SARA ZACHARIAH, COMS®, LLC
Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist
Orientation & Mobility (O&M) instruction is a set of sequential skills in which people with blindness are taught to determine their position in space & safely navigate their environment.
Individualized instruction may include:
- Concept development, e.g. body awareness directional/positional awareness for orientation purposes
- Sighted Guide techniques
- Self-protective travel techniques
- Functional use of remaining vision & use of other senses
- Training in the use of prescribed low vision devices
- Environmental awareness
- Utilizing landmarks/clues to aid in orientation
- Techniques for using the white cane
- Adaptive Mobility Devices
- Non-visual techniques for safely crossing streets, including analysis of intersections & traffic patterns
- Techniques for traveling independently within indoor environments, residential areas, small & large business districts, mall travel, & rural areas
- Tactile mapping skills
- Accessible GPS
- Skills to solicit/decline assistance
- Problem solving along a route
- Route planning & use of public transportation
My Orientation & Mobility assessments & instructional programs are individualized to meet the current & future independent travel needs of each student based on their functional, cognitive, & physical abilities. I have a strong interest in assessing individual student needs for O&M instruction. I’m happy to complete:
- Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Assessments, including O&M night evaluations/instruction to students with low vision as a part of individual transition plans when age-appropriate
- Functional Vision Assessments/Learning Media Assessments (FVA/LMA)
- Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) Assessments
- General blindness in-services for teams
- Assistance to School Administrators on caseload analysis for Vision Programs
Orientation & Mobility Resources
…And Just For Fun…
In celebration of White Cane Safety Day, observed each year on October 15th, here’s a fun video by Precious, a student with blindness, from Massachusetts.
“I Will Never Live Without My Cane”