTATION SERVICES:

People starting a new job, going to school at a new campus, or moving to a new community may benefit from an orientation to help them become familiar with the environment and analyze complex intersections and routes.

Please note that:

· Orientation services are provided to people who already have the skills and concepts needed to travel independently. People who don’t have these skills and concepts need a TRAINING PROGRAM (see above) before an orientation service can prepare them to travel safely and independently to a new area.

· Standard orientation and mobility training programs can and should prepare learners how to:

travel independently to unfamiliar destinations;
orient themselves to unfamiliar areas.

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