The Culturally Responsive O&M Standards are performance standards in five O&M domains, at ages two, four, and end of grades 3 ,7 and 12, leading to ten proficiencies that describe career, college, and community readiness. They are research-based and validated by the field through a Delphi Study as reported in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness.
The publishing process took two years (argh) but I’m happy to say the book will be launched on September 15 by Austen Macauley Publishers. It is self-funded and available in print and E-book.
Performance standards provide many great things for the field. First, it allows O&M instructors/vision professionals “a leg to stand on” (says an O&M specialist who uses them) at IEP meetings in this day of standards-based education. It justifies instruction time and program costs. They can be shown to administrators, principals, parents, clients, special education coordinators, and learners to help articulate what O&M is, what it does and why it is important. It helps identify areas of need, has appendices that list specific skill sets, and finally, offers an example O&M curriculum aligned to the age/grade level performance indicators. You can use parts of it as a resource or all of it. You can use it to define performance standards in the evaluation process and determine instructional goals.
Orders can be made at the below link:
Culturally Responsive Orientation and Mobility Standards | Book | Austin Macauley Publishers USA
