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From the desk of the guest
editor: Nora Griffin-Shirley,
Ph.D., COMS Research and Education in
Visual Impairment (806) 742-1997 ext. 247/233 I can hardly believe that
the fall semester is ready to begin. Currently I am just finishing up teaching
my favorite college courses: the summer orientation and mobility (O&M) cane
classes. Yesterday after class a couple of my graduate students inquired about
TTU’s Special Education Program’s doctoral program.
Some of the questions they asked concerned the content of the program and
its logistics. However, the most important question focused on where could they
make the greatest impact in the field of education of children with blindness
and visual impairments? Of course the initial questions were the easiest to
answer but the last one took some thought and discussion on everyone’s part.
One of the students’ felt that the he would make a greater impact
teaching at a university preparing professionals to teach children with
blindness and visual impairments. My
response was “Yes, university faculty do make an great impact by preparing
highly qualified teachers and O&M specialists to teach children, but what a
tremendous difference passionate practitioners who are teaching individuals with
blindness and visual impairments and their families make when they assist in
these consumers’ acquisition of the necessary skills to succeed and be happy
in this world.” Upon further
reflection, the better answer is, “we collectively make a difference!”
We learn and teach each other all the time.
Individuals with blindness and visual impairments teach us what we need
to teach them; their families tell and/or show us what they need; other
professionals ask for and provide information and skills for us to learn about
and use; and legislators develop policy and provide budgets for us to provide
education and rehabilitative services.
Orientation and/or mobility
skills are involved in everything we do – from a child reading braille to him
traveling to the school cafeteria for the first time or to his first job.
It is a field like no other. In July I celebrated my
birthday and realized that I have now spent half of my life in the orientation
and mobility (O&M) field. What a
landmark! During the past 25 years I
have had the privilege of experiencing many wonderful events and meeting some
terrific professionals within the field. Being
guest editor of the first DVIQ issue dedicated to the O&M field is a real
honor. What a great way to start my
next 25 years in the field! The top ten reasons why I
have stayed in the field this long are: 1.
I get lots of exercise and am
outdoors teaching a great deal of the time. 2.
I meet and collaborate with many
dedicated and passionate professionals like Virginia Sowell, Alan Koenig, and
Norma DeMario, who certainly influenced me. 3.
I enjoy observing the ever
changing O&M field. A few of these changes have included the provision of
O&M services to children with blindness and visual impairments including
additional disabilities as well as infants and preschoolers, the development and
use of computer technology accessible for people with blindness and visual
impairments and other technology (e.g., audible pedestrian signals, electronic
travel devices, adaptive mobility devices) for the improvement of travel of our
consumers. 4.
I get to meet people with
blindness and visual impairments and their families though consumer
organizations and when I observe O&M interns at the schools and agencies
where they are assigned to for their internship. 5.
The field has provided me with
multiple opportunities for professional growth ranging from being an O&M
practitioner to a university faculty member and getting involved in professional
organizations like CEC-DVI and AER’s Orientation and Mobility Division. 6.
There is nothing like teaching a
person who is blind how to use 2 point touch cane technique and to watch her
traveling downtown with an air of confidence and a smile on her face.
What a sense of fulfillment! 7.
I have multiple opportunities to
travel: attending the non-conference O&M meetings (now known as SOMA, COMA,
SWOMA, NOMA) and other conferences, especially the International O&M
conferences; traveling to a consumer’s home to provide O&M training in the
Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia; and traveling by airplane to teach
college courses in San Antonio, Salt Lake City and Mobile. 8.
I am faced with situations where I
have to be creative and to problem solve with my students: for example, how am I
going to teach someone to travel in a village in China or teach a child the
route from his house over to the pig pen to feed his pigs to get them ready for
the state fair’s 4-H competition? 9.
The importance of collaboration to
accomplish common goals like organizing an orienteering meet with Bruce Blasch,
conceptualizing the O&M assistant idea with Butch Hill, Bill Weiner, and
Janet Barlow and engaging in research and writing with Pat Kelley, Roseanna
Davidson, Carol Layton, Bill Jacobson, and Richard Long. 10.
If I had not been in this field I
would not have met my husband, Mike Shirley, who was blind and taught me most of
what I know about living with someone who has a chronic illness and the
importance of humor, a circle of supportive family and friends and workplace,
and a medical and rehabilitation team who is consumer and family oriented and
using a dog guide. O&M specialists are an
eclectic group of professionals, therefore, this issue’s articles are an
excellent representation of our diversity. The
topics include Dr. Anthony’s article on the importance of O&M for babies,
Drs. Blasch and Penrod’s research article on the use of electronic travel
devices with children, Dr. Dignan’s recruitment article, Ms. Anderson and Ms.
Matinez’s articles focusing on the provision of O&M services to children
with additional disabilities and their newly developed O&M assessment tool,
and Mr. Clare’s delightful article on serving children in the Alaskan bush.
I enjoyed working with
these talented and gracious professionals who gave of their time, energy and
vast knowledge to share with the readership of DVIQ.
Finally, a heartfelt expression of gratitude is extended to the DVI Board
who voted to dedicate this issue to the field of O&M and to Dr. Sheila
Amato, the editor of DVIQ, who makes it all happen multiple times of year.
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