TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS = 237

ARE YOU CURRENTLY ACVREP CERTIFIED? N = 196

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ACVREP CERTIFIED? (N=161)

REASONS WHY NO LONGER ACVREP CERTIFIED (N=10)

ARE YOU A CURRENT AER MEMBER? (N=186)

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AN AER MEMBER? (N=173)

REASONS WHY NO LONGER AN AER MEMBER? (N=43)

1)How could AER improve its services to you? 2)How could the AER O&M Division improve its services to you? 3) What makes you continue to stay engaged and involved in the O&M and GDMI professional community? 4)What most concerns you about the future of O&M or GDMI profession, or our community as a whole? 5)What would you do or change to help strengthen the O&M and GDMI profession? 6)What would you do or change to help strengthen the O&M and GDMI profession? FOCUS QUESTIONS

HOW COULD AER IMPROVE ITS SERVICES TO YOU? (N=44)

HOW COULD THE AER O&M DIVISION IMPROVE ITS SERVICES TO YOU? (N=31)

The majority of responses seemed to fall within three clear themes:  Theme #1: O&Ms and GDMIs love teaching and love seeing increased growth and independence in their students. (54)  Theme #3: O&Ms and GDMIs like staying current; attending conferences and earning CEs for professional development. (50)  Theme #3: O&Ms and GDMIs like to network with and receive support from colleagues. (34) WHAT MAKES YOU CONTINUE TO STAY ENGAGED AND INVOLVED IN THE O&M AND GDMI PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY? (N = 148)

The nature of responses were very widespread for this question and O&Ms/GDMIs raised a lot of concerns! The most common concerns addressed included:  The lack of awareness, understanding, or respect for the O&M profession. (30)  O&Ms don’t feel supported by their schools or agencies (25) o 9 responses specifically cited concerns about inability to transport students.  There are not enough O&Ms or O&M training programs to meet student needs. (22)  Other professionals are encroaching upon the O&M field (e.g. OTs, PTs) and a lack of collaboration/education amongst O&Ms and other professionals. (19) WHAT MOST CONCERNS YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF O&M OR GDMI PROFESSION, OR OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE? (N = 195)

 Lack of Required Certification/Licensure/ or availability of 3 rd party reimbursement (17)  Need for ongoing professional training (10) o Need for AT training and for working with students with multiple disabilities were most frequently cited  Caseloads too high, too much paperwork (10)  Low, inconsistent salaries (6)  Inadequate preparation of new O&Ms (6)  Hybrid cars present a danger to our students (5)  Concerns about professional liability concerns and liability insurance (5)  Schools requiring dual certification for employment (5) CONTINUED…. CONCERNS REGARDING O&M AND GDMI PROFESSIONS

 Not enough jobs or assistance with placement (4)  Loss of funding for university training programs (4)  Lack of research to support practice; lack of standardized assessments (4)  Losing jobs to temp agencies/healthcare contracts (2)  No problems – everything is GREAT! (1) AND YET, MORE CONCERNS…

The majority of responses for this question fell into four themes, including:  Theme #1: Advocacy and Awareness (52). o Need to increase advocacy for O&M professionals and increase awareness of the profession amongst other professionals, administrators, and the community.  Theme #2: Professional Development (22). o Need for more regional conferences and CE opportunities.  Theme #3: Recruitment (18). o Need to recruit more people to the profession and to recruit more O&Ms/GDMIs to AER  Theme #4: Licensure & Certification (18). o Need to assist and/or push more O&Ms/GDMIs to become certified; Need to push for professional licensure. WHAT WOULD YOU DO OR CHANGE TO HELP STRENGTHEN THE O&M AND GDMI PROFESSION? (N =124)

This multi-faceted question triggered a wide variety of responses. Some common landmark themes included:  Launched advocacy, awareness and education procedures (action plan; materials, etc.) (39)  Increased numbers of O&M professionals, AER members and ACVREP certified O&Ms (26)  Established Licensure/3 rd party billing (21)  Continued/Increased local, regional and online professional development opportunities (10)  Improved services to consumers (9)  Better organization/collaboration amongst AER and Division IX (O&M) (4) WHERE SHOULD WE BE IN FIVE YEARS? HOW SHOULD OUR PROFESSION BE DIFFERENT? WHAT LANDMARKS WILL YOU BE LOOKING FOR TO KNOW THAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE? (N = 134)