What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

(Photo credit: Encyclopedia Britannica; Photo Description: A person's hands are reading the right-hand side of a braille book.)

I wanted to be a veterinarian. But here I stand, a teacher of students with visual impairment and blindness and Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist. A job I never knew existed until I was 23 years old. And 18 years later, I look back and think about the twists and turns in my life that led to my discovery of this unique profession. A love for science. A dream to be an optometrist. A classmate who told me about the graduate studies program in the same building at Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now Salus University). Shadowing an orientation and mobility specialist at the Cleveland Sight Center. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In the field of blindness and visual impairment, I can venture to say we are in a crisis. Although I do not have any hard-core statistics, I believe the ratio of TVI’s (teachers of students with visual impairment) and O&M (orientation and mobility) instructors retiring compared to students entering into the teacher/O&M university programs around the country, is steep. More vision professionals are retiring and not enough people are entering these professional preparation programs to become a TVI and/or an O&M specialist. Since I entered this field 18 years ago, there has always been a significant need for more of us.

But how do we fulfill that need? How can we get more people interested in this field and profession? Do most people even know our profession even exists?

During O&M lessons in the community with students, numerous people have asked what I’m doing and are down-right curious about why I am following a student with a long cane. When others ask what I do for a career and I explain, many people’s response is: “Wow! So, do you teach them braille? I never knew they had teachers ‘out there’ that did that! That is so cool you teach braille!”. I truly believe educating others about our profession will help them consider this career choice when deciding about which path to pursue.

REACH ONE.

What if, each one of us could share this possibility and opportunity to as many students, young adults, and others in our community? And of course, with the help of social media, the possibilities of sharing abound. And if one, just ONE, of the people you share with, enters this field, think of how many people would be flooding the university programs becoming new students! It doesn’t matter who you are: current TVI, O&M specialist, parent of a child with or without a disability, special education teacher, classroom teacher, principal, neighbor, or grandparent…everyone can share!

For those of us already in the profession:

*Offer to talk to an elementary class when they do a unit on the five senses and Helen Keller. Kids LOVE to see their own name in braille!

*Offer to speak to a college or university education/special education class about the need for TVI’s/O&M instructors and share your experiences.

*Talk with another teacher in your school who you believe would like a (slightly) new career path.

* Offer to take university students for a shadowing experience.

*Speak at an elementary, middle, or high school's career day.

For everyone:

*Speak up when you hear a recent high school graduate or newly enrolled college student mention they have “no idea” what they want to major in for college or do as a career.

*Discuss the possibilities with an adult who is ready for a career change. Share the resource below of universities that offer professional preparation programs in visual impairment.

*Contact your child’s school district to speak with the TVI and/or O&M specialist if you or someone you know is interested in this profession.

There are many opportunities to share our profession with others. If we don’t share it, who will?

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I would love to hear young elementary children reply, “A teacher who helps people who are blind” or “orientation and mobility specialist” just as much as I hear all the other career choices. Let us start a movement. #futuretvi #futureOandMspecialist

-Kristen

Resources:

University Directory for Programs in Visual Impairment (credit: Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired)

http://www.tsbvi.edu/images/outreach/Documents/UniversityDirectory-ProgramsVI2016.pdf