A Tool to Encourage O&M Collaboration: One Family at a Time

Fabiana Perla, Ed.D., COMSBetsy O’Donnell, M.S., COMS

Terrie Terlau, Ph.D.

AER International ConferenceLittle Rock, AR

July 2010

Why a Software Program?• We are in the 21st Century!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Lack of time is the name of the game

• Software provides information on key areas related to

O&M in one place for instructors to select & modify as

needed

• Saves time by providing a comprehensive template to

work from

• Saves works in progress so you can work at your own

pace & also document/archive

The O&M Family Booklet: Lets Take a Look

What is Collaboration?

• Ongoing dialogue• Willingness to seek input and listen• Tailored to match the situation• Work in progress (dynamic, fluid)• Somewhere along a continuum • Openness to compromise, negotiation,

change• Can lead to meaningful engagement/shared

ownership in the O&M experience

Ways the O&M Family Booklet can be used to promote collaboration

• As a tool within a comprehensive collaborative plan to encourage effective communication with families.

• To provide families with meaningful information about O&M as it applies to their children’s lives.

• To assist families in incorporating O&M into everyday life.

Instructions to Families:You can use the Family Booklet General Strategies & Specific Activities to have fun and help your child make progress in his/her Orientation and Mobility Skills. Ready to play? 1. Select an activity from the booklet. You can modify it, or create your own.2. Then try it out. 3. Fill out the chart. 4. Make sure your child brings it to the next mobility lesson.

Every time your child brings the chart with an activity in it, he/she will get a sticker and after earning 5 stickers, he/she will get a SURPRISE!

Bonus stickers!Think of something to show what you did with your child, such as a photograph of a trip, a store receipt, a train ticket or things you found during a walk (e.g., tree leaves, an interesting stone) and he/she can get extra points! Put it in a bag or envelope and remember to bring it to the next mobility lesson.

O&M Activity Game

Your Child’s O&M Activity Chart

Date Activity/ What did you do?

Parent

initial

How did it go? Child earns…

1-12-10 Exploring the neighborhood:

Took a walk around the block. B. F.We had fun. Melissa really liked meeting people and talking with them along the way.

1-20-10 Sounds like

B. F.

Last Saturday, we played this game with the kids. Melissa liked touching things with her cane, but at the beginning had trouble guessing what things were made of from the sound they made. Her little brother closed his eyes and played too.

Ideal Outcomes

• Families creatively coming up with activities of their own, making suggestions for O&M lessons (e.g., destinations, activities), reporting observed progress/problems.

• Child feeling supported & better understood, encouraged to use O&M skills beyond mobility lessons.

Make It Your Own!• Sharing with relatives, professionals, sport coaches

• Filling out individual sections only for specific purposes

• Involving students in the completion of their own

booklets

• Going over the completed booklet with students to

encourage discussion about different aspects of their

O&M

• Developing complementary materials to encourage

family participation in O&M

System Requirements

• PC running Windows 2000, XP, Vista or later

• Microsoft Net Framework 2.0

• Internet Explorer 5.01 or later (7.0 or later recommended)

• CD-ROM drive

A Work in Progress

• Additional strategies to assist families in applying what they have learned in the booklet

• O&M glossary

• Additional eye conditions

• Additional sample booklets

• Photographs of basic techniques, such as human guide or protective techniques

Feedback & questions:

Fabiana Perla- FPerla@Salus.edu

Betsy O’Donnell- Bodonnell@dciu.org

Terrie Terlau- TTerlau@aph.org