Programs
Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRTM)
Faculty Contact: Susan Ponchillia
Vision rehabilitation therapists offer adults who are blind or visually impaired information and resources they need to lead successful, productive, independent lives. They provide specialized methods or adaptive techniques for communication and coping with the demands of daily living.
The broad sphere of communication includes Braille, computers, handwriting, listening and recording technology, low-vision technology, mathematical calculation, and keyboarding.
Instruction in daily living skills includes food preparation, personal management, home management, home mechanics, leisure and recreation activities, and orientation and movement in familiar indoor environments.
Services are primarily provided in two major settings: rehabilitation centers designed to serve groups of people and in people's homes. Therapists work with individual students or small groups.
Vision rehabilitation therapists also work with other rehabilitation team members to help students identify the services they need. Because they establish close working relationships, therapists often help students adjust and adapt successfully to blindness.
The Curriculum
Students preparing to be vision rehabilitation therapists enroll in blindness core courses and specialized courses in vision rehabilitation therapy. They receive a total of 39 credit hours of instruction, including a professional field experience. The program can be completed in three to four semesters, after which the master's degree is awarded.
The following is a chart that lists the courses for the Orientation and Mobility for Adults program. Here is a link to course descriptions.
Course title |
Dept Course No |
Credit Hrs. |
Services for Persons with Disabilities |
BLS 5770 |
1 |
Computer Technology in Rehabilitation |
BLS 5840 |
3 |
Psycho-Social Aspects of Disability |
BLS 5880 |
2 |
Medical & Functional Aspects of Disability |
BLS 5890 |
2 |
Physiology and Function of the Eye |
BLS 5900 |
2 |
Braille and Other Tactual Communication Systems |
BLS 5910 |
2 |
Methods of Teaching Adaptive Communication |
BLS 5930 |
2 |
Principles of Low Vision |
BLS 5970 |
2 |
Small ‘N’ Research: Design and Analysis |
BLS 6010 |
3 |
Gerontology – O&M and VRT |
BLS 6020 |
2 |
Practice in Low Vision |
BLS 6050 |
1 |
Assisted or Independent Research |
BLS 6100 or 7100 |
2 |
Teaching for Independent Living |
FCS 6360 |
4 |
Principles of Rehabilitation Teaching |
BLS 6640 |
3 |
Practicum in Rehabilitation Teaching |
BLS 6910 |
2 |
Professional Field Experience |
BLS 7120 |
6 |
GRAND TOTAL |
|
39 |