Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) (2024)

FAQs

What is a coms certification? ›

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.

Orientation and mobility (O&M) training teaches a person with visual impairment to use mobility aids such as a white cane or guide dog and move safely through their environment. Professionals usually conduct sessions one-to-one so they can tailor training to a person's specific needs and goals.

Benefits of Orientation and Mobility training

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.

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.

Utilizing their expertise, a mobility specialist develops treatment plans upon studying the clients' needs and medical histories, facilitates stretching sessions, establishes schedules, and educates clients about the importance of stretches and exercises.

Orientation and mobility (O&M) training is learning how to use a white cane to effectively know where you are, where you want to go and the skills to get to your destination. Our Orientation and Mobility program is a one-week residential program.

Orientation & Mobility experts define clues and landmark as, “any familiar object, sound, smell, temperature, tactile or visual clue that is easily recognised, is constant and has a discrete permanent location in the environment that is known to the traveller.” A clue can include the sounds, smells, temperature, ...

Orientation and mobility (O&M) instruction provides students who are deaf-blind with a set of foundational skills to use residual visual, auditory, and other sensory information to understand their environments.

How do orientation and mobility specialists assist clients? ›

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.

Orientation and mobility training (O & M) helps a blind or visually impaired child know where he is in space and where he wants to go (orientation). It also helps him be able to carry out a plan to get there (mobility).

An industry certification is a credential recognized by business and industry at the local, state or national level. It could be an assessment, an examination or a license that is administered and recognized by an industry third-party or governing board.

To obtain a GMS certification through the Worldwide ERC, relocation professionals must take and pass a comprehensive online exam. There are six modules in the exam to complete, and each person who tests must receive a score of at least 70 percent or higher to pass the exam.

The COMS will maintain good will in all activities relating to their client and will not tolerate or engage in any activity that results in the exploitation of the client. Exaggeration, sensationalism, superficiality, and other misleading activities must be avoided.

To become a mobility coach, you will need to have a strong understanding of human movement and be able to communicate effectively with your clients. Aside from that, you'll need to obtain a mobility coach certification, which our online courses can assist you with.