Rehabilitation Resources for Professionals

Whether you are a specially trained rehabilitation teacher, vision rehabilitation therapist, orientation and mobility specialist, social worker, mental health specialist, or low vision therapist, you'll find resources here for improving your skills and learning new techniques to share with your clients. Our publications and other information will help you keep up to date with the latest trends in our field, and elearning events are an opportunity to earn continuing education credits.

Rehabilitation professionals and specialized teachers work with people who are blind or have low vision to help them learn new ways to accomplish routine daily tasks:

• Techniques for personal and household management
• Ways to read, write, and tell time
• Specific orientation and mobility techniques, including the use of long canes and other mobility tools for safe and independent travel.
• How to use specialized adaptive devices, including special low vision optical devices

These skills, often taught by state rehabilitation agencies and private nonprofit community-based organizations, enable blind or visually impaired people to live independent and productive lives. With special training in vision-related rehabilitation services, professionals can offer training either at the agency or in the visually impaired person's home.

This section provides a brief overview of the various types of professionals who work with visually impaired children, youths, and adults. The school and agency setting often involves multidisciplinary teams in the provision of a wide array of services. These teams work best when each professional understands the background and capabilities of the other members of the team, and the expertise of team members is shared through effective communication and collaboration.