Concurrent Session D
1:45-3:15 Sunday Concurrent Session D - Part 1
- Individualized Approach to Personnel Preparation: Achieving More Through Collaboration - Laura Bozeman, Nora Griffin-Shirley
ROOM: TBA (Presented once only!) f
Collaborative partnerships are an effective approach to share strategies and ideas to prepare teachers and related service professionals to support children and adults with visual impairment across the world. The collaborations must be individualized for the culture and needs of the partner to be successful. One size does not fit all.
- GDMI- Improving the skills and confidence of handlers with central vision; a look into The Seeing Eye’s partial occlusion program - Lukas Franck, Kristen Oplinger
ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:45)
This session will detail the partial occlusion training program that The Seeing Eye implements to benefit handlers with functional residual central vision. Participants will learn how the implementation of this approach has led to greater confidence in guide dog handling skills and a reduced need for “refresher” training with their guide dog when vision continues to deteriorate.
- Guide Dog Readiness: Tips, Tools, and Tricks - Rachal Havens, Alyssa Otis
ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:45)
This presentation explores guide dog readiness and successful guide dog use as longitudinal, clinically complex processes rather than checklist-based decisions. Designed for experienced Orientation and Mobility Specialists, the session integrates recent research, reflective practice, and applied instructional strategies to support professional judgment before and after guide dog placement.
- Communication in Motion: Practical Strategies for DeafBlind O&M Instruction - Taylor McCaffrey, Debbie Fiderer, Rosanna Babore, Michexa Belizaire
ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:45)
Participants will learn practical strategies for teaching DeafBlind travelers with a focus on modifications to instructional techniques and effective communication for both the instructor and the DeafBlind traveller. This interactive session for O&M Specialists and GDMIs includes hands-on activities where participants will create customized communication tools that DeafBlind individuals can use in real-world travel scenarios.
- Growing Up With Confidence: How the Belt Cane Allows Incidental and Active Learning to Occur Naturally - Geri Darko, Marjie Wood
ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:45)
This session will showcase children who have used or are currently using the belt cane, highlighting their improved and unexpected independent motor and cognitive skills. Participants will have opportunities to view, comment, and compare the belt cane with other O&M tools.
- DeafBlind-Centered Orientation & Mobility in Practice: Tactile Instruction, Co-Presence, and Relational Navigation - Hayley Broadway, Elysia Benton
ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:45)
This session explores practical, DeafBlind-centered Orientation & Mobility strategies that emphasize tactile instruction, co-presence, and relational navigation. Participants will gain immediately usable instructional approaches that support autonomy, safety, and ethical practice with travelers who are DeafBlind.
- Building Core O&M Skills Through Thematic Units - Shelby Kannanaikkal, Stephanie Herlich
ROOM: TBA (Repeated at 3:45)
This session explores creating meaningful lessons around one central theme and incorporating aspects of O&M/ECC skill instruction within that theme. Participants will receive a unit-planning template, review examples, and collaborate to design their own thematic units. Connecting this holistic style of O&M instruction to IEP goals will be discussed.
3:15-3:45 Break - snacks in exhibit area!
3:45-5:15 Sunday Concurrent Session D - Part 2
- Charting the Course: A Conversation for New and Seasoned O&M Specialists - Katie Ericson, Courtney Forman
ROOM: TBA (Presented once only!)
This interactive session invites new and seasoned O&M professionals to share their experience, from preparation programs to early years in the field. We seek input on what systems are succeeding & where challenges lie. We will provide practical resources & strategies to help overcome common obstacles in the field.
- Leading from Where You Are: Leadership Mindset and Practice in O&M - Amanda Stolz, Alex Livingston
ROOM: TBA (Presented once only!)
Leadership in O&M grows quietly through direct service long before it is named. This session explores leadership as both a mindset and practice, examining the unique ways it is expressed across our field, how it grows when recognized and cultivated within organizations, and how encouraging leadership capacity in one another shapes our professional development, organizational health, and the field as a whole.
- GDMI- Improving the skills and confidence of handlers with central vision; a look into The Seeing Eye’s partial occlusion program - Lukas Franck, Kristen Oplinger
ROOM: TBA (Same as presented at 1:45)
- Guide Dog Readiness: Tips, Tools, and Tricks - Rachal Havens, Alyssa Otis
ROOM: TBA (Same as presented at 1:45)
- Communication in Motion: Practical Strategies for DeafBlind O&M Instruction - Taylor McCaffrey, Debbie Fiderer, Rosanna Babore, Michexa Belizaire
ROOM: TBA (Same as presented at 1:45)
- Growing Up With Confidence: How the Belt Cane Allows Incidental and Active Learning to Occur Naturally - Geri Darko, Marjie Wood
ROOM: TBA (Same as presented at 1:45)
- DeafBlind-Centered Orientation & Mobility in Practice: Tactile Instruction, Co-Presence, and Relational Navigation - Hayley Broadway, Elysia Benton
ROOM: TBA (Same as presented at 1:45)
- Building Core O&M Skills Through Thematic Units - Shelby Kannanaikkal, Stephanie Herlich
ROOM: TBA (Same as presented at 1:45)
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