Orientation and Mobility Resources

This page provides a brief introduction and lists resources to learn more about Orientation and Mobility (O&M).

  • Sections of this Website Page:
    • Orientation and Mobility
    • White Canes
    • Guide Dogs
    • Orientation and Mobility Specialists
    • Resources Created by Others
    • Resources Created by Me

International Guide Dog Day is April 28th. National Guide Dog Month is September.

White Cane Day is October 15th. Also known as White Cane Awareness Day and White Cane Safety Day.

Additional recommended website pages: TVIs Resources Page and Transition for VI Resources Page (not available yet).

Orientation and Mobility:

Orientation and Mobility (O&M): A profession that focuses on instructing individuals who are visually impaired on how to travel safely, efficiently, and effectively through their environment.

  • Orientation: The ability to know where you are and where you want to go, whether you’re moving from one room to another or walking downtown for a shopping trip.
  • Mobility: The ability to move safely, efficiently, and effectively from one place to another, such as being able to walk without tripping or falling, cross streets, and use public transportation.
  • Orientation refers to knowing where you are by using clues from your environment. Mobility means moving safely from place to place in a graceful and efficient manner.
  • Orientation and Mobility is often just shortened to O&M.

White Canes:

  • White Cane: A device used by visually impaired people to help them navigate and identify themselves as visually impaired to others.
  • It’s a cane, not a stick!
  • A Certified Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialist provides white cane training. The Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) can support and reinforce techniques that have been taught to the student, but may not write O&M IEP goals or directly teach skills.
  • Types of White Canes
    • The standard mobility cane, used to navigate.
    • The support cane, used by people with visual impairments who also have mobility challenges.
    • The ID (identity) cane, a small, foldable cane used by people with partial sight (aka low vision) to let others know they have a visual impairment.
  • Misconceptions
    • False: All white cane users have total blindness.
    • True: White canes indicate some type of visual impairment. 
    • False: All visually impaired people use a white cane. 
    • True: Most people who are visually impaired don’t use a white cane.
    • False: All white canes have to be white. 
    • True: White canes come in many different colors – red and white striped means the person has a visual impairment and a hearing impairment.
  • Advantages of Using a White Cane
    • Increased confidence to travel independently.
    • Ease of interactions with the general public.
    • Increased safety during travel.
  • White Cane Social Etiquette
    • Never touch, grab, or interfere with a white cane.
    • Don’t grab onto the person and try to steer them.
    • Make way for a person with a white cane.
    • Keep crosswalks clear to cross.
    • Don’t forget when driving to be aware of pedestrians using a white cane. They may need more time to cross the street and avoid trying to help from the car. No honking or trying to yell that it is safe to cross.
  • White Cane Laws
    • The laws in each state in the US vary widely and drivers do not always reliably stop for pedestrians who carry white canes.
    • When drivers see pedestrians who are carrying white canes:
      • Some states require that drivers yield.
      • Some states require drivers to come to a full stop.
      • Some states require only that drivers exercise caution when in the presence of pedestrians with white canes.
      • Some states provide no special rights and protections to pedestrians who are carrying white canes that are not provided to all pedestrians.
  • Facts About White Canes
    • Most people who are visually impaired don’t use a white cane. In fact, only an estimated 2 percent to 8 percent do. The rest rely on their usable vision, a guide dog or a sighted guide. White canes are white because of George A. Bonham. In 1930, Bonham, president of the Peoria Lions Club (Illinois), watched a man who was blind attempting to cross a street. The man’s cane was black and motorists couldn’t see it, so Bonham proposed painting the cane white with a red stripe to make it more noticeable. The idea quickly caught on around the country. The standard technique for using a white cane was pioneered in 1944 by Richard E. Hoover, a World War II veteran rehabilitation specialist. His technique of holding a long cane in the center of the body and swinging it back and forth before each step to detect obstacles is still called the “Hoover Method.”
    • Yes, it’s legal to take a white cane through security at an airport, according to the TSA, but it has to go through the X-ray machine.
    • In some states, it’s illegal for a person who is not legally blind to use a white cane to gain right-of-way while crossing a street. Get caught in Florida, for example, and you’ll face second-degree misdemeanor charges and up to 60 days in prison.
    • Today’s modern, lightweight canes are usually made from aluminum, fiberglass or carbon fiber, and can weigh as little as seven ounces. Some white cane users prefer straight canes, which are more durable, while others prefer collapsible canes, which can be folded and stored more easily.
    • White canes are going high-tech. Inventors in India, Great Britain and France have equipped white canes with ultrasonic devices that detect obstacles up to nine feet away. Vibrations in the cane’s handle warn users of potential hazards in their path. Another example is the WeWALK cane.
    • White caning can be fun. The Braille Institute sponsors an annual Cane Quest, where youngsters aged 3-12 compete to quickly and safely navigate a route in their community using their white canes. The contest helps kids master proper white cane techniques and encourages independence. You can also buy accessories to go with the white cane.
Source: https://deafblind.org.uk/deafblind-awareness-red-and-white-canes. One example: https://www.medexsupply.com/mobility-canes-folding-canes-lumex-folding-blind-cane-41–x_pid-10819.html?pid=10819. Can also buy reflective tape to create same striped type: https://ambutech.com/collections/reflective-tape.

Guide Dogs:

  • Guide Dog (Dog Guide): Assistance dogs trained to lead visually impaired people around obstacles.
  • Aka Seeing Eye Dogs, a phrase copyrighted by The Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ.
  • Purpose / Benefits
    • Help VI people travel effectively and safely.
    • Ensuring the person avoids obstacles.
    • Increased confidence to travel independently.
    • Ease of interactions with the general public.
    • The abilities of the dog and handler work in tandem to successfully navigate the world.
    • Medical studies confirm that dogs impact the health of their human companions. Canines have a positive psychological effect making their owners feel more confident and secure. Blind people with guide dogs are better equipped to set out into the world with their trusted friend.
    • A canine companion also relieves depression, stress, and anxiety which improves cardiovascular health & mental health. Plus, a blind person with a guide dog is likely to walk more and the additional exercise is a health benefit. People on the street are more apt to communicate with a person walking a dog, so the visually impaired owner may enjoy the resulting social interaction.
    • Source: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/guide-dogs
  • Guide Dogs Social Etiquette
    • A guide dog is working when they are with their handler, so check first before touching or interacting with the dog.A guide dog should never be offered food or other distracting treats.Don’t interfere with the guide dog’s ability to work. Don’t grab onto the person or the guide dog’s harness and try to steer them.Make way for a person with a guide dog.Keep crosswalks clear to cross. Don’t forget when driving to be aware of pedestrians using a guide dog. They may need more time to cross the street and avoid trying to help from the car. No honking or trying to yell that it is safe to cross.
  • Facts About Guide Dogs
    • Guide dogs aren’t as popular an option as most people tend to think. It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 guide dog teams currently working in the United States. Another frequently cited statistic is that only about 2% of all people who are blind and visually impaired work with guide dogs.
    • The use of dogs to help guide those who are blind dates at least as far back as the mid-16th century. We can trace the formal training of guide dogs, however, to the early 1990s, when after WW1, Germany, the United States, and Great Britain established guide-dog schools to accommodate blinded veterans.
    • Popular breeds for training are Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds.
    • According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a guide dog is allowed any place a person can go.
    • Unique skills that a guide dog has: Leading a person in a straight line from point A to point B, stopping for all changes in elevation (including curbs and stairs), stopping for overhead obstacles (such as tree limbs), and avoiding obstacles in their path.
    • When a guide dog is not working and out of harness, playing and relaxing is definitely encouraged. It’s also a great way for a handler and guide to bond and strengthen their partnership.
    • The guide dog does not “take” the person anywhere; usually the person must first know where they are going. The dog can be a protection against unsafe areas or obstacles. The person is still responsible for having the skills needed to travel safely that the guide dog can’t do such as identify traffic signals.
    • Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green color blind and incapable of interpreting street signs. The human does the directing, based on skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft’s navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely.
    • Even though dogs have good homing instincts, they cannot map out a route to an unfamiliar location. The abilities of the dog and handler work in tandem to successfully navigate the world.
    • They must undergo extensive training. For example, the dogs not only need to “guide” their owners around obstacles, but among other things, they are expected to maintain a steady pace, stop at curbs on both sides of the street and at the bottom and top of stairs before being told to proceed, and recognize openings too small in height or width for their owner to fit.
    • They need to have a temperament whereby they are not distracted by environmental sights, sounds, and smells, including other dogs. In addition, the guide dog’s disposition must be conducive to sitting quietly at their owners feet for long periods of time.
    • Users of guide dogs require extensive training to learn how to use their dogs properly. The intensive training – as well as the facts that guide dogs are large, walk relatively fast, and need to be cared for – make them particularly questionable for children.

Orientation and Mobility Specialist:

  • If the student is mobile and has a significant visual impairment or is blind, they may require special instruction from an Orientation and Mobility Specialist to assist them in independent travel. Independent travel helps build self-esteem and self-confidence as the student learns to move freely about. Independent travel gives the student more control over their environments, enabling them to travel when and wherever they wish (within their capabilities), without having to always rely on others to take them where they want to go. If the student learns good orientation & mobility skills as a child, they are more likely to develop into a responsible, confident, and independent adult traveler. – Source.
  • COMS work with people who have low vision, people who are blind, and people who are deafblind.
  • O&M instruction is usually conducted on a one-to-one (O&M and one individual) basis. – Source.
  • O&M training is an ongoing process.  Training prepares individuals to learn new routes independently.  However, even experienced cane travels often need more training when those new routes include complex intersections, busy urban areas or new train stations. – Source.
  • The ultimate goal of O&M instruction is for visually impaired persons to be able to travel in any environment as independently as possible. To reach this goal, O&M instruction must begin at the earliest possible age. – Source.
  • Communication is important between the O&M specialist and the person with a VI. It’s important to give very clear and descriptive explanations & speak clearly and loudly, say the individual’s name a lot, don’t not talk.
  • O&M specialists can use a variety of different communication methods depending on the needs of the person – print, sign language, Print-On-Palm, Braille, verbal communication.
  • O&M specialists are responsible for the safety of the person they are helping and must always make sure that their person remains safe and avoids becoming injured.
  • Ages Taught
    • Infants, children, teens, adults, and seniors.
    • It’s recommended to start O&M as early in the individual’s life as possible as it will be more helpful overall.
    • Students in preschool and elementary school may be instructed in how to travel around their school building, playground, and neighborhood by themselves.  Elementary school students may learn about more complex environmental concepts, including topography (slope, hilly) and textures (concrete, bumpy), and about positional concepts (in front of, in back of). Middle and high school students generally learn how to cross streets at busy intersections, ride city buses, use distance visual devices that can help them see street signs, or addresses, use compass directions, plan a route of travel, shop in malls, and travel in unfamiliar areas independently.  The O&M Specialist will teach the student when it is appropriate to use a guide, when to use a cane, and when the student is older, when and if a dog guide might be useful. – Source.
  • Where They Work
    • In elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and schools for the blind.
    • In the community where the individual lives and/or work (itinerant O&M).
    • At a rehabilitation center (center-based O&M).
  • Responsibilities They Have (not all possible ones are listed below)
    • Main Responsibilities
      • Teaching O&M skills.
      • Help the individual travel safely, efficiently and as independently as possible within the home, at school, at work and in the community.
      • Responsible for the safety of the person they are helping and must always make sure that their person remains safe and avoids becoming injured.
      • Work with other VI professionals to collaborate on how to best meet the needs of the VI students.
      • Work with the community, schools, and the individual’s family.
      • Conducting O&M assessments and working on program planning. Orientation & Mobility assessments are conducted for students of all ages and ability levels, including students who are not yet walking, those in wheelchairs, and those who may never travel unassisted.
      • Acquiring/creating/purchasing and providing O&M supplies such as white canes and tactile maps.
      • Integrate their O&M skills with other aspects of the ECC such as daily living skills, social interaction skills, recreation & leisure, and career skills.
      • Helping the VI individual become more independent.
    • Other Responsibilities
      • Teaching white cane skills and how to use other devices (telescope, monocular, etc.) to walk safely and efficiently.
      • Working with an individual’s guide dog. 
      • Use one’s residual sight.
      • Teach using self-protective techniques and human/sighted guide techniques to move safely through indoor and outdoor environments.
      • Teach using GPS.
      • Teaching techniques for crossing streets, such as analyzing and identifying intersections and traffic patterns.
      • Teaching how to use public transportation and transit systems effectively and safely.
      • Teaching how to navigate through community settings such as grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, restaurants, and stores.
      • Teaching how to use tactile maps.
      • Sensory development, or maximizing all of one’s senses to help one know where they are and where they want to go.
      • Soliciting and/or declining assistance.
      • Finding destinations with strategies that include following directions and using landmarks and compass directions.
      • Problem-solving skills to determine what to do if one is disoriented or lost or need to change their route.
      • Concept development for young children who are blind or visually impaired, including those who are deafblind or who have multiple disabilities.
      • Directionality and spatial orientation: up/down, back/front, above/below, in front of/behind, in/out, left/right.
      • Working with younger students on concept development as it relates to body image, spatial awareness, and knowledge of the environment.
      • Auditory skills, such as listening and auditory discrimination (identifying sounds, locating sound sources).
      • Directions: asking for, giving, reading, writing.
      • Recognizing signs, numbers, addresses.
      • Utilizing mental maps.
      • Route planning / researching routes: teach how to get information about one’s destination and how to get there, using one’s prior knowledge and adding different resources before and during your travel. This includes making sure they’re comfortable going to both familiar places and unfamiliar places.
    • In schools
      • Help the student learn routes throughout the classroom(s) and within the school.
      • Might also work in collaboration with the student’s primary teacher(s), showing the teacher(s) how to incorporate O&M techniques into the daily classroom routine and monitoring the correct use of O&M techniques.
      • Write IEP goals and objectives. Be an active & responsible member of IEP teams.
      • Working with & collaborating with Teachers of the Visually Impaired and other VI professionals.
      • May also collaborate with other professionals such as the physical therapist (if the student is receiving services in this area) and the physical education teacher in the assessment of gross motor skills. They will need to determine if there are implications for movement, coordination, and balance. 
    • O&M specialists often do not view themselves as teaching literacy, but there are, in fact, many opportunities to practice literacy skills during O&M lessons. Examples include:
      • Concept development for young children who are blind or visually impaired, including those who are deafblind or who have multiple disabilities
      • Directionality and spatial orientation: up/down, back/front, above/below, in front of/behind, in/out, left/right
      • Auditory skills, such as listening and auditory discrimination (identifying sounds, locating sound sources)
      • Map skills
      • Directions: asking for, giving, reading, writing
      • Recognizing signs, numbers, addresses
      • Keeping a journal of routes
      • Researching routes
  • Sources:
  • COMS & TVIs
    • COMS and Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) work together to meet the needs of visually impaired students.
    • The Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) can support and reinforce techniques that have been taught to the student, but may not write O&M goals (on IEPs) or directly teach skills (such as white cane skills).

Resources Created by Others:

Resources Created by Me:

  • Orientation and Mobility Specialists
    • This is a resource that I plan to create and share in the future.