Round Rock ISD Roles and Responsibilities Itinerant Orientation and Mobility Specialist
General
Orientation and mobility is that part of the educational process that prepares the blind student to travel independently. The itinerant O&M Specialist travels to the student's assigned schools and/or homes to provide direct and/or consultative special education services relating to the vision loss. These services enable the student to travel safely and independently in their home, school, and community environments. The students range in age from birth to 21. The students may be singularly or multiply handicapped. The cognitive level of the students range from severely handicapped to gifted and talented. Many of the visually impaired students are totally mainstreamed in their home schools or at various campuses throughout the district.
Specific Job Duties
I. Assessment and Evaluation
a. Perform orientation and mobility evaluations that focus on long and short term needs of the student on new referral and three-year reevaluations.
b. Include in the assessment report the needs and strengths of the student and an estimate of the length and frequency of services necessary to meet identified needs.
c. Contribute to appropriate portions of the IEP, such as and recommendations.
d. Provide consultation and support services to parents, regular and special education teachers, other school personnel and sighted peers, community,employers, and co-workers.
e. 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 skillsthat will encourage the visually impaired student to travelsafely and independently in these settings.
f. Work with the teacher of visually impaired students to conduct the functional vision assessment as it relates to independent travel.
g. Evaluate the student's progress on an ongoing basis, and keep progress notes on each student.
II. Learning Environments
a. Instruct the visually impaired student in the development of skills and knowledge that enable him/her to travel independently based on the IEP.
b. Teach visually impaired students to travel with proficiency, safety and confidence in familiar and unfamiliar environments (as appropriate).
c. Prepare sequential and meaningful instruction geared to the student's assessed needs, IEP goals and objectives, functioning level and motivational level.
d. Transport the student to various community locations, as necessary, to provide meaningful instruction in realistic learning environments.
e. Be responsible for the student's safety in various teaching (suggestions for safety) environments while fostering maximum independence.
f. Prepare and use equipment and materials such as tactile maps, models, low vision aids, pre-canes, push canes and long canes for the development of O&M skills, and other assistive devices.
g. Provide orientation to new school buildings and new class schedules for students with visual impairments preceding the start of each school year if possible.
h. Modifications to classroom arrangement.
III. Direct Instruction in the Unique Curriculuma
a. Concept development
b. Gross Motor Skills
c. Visual Efficiency Skills (with and without aids)
d. Pre-CaneSkillsd. Pre-Cane Skills
e. Cane Skills
f. Map Skills
g. Outdoor/Residential Travel
h. Semi-Business Travel
i. Business Travel
j. Transportation Use
IV. Support Services
a. Provide assistance to the students with visual impairments in understanding their attitudes, and those of others, concerning their visual impairment.
b. Emphasize social interaction by providing opportunities in real-life situations for skills such as: soliciting assistance, accepting/refusing assistance, etc.
c. When appropriate, assist students in working with various agencies/staff in vocational settings.
V. Administrative/Record Keeping Duties
a. Submit requests for instructional materials, conference and reference materials.
b. Provide inservice training to regular and special education personnel, administrative personnel, sighted peers and parents concerning the O&M needs of the student and appropriate methods for interacting with the VI person that will foster maximum independence and safety.
c. Participate in necessary parent conferences and meetings as well as teachers' staffings regarding the VI student.
d. Maintain adequate records on all assessments, IEPs, progress reports and signed parental consent forms for permission to travel in O&M specialist's personal car.
e. Provide six-week or nine-week progress reports to parents (as appropriate).
f. Arrange and prepare paper work as appropriate and attend all ARDs on students with visual impairments as they relate to O&M.
g. Communicate with low vision specialist, ophthalmologists, and optometrists concerning exams.
VI. Liaison Between Community and School
a. Provide information about the RRISD Vision and O&M Program to the schools and community.
VII. Professional Standards
a. Maintain a reference library of current professional materials.
b. Acquire information about current research, development and technology by attending conferences, workshops and area meetings and by reading journals in the field of visual impairment.