Expanding the Frontiers of Orientation and Mobility for Infants and Toddlers in New Mexico and Utah

Abstract

Early intervention services provide very young children, typically aged birth to 3 years, and their families and appropriate learning experiences to facilitate the child's learning and in their natural environment (Chen, 2014, p. 3). Teachers of students with visual impairments and certified orientation and mobility (OM Ferrell, 1998; Troster & Brambring, 1993). Because of the significant role vision plays in sensorimotor development in young (Rosen, 2010), the of visual input is a major contributor to these delays. Vision impairment frequently hinders these from purposefully reaching out and moving about to investigate and explore their surroundings. OM however, many often lack an understanding of early childhood learning, which makes them uncomfortable with providing services to very young children (Skellenger & Sapp, 2010, p. 200). There is an increasing recognition of a need for qualified O&M specialists in early intervention. O&M instructors who wish to work in early intervention need to obtain additional training in early childhood development and learn strategies for working with this special population. As the work of O&M specialists changes to include infants and toddlers, the roles of such specialists will also change (Anthony et al., 2002). Preparing O&M specialists to work appropriately with young with visual impairments and their families requires more than a shift from the formal O&M techniques and applications to a developmentally appropriate approach. The latter will demand further research and collaboration within an early childhood spectrum of education for with vision loss (Anthony et al., 2002, p. 404). This report represents the perspectives of two states that have recognized the need for specialized O&M services in their early intervention programs for young with visual impairments. New Mexico, with a growing early intervention O&M program, has a successful history of providing these services throughout the state. Utah, with a long history of providing early intervention vision services, but relatively new to the challenge of early intervention O&M, and inspired by New Mexico's success, is striving to provide support and training for these specialists to work with very young visually impaired and their families. NEW MEXICO: A GROWING PRACTICE Since 2000, the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NMSBVI) has been building its early intervention program. It began with one teacher of students with visual impairments who was tasked to provide services to infants and toddlers in a center-based program and has grown to a staff of 20 individuals who provide services throughout the state. …