1. Valery Herring, MA, COMS February 2017
Employment, orientation & mobility, and the adult with a recent vision loss
Valery Herring, MA, COMS
February 2017

2. VISION LOSS IN ADULTS: DATA, RESEARCH, AND CORPORATE CLIMATE IN THE WORK PLACE

3. Employment of non-institutionalized working-age people (ages 21 to 64) by disability status in the United States in 2015
Disability Type
Percent
MOE
Number
Base Pop.
Sample Size
No Disability
78.3
0.08
128,901,400
229,150
164,707,900
1,540,991
Any Disability
35.2
0.28
6,927,100
68,170
19,703,800
198,395
Visual
42.0
0.68
1,526,100
32,270
3,633,200
35,287
Hearing
51.8
0.66
2,007,100
36,980
3,875,800
39,826
Ambulatory
24.3
0.36
2,423,100
40,610
9,989,000
100,725
Cognitive
25.5
0.40
2,101,700
37,840
8,245,400
81,971
Self-Care
15.8
0.51
561,300
19,600
3,556,300
36,465
Independent Living
16.3
0.37
1,141,900
27,930
6,993,100
71,602
Picture Description: This top row of this chart lists disability on far left, followed by percent, MOE, number, MOE, base population and sample size. MOE stands for margin of error (this is the accuracy of the statistic)

4. What about Employment for Persons with & without a Disability who are age 21-64 years?
Persons Without A Disability
Persons With a Disability
Employment: with disability 35.2% overall, 42% for people with a visual impairment
Actively Looking for employment: with disability 8.3%, 8.9% for people who had a visual impairment
Full Time / Full Year Employment: with disability 22%, 28% for people with a visual impairment
Employment: without disability 78.3%
Actively Looking for employment: without a disability 19.9%
Full Time / Full Year Employment: without a disability 58.6%

5. In Dawn B. Golub’s article entitled, Exploration of Factors That Contribute to a Successful Work Experience for Adults Who Are Visually Impaired, “The ability to be highly independent, including the ability to travel and work independently, emerged as a key factor in determining a successful work experience. The need to travel independently was explained succinctly by one service provider, 'He who can master the ability to travel has a better chance of mastering the Demands of work ‘. One employee explained how important it is to be able to travel and not expecting somebody to always be with me or always have to take an arm or having them feel responsible for me.” Exploration of Factors That Contribute to a Successful Work Experience for Adults Who Are Visually Impaired, JVIB December 2003 , Volume 97 , Number 12 p.774

6. In Dawn Golub’s article entitled; A model of successful work experience for employees who are visually impaired: the results of a study, the author discusses steps that employees who are visually impaired must take to enable their success at their jobs.
Your comfort is contagious
Blindness competencies
Be an ambassador for blindness
Positive attitude
Work etiquette
Insist on being held to the same standard
Mutual accommodation
A model of successful work experience for employees who are visually impaired: the results of a study; jvib 2006, vol. 100, number 12, pp

7. The role of the o&m specialist in the vocational rehabilitation process with adults: WHAT is orientation and mobility? Assessment? How does an o&m specialist help in the process of employment? Transportation?

8. What is cane travel?
“Cane travel, is travel with a long cane or sometimes called a white cane. This is the only type of cane that is designed to extend the travelers sense of touch to provide both object and surface preview while traveling” (Smith & Penrod 2010).
Picture description: white cane kit, picture courtesy google images

9. “Orientation is the process of using the senses to establish one’s position and relationship to all other significant objects in one’s environment” (Hill & ponder 1976).
“Mobility (is) the capacity, the readiness and the facility to move and the ability to move within one’s environment” (Hill & Ponder 1976).
Picture description: woman & dog guide waiting for the bus, using her phone to help navigate public transportation. Courtesy: google images

10. What an O&M Assessment includes:
Medical history
O&M goals as related to the vocational rehabilitation plan
Observation in a building or in a community to travel a route possibly using public transportation
History and current skill level according to a checklist (made or acquired)
Do not assess the student beyond observed capabilities
The Art and Science of Teaching orientation and mobility to persons with visual impairments, William henry Jacobson, afb press 2013, pp

11. What I include in an Employment Related O&M assessment:
I include Jacobson’s assessment and also:
Family support (get hippa signed by client prior to discussion with family, employers etc. )
Functional vision assessment
O&M assessment at a job site which would include travel in and around the job site
Relevant questions and observation of skills related to travel ability to and around the job site
Meeting with the client and employer at a job site to discuss travel and accommodations, as well as address questions employee/employer may have
Outreach with client, employer, and other employees to discuss and answer questions and demonstrate human guide using simulator goggles

12. How can an o&m specialist help in the process of employment?
Self confidence in one’s ability to safely and efficiently travel in all environments
Communication and self advocacy in one’s ability to complete job tasks as well as convey competence in travel in and around a job site
Confidence in the use of assistive technology: for example to secure an uber ride, use gps on a route or check when a bus is arriving using an app, such as TRANSIT or GOOGLE MAPS with or without voice over on an iphone
Communication of accommodations needed at the job site in order to become effective & productive employees
Orientation and mobility training enables people:

13. THE IMPORTANCE OF o&m instruction, AND THE IMPACT OF MINIMAL OR NO INSTRUCTION
What happens when O&M is provided but only for a limited time?
Examples of case studies where O&M was incomplete
How can O&M instructors promote instruction to employers, supervisors and other vocational and rehabilitation staff?

14. Transportation
“ the ability to use public transportation is important in the lives of visually impaired persons. Without independent mobility, access to gainful employment, recreation, and medical services is severely restricted” (Welsh & Blasch, 1980).
This quote, while stated many years ago, is still relevant to today’s society. how does the issue of transportation affect employers’ views of hiring a person with a visual impairment?
Picture description: man stepping off a train, using his long cane to assist in navigating his environment. picture courtesy of google images

15. Travel to work: what does your client need to know?
Determine what type of public transportation client will use daily and plan the route: where the bus stop is, where it goes, fare etc.
Provide O&M instruction: at bus barn, to staff at bus company, train station, airport; as well as how to schedule paratransit and uber
Recovery strategies for occasions that the client becomes disoriented, there is a change in the bus or train route, or the client misses the stop their job is located at
Orientation and mobility: Techniques for independence, 2nd ed.,s. la grow & r. long, AER, pp
Picture description: two men waiting at train platform, one man holding a long cane

16. What is an outreach in the community and why should I do this and when will I find time?!

17. According to Merriam-Webster, an outreach is an extension of services beyond current or usual limits

18. Outreaches in community places
Where and Why to do an outreach
What to include in an outreach
Prospective employer locations
Community centers
Other?
Build a pedestrian friendly environment
Keeps instructors current in travel/housing/community trends
Learn about changes in traffic patterns by attending transportation safety board meetings
Description of services offered at an agency
Use of simulator goggles
Hands on experiences under simulator goggles
Human guide instruction
Assistance in the accommodation of an employee at a job site

19. Thank you for attending this session
Thank you for attending this session!!! Please me for handouts describing what I include in an outreach, as well as my assessments that I use for employment. Please feel free to contact me with questions at: OR AT MY MOBILE NUMBER (757) VALERY HERRING: Ma, coms