Title:
Orientation and Mobility Specialist
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Work Unit/Location:
District School Sites
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Reports to:
Director of Special Education
Supervises: N/A
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Contract Length:
1.0 FTE (maximum)
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Pay Schedule:
Ancillary Staff Salary Schedule
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Overtime Status:
Dependent upon IEP (due to light at different times of day)
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Hours:
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.
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Union Status:
Non-Union Exempt
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Licensure:
NMPED K-12 Mobility Trainer for the Blind.
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General Job Function: To provide orientation and mobility services to students with visual impairments.
Education/Training/Experience:
Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree Certification specific to Orientation and Mobility
Knowledge/Skills and Abilities:
Experience with school-aged children, including preschoolers. Experience with children with multiple impairments. Experience working with teams.
Resources Used in Performing Job Include (but are not limited to):
Perform orientation and mobility evaluations that focus on long- and short-term needs of the student for new referrals and at intervals as designated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Identify the needs and strengths of the student and an estimate of the length and frequency of service necessary to meet determined needs and include such information in the assessment report. Contribute to other appropriate portions of the IEP, such as goals and recommendations. Provide consultation and support services to parents, educators, other team members, and students’ sighted peers. Confer regularly with parents, classroom teachers, physical education teachers, physical therapists, and other school personnel to assist in modifications to ensure reinforcement of appropriate O&M skills that will encourage the student who is visually impaired to travel independently in these settings and in the future. Work with the teacher of students with visual impairments to conduct the functional vision assessment as it relates to independent travel. Evaluate the student’s progress on an ongoing basis and keep progress notes on each student.
Environmental Conditions:
Instruct students with visual impairments in skills and knowledge that enable them to travel independently based on the IEP. Teach students to travel with proficiency, safety, and confidence in familiar and unfamiliar environments. Prepare sequential and meaningful instruction geared to the student’s assessed needs, IEP goals and objectives, functioning level, and motivation level. Be responsible for the student’s safety during O&M instruction and in other environments while fostering maximum independence during O&M lessons. Prepare and use equipment and materials, such as tactile maps, models, optical devices, pre-canes, GPS devices, and long canes for the development of O&M skills. Provide orientation of new buildings and new class schedules to students with visual impairments as needed, including those community settings where students receive instruction.
Essential Job Functions:
Instructing special education students who are blind or visually impaired with safe and effective travel through their environment.
Personal Accountability:
The supervisor, typically a special education administrator, will evaluate performance. Individual(s) knowledgeable in programs for students who are visually impaired should complete evaluation.
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