Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists
In the Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists occupation, workers provide therapy to patients with visual impairments to improve their functioning in daily life activities. The job can ask you to teach cane skills, including cane use with a guide, diagonal techniques, and two-point touches. On the six-type interest model it reads SRI, meaning helping, teaching or caring for people comes first, followed by hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world. Plan on graduate school and often five years or more of related experience; O*NET labels this extensive preparation. Strength in speaking, learning strategies, and active listening helps most here. It tends to suit people who want helping, teaching or caring for people, and it offers little for anyone seeking leading, persuading and making business decisions.
What they do
Provide therapy to patients with visual impairments to improve their functioning in daily life activities. May train patients in activities such as computer use, communication skills, or home management skills.
Main tasks
- Teach cane skills, including cane use with a guide, diagonal techniques, and two-point touches.
- Recommend appropriate mobility devices or systems, such as human guides, dog guides, long canes, electronic travel aids (ETAs), and other adaptive mobility devices (AMDs).
- Train clients with visual impairments to use mobility devices or systems, such as human guides, dog guides, electronic travel aids (ETAs), and other adaptive mobility devices (AMDs).
- Develop rehabilitation or instructional plans collaboratively with clients, based on results of assessments, needs, and goals.
- Write reports or complete forms to document assessments, training, progress, or follow-up outcomes.
- Train clients to use tactile, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and proprioceptive information.
Skills
- Speaking
- Learning Strategies
- Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You like ending the day with a physical result you can point to.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and learning strategies.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 2.1 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SRI takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Master's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Certified Low Vision Therapist (CLVT)
- Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS)
- Mobility Specialist
- Orientation and Mobility Instructor (O and M Instructor)
- Orientation and Mobility Specialist (O and M Specialist)
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.