Career Outlook and Job Vacancies for Low Vision Therapists, Orientation, Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists (2024)

FAQs

Career Outlook and Job Vacancies for Low Vision Therapists, Orientation, Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists? ›

Vacancies for this career have increased by 51.52 percent nationwide in that time, with an average growth of 3.22 percent per year. Demand for Low Vision Therapists, Orientation, Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists is expected to go up, with an expected 39,390 new jobs filled by 2029.

Orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists teach individuals with visual impairments to travel safely, confidently and independently in their environment. They work with infants, children and adults usually on a one-to-one basis in a home, school, hospital or in the community.

Orientation and mobility specialists work in a variety of therapeutic settings including hospitals, schools, within the community, and in visually impaired people's homes to teach patients how to use their other senses, tools such as canes, and systems they develop to accomplish their mobility needs.

Earn a Master's Degree (2 Years)

Once you graduate from a Master's program and meet all the requirements for certification by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals in orientation and mobility you can take the national certification exam.

COMS Description

COMS are engaged in a comprehensive approach to orientation & mobility addressing nonvisual, visual, physical, cognitive, and psycho-social aspects related to mobility training for individuals of all ages, as well as diverse needs and abilities.

Demand for Low Vision Therapists, Orientation, Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists is expected to go up, with an expected 39,390 new jobs filled by 2029. This represents an annual increase of 3.46 percent over the next few years.

Orientation and Mobility training provides tremendous benefits, including: Increased independence: O&M training empowers people with blindness and low vision to confidently navigate their home and other environments. Training also helps increase someone's ability to remain active and reduce reliance on others.

An Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialist provides instruction to help you develop or re-learn the skills and concepts needed to travel safely and independently within your home and the community.

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) services means services provided to blind or visually impaired children by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home and community.

The Orientation & Mobility (O&M) program prepares specialists to teach independent travel skills and concepts to infants, children, and adults who are blind or visually impaired.

What is the difference between orientation and mobility? ›

Orientation vs mobility

Orientation refers to a person's ability to use their senses to know where they are positioned in their environment. Mobility refers to the person's capability and readiness to move in their environment.

Typically, a person with no prior O&M training and little to no useful vision will need three to six months of training to become as independent as their abilities permit. Students who have had previous training can complete the program in three to four weeks.

Orientation and Mobility Skills

Mobility refers to the ability to move around safely and efficiently. We use mobility skills when we walk down the street without falling or take the bus to and from work. Most people develop these skills naturally without really thinking through all of the steps that are required.

independent movement: which includes crawling, rolling, walking, etc. sighted guide: using another person to aid in travel. protective techniques: specific skills which provide added protection in unfamiliar areas. cane skills: use of various cane techniques to clear one's path or to locate objects along the way.

What is the goal of orientation and mobility instruction? O&M training seeks to give individuals with visual impairment confidence and skills to move through their environment safely. Orientation refers to an individual's sense of place within their environment.

Orientation and mobility specialists help people with disabilities stay actively involved in society. They teach blind, visually impaired, and disabled individuals how to master the skills necessary to live independently and often encourage them to participate in various educational or recreational programs.