Orientation & Mobility for Children with Multiple Disabilities

These sites are rich in orientation and mobility skills and training tips for parents and instructors working with school-aged children who are blind or visually impaired.

Orientation and Mobility, Chapter 10 from Perkins Activity and Resource Guide, 2nd edition
Perkins School for the Blind
This full-text chapter from the Perkins Activity and Resource Guide provides practical suggestions and activities for teaching orientation and mobility skills to students with multiple disabilities.

For more information about this title, please visit Perkins Publications: Perkins Activity and Resource Guide: A Handbook for Teachers and Parents of Students with Visual and Multiple Disabilities, 2nd edition

Basic Orientation and Mobility for Children with Multiple Disabilities:  A Starting Point, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
This article outlines some of the essential elements of working with children with multiple disabilities, such as communication, safety, independence, and consistency.

MIVI [Multiply Impaired Visually Impaired] O&M Checklist, Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Visual Impairments
This short checklist from DVI Quarterly was developed by educators "to determine the need for an orientation and mobility evaluation for a student with multiple impairments by a certified O&M specialist."

The Importance of Orientation And Mobility Skills For Students Who Are Deaf-Blind, National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness
This article provides a detailed introduction to Orientation and Mobility, including adaptations for students who are deafblind. Stressing the importance of a team approach, it outlines instructional strategies, program development and implementation, and the basics of mobility skills, illustrated with line drawings.  It also discusses working with interpreters, practical strategies for families and team members, and lists additional resources. 

Orientation and Mobility Training for Students Who Are Deafblind: Going Beyond the Blue Book, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
This article lists a sampling of modifications in O&M techniques for use with students who are deafblind; in English and Spanish. 

The Basics of Orientation and Mobility with Practical Application to Individuals with Multiple Disabilities, Bridgewater State College
This videotaped lecture and PowerPoint is entitled "Orientation and Mobility. An hour long, it introduces the topic, including body and spatial awareness, sensory information in the environment, tactile cues, and travel techniques. Lecturer Kathy Heydt is an O&M instructor and Physical Therapist at Perkins School for the Blind.

For more information on this training module, including the Power Point presentation, see this Perkins publication: Welcoming Students with Visual Impairment to Your School

Orientation and Mobility for Visually Impaired Persons with Multiple Disabilities Including Deaf-Blindness, 12th International Mobility Conference, Hong Kong 2006
This presentation offers basic principles and strategies for providing O&M services to visually impaired people whose additional disabilities include cognitive, hearing, physical or health challenges.