Teacher for Visually Impaired/Orientation and Mobility Specialist (24.25 School Year)

Primary Purpose

Orientation and Mobility is that part of the educational process that prepares the blind student to move and/or travel safely and efficiently, whether it is independent or supported. The itinerant O&M Specialist travels to the student's assigned schools, within the community, and/or homes to provide direct and/or indirect (consultative) special education services relating to the vision loss. These services enable the student to orient to their surroundings and move purposefully and safe within their home, school, and community environments.

Education / Certification

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) certified by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP).
  
  

Special Knowledge / Skills

• Knowledge of special needs of students in assigned area.
• Knowledge of Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee process and Individual Education Plan (IEP) goal setting process and implementation.
• General knowledge of curriculum and instruction.
  
  

Experience / Other Requirements

• At least one year of related experience in a school setting is preferred.
  
  

Major Responsibilities And Duties

Assessment and Evaluation

• Perform orientation and mobility evaluations (initial, annual, three-year) that focus on strengths and needs, identify long and short term goals, and an estimate of the length, frequency, and setting of services necessary to meet the identified needs.
• Develop appropriate portions of the IEP, including goals and objectives and recommendations as part of the IEP team.
• Work with the teacher of visually impaired students (TVI’s) to conduct the functional vision assessment as it relates to independent travel as needed.
• Evaluate the student's progress on an ongoing basis, and keep data and progress notes on each student.
  
  

Learning Environments

• Instruct the student who is visually impaired in the development of skills and knowledge that enable him/her to travel independently based on the IEP.
• Teach students with visual impairments to travel with proficiency, safety and confidence in familiar and unfamiliar environments (as appropriate to the age and development level of each individual student).
• Prepare sequential and meaningful instruction geared to the student's assessed needs, IEP goals and objectives, functioning level and motivational level.
• Transport the student to various community locations, as necessary, to provide meaningful instruction in realistic learning environments.
• Be responsible for the student's safety in various teaching (suggestions for safety) environments while fostering maximum independence.
• Prepare and use equipment and materials such as tactile maps, models, low vision aids, pre-canes, and long canes for the development of O&M skills, and other assistive devices.
• Provide orientation to new school buildings and new class schedules for students with visual impairments preceding the start of each school year if possible.
• Modifications to classroom arrangement.
  
  

Direct Instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)

• Encouraging purposeful movement, exploration of immediate surroundings and motor development for infants with visual impairments.
• Concept Development: Teaching spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses, (such as sound, temperature and vibrations) to establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (e.g. using traffic sounds at an intersection to cross a street).
• Visual Efficiency Skill: providing instruction in efficient use of low vision for movement and teaching use of low vision devices.
• Pre-Cane Skills: instruction in a set of skills to enable one to travel safely and independently in a familiar indoor environment, such as hand trailing, protective techniques, squaring off/direction taking, etc.
• Cane Skills and/or Adaptive Mobility Devices: teaching the use of mobility tools, including the long cane and adaptive mobility devices, used for safely negotiating the environment.
• Orientation skills: Teaching the use of tactile and large print maps of environments, use of cardinal directions, and other orientation aids.
• Outdoor/Residential Travel: provide instruction on how to travel safely and independently in home neighborhood or other residential neighborhoods.
• Business Travel: provide instruction on how to travel safely on congested sidewalks, locating businesses, analyzing and crossing at simple and complex intersections, etc.
• Transportation Use: provide instruction and experiences in using public bus system, special transit system, and taxi cabs, and commuter rail systems.
  
  

Support Services

• Provide consultation and support services to parents, regular and special education teachers, other school personnel and sighted peers, community, employers, and co-workers.
• Confer regularly with parents, classroom teachers, PE teachers, physical therapists and/or other school personnel to assist in home and classroom modifications, adaptations and considerations and to reinforce appropriate O&M skills that will encourage the student with a visual impairment to travel safely and independently in theses settings.
• Provide assistance to the students with visual impairments in understanding their attitudes, and those of others, concerning their visual impairment.
• Emphasize social interaction by providing opportunities in real-life situations for skills such as: soliciting assistance, accepting/refusing assistance, etc.
• When appropriate, assist students in working with various agencies/staff in vocational settings.
• Supporting families of young children in developing gross and fine motor skills, sensory skills, basic concepts and other developmental milestones.
• Providing in-service training and consultation to other team members in home, school and community settings, including modeling appropriate O&M techniques for other team members.
• Recommending orientation and mobility strategies for access to the general curriculum such as physical education class, and participation in school and community extracurricular activities.
• Ensuring that the necessary skills attained for transitioning from school to adult life.
  
  

Administrative/Record Keeping Duties

• Maintain adequate records on all assessments, IEPs, progress reports and signed parental consent forms for permission to travel with O&M specialist's in Comal ISD vehicle.
• Provide six-week or nine-week progress reports to parents.
• Submit requests for materials as needed.
• Participate in necessary parent conferences and meetings as well as teachers' staffings regarding the student with the visual impairment.
• Arrange and prepare paper work as appropriate and attend ARDs on students with visual impairments as they relate to O&M.
  
  

Professional Standards

• Maintain a reference library of current professional materials.
• Acquire information about current research, development and technology by attending conferences, workshops, area meetings, by reading journals and consulting with other O&M staff in the field of visual impairment.
• Responsible for properly maintaining district records, adhering to all policies set forth by the district for records maintenance and learning the records retention schedule for department records.
• Performs other duties as assigned.