Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Do you have any suggestions on how I can find out if becoming an Orientation and Mobility instructor is for me? (self.Blind)
submitted by doughnutevergiveup
Hi, sighted person here - I like the sound of becoming an Orientation and Mobility instructor but the only route in that I can find (I'm from the UK) involves going back to university. Do you have any ideas on how I can find out if it is something I would be good at or enjoy, prior to signing up to do a degree in it? If anyone knows of somewhere I could do a beginner's course too, that would be amazing. Thanks so much!
CloudyBeep 6 points 1y ago
I suggest contacting a local blindness organization such as the RNIB to find a practising UK-based O&M instructor to speak with to get an idea of the "day in the life".
retrolental_morose 1 points 1y ago
Volunteer with your local sight-loss charity or nearest school for VI children/teens, to gauge the ends of the age spectrum. You may well have to go back to uni, but given the shortages in the community support you might be able to do some on-the-job work too (which you'll have to do toward the end of any study anyway, so no harm in shopping around first).
Iamheno 1 points 1y ago
I’d highly recommend university training. I’m planning to come back for O & M after I get a few years of VRT work under my belt.
changeneverhappens 0 points 1y ago
All certification programs are through a university. I'm in the US and it's the same here.
I definitely recommend shadowing and speaking to a few O&Ms.
The National Federation of the Blind, or NFB has its own mobility specialist training, which I don't believe requires an O&M cert. Some NFB trainers may probably prefer you don't have one, quite honestly. However, you will only be able to work for NFB and agencies that use NFB practices. I'm not sure if the the NFB has a presence in the UK, but if they don't, I'm sure there's a similar advocacy group.
I was a teacher for the Visually Impaired first and then started my O&M cert. I love it.
You don't have to be a teacher to be a COMS, but you do need to be able to learn how to teach and instruct. There's also a lot of funding here for O&M certs. Mine was free- I just had to pay for my gas to class and my books. It may be worth reaching out to the programs near you and asking about funding and grants.
I definitely recommend shadowing and speaking to a few O&Ms.
The National Federation of the Blind, or NFB has its own mobility specialist training, which I don't believe requires an O&M cert. Some NFB trainers may probably prefer you don't have one, quite honestly. However, you will only be able to work for NFB and agencies that use NFB practices. I'm not sure if the the NFB has a presence in the UK, but if they don't, I'm sure there's a similar advocacy group.
I was a teacher for the Visually Impaired first and then started my O&M cert. I love it.
You don't have to be a teacher to be a COMS, but you do need to be able to learn how to teach and instruct. There's also a lot of funding here for O&M certs. Mine was free- I just had to pay for my gas to class and my books. It may be worth reaching out to the programs near you and asking about funding and grants.
CloudyBeep 2 points 1y ago
In Australia, it's possible to be certified through a course offered by one of the service providers, but you must already have a degree.
The NFB's O&M certification is the NOMC.
There is an NFB UK, but their importance was small and is now practically nonexistent. There are no large-scale blindness advocacy groups in the UK.
The NFB's O&M certification is the NOMC.
There is an NFB UK, but their importance was small and is now practically nonexistent. There are no large-scale blindness advocacy groups in the UK.
AllHarlowsEve 2 points 1y ago
Is the RNIB not a large-scale blindness advocacy group? They're talked about with as much respect as the rabid cult of the NFB in the US, so I assumed they were analogous.
CloudyBeep 1 points 1y ago
The RNIB is a blindness agency. They're similar to a lighthouse in the U.S. They do voice opinions on behalf of blind people on policy and advocacy issues, but they have clients rather than members. Many blind people in the U.K. actually dislike them because the RNIB often infantilizes blind people or ignores congenitally blind people.
changeneverhappens 2 points 1y ago
Thank you for the information! I'm disappointed to hear about the lack of a large-scale Blindness advocacy group in the UK
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