OMAA

Orientation and Mobility Association Australasia

Training Pathways for O&M

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O&M roles
Choosing a course of study
Courses in Australia and New Zealand
Conferences & continuing professional development

O&M roles


The Orientation and Mobility profession in Australasia embraces the following roles:

 

  • O&M Specialists (aka O&M Instructors) form the majority of the profession.  They work with vision-impaired clients of any age, with single or multiple disabilities.
  • O&M Teachers are dual qualified as O&M Instructors and registered special education teachers who work primarily with clients under the age of 18.
  • O&M Assistants operate under the guidance and support of an O&M Instructor to reinforce strategies being learned by the client.
  • Neuro O&M Instructors are O&M Instructors who specialise in working with clients of any age who have a neurological vision impairment from acquired brain injury or malformation.
  • Developmental O&M Instructors specialise in working with children, and are currently only trained and employed in New Zealand.
  • Guide Dog Mobility Instructors are dual qualified as O&M Instructors and Guide Dog Instructors.  They     usually work with vision-impaired clients over the age of 18, focussing on guide dog travel.
This section last updated: 2/4/2007

Choosing a course of study

A variety of courses in Australia and New Zealand offer full O&M training or contain some O&M focus. The course you choose will depend on whether you wish to work primarily as an O&M Specialist, O&M Assistant, or whether you wish to have an understanding of O&M in the context of another role. At this point it is up to the individual employer to determine the standard of qualification they require in their staff, so you may wish to contact potential employers first. Many of these courses do not run every year and you will need to contact each course coordinator for more information.


Courses in Australia and New Zealand

Certificate Courses

 

·         Certificate III in Community Services and Health (Disability) - Orientation and Mobility Assistants Training Program
Time Frame: approx 3 months (50 hours + 40 hours supervised practise)
Royal Society for the Blind (SA) - 254 Angas St, Adelaide 5000
Contact: Margaret Brown mbrown@rsb.org.au  (Tel) +61 8 8232 2444

 

 

Postgraduate Courses 

 

·        Graduate Certificate in Vision Impairment (Orientation and Mobility) - course desrciption

    1 year full time or equivalent

    Vision Australia - Enfield, NSW

    Contact: Bronwen Scott Bronwen.Scott@visionaustralia.org

 

 

·         Graduate Diploma in Orientation and Mobility   -  course description  & FAQs  

     1 year full time or equivalent
La Trobe University (VIC) - Bundoora Campus
Contact: Kerry Fitzmaurice at the School of Orthoptics,  k.fitzmaurice@latrobe.edu.au

                   Dean Johnson - Guide Dogs Victoria: dean.j@guidedogsvictoria.com.au   

                    

 

·         Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation with an endorsement in the Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired (O&M)
1 year or full time equivalent
Massey University (NZ) - Palmerston North Campus
Contact: Steve La Grow S.J.Lagrow@massey.ac.nz

·         Master of Special Education (Orientation and Mobility)
18 months full time or equivalent
Flinders University (SA)
Contact: Carolyn Palmer carolyn.palmer@flinders.edu.au

 

·         Master of Human Services (Orientation and Mobility) - course flier

     1 year full time or equivalent (18 months with honours)
Griffith University (QLD) - Logan Campus
Contact:  Talei Rice t.rice@griffith.edu.au

 

·         Master of Special Education (sensory disability)
1 year full time or equivalent

     Newcastle University - Renwick College Campus

     Prerequisite: 4-year degree or Dip. Ed. Applicants with a 3-year qualification are eligible for entry to the Graduate Certificate in Education Studies and can proceed on completion to the Masters.
Contact: Deborah Gane Deborah.Gane@newcastle.edu.au

                     or Samantha Sayathith: Samantha.Sayathith@newcastle.edu.au

 

·         Click on www.jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/text/jobdetails.cfm?jobid=618 for more information on degree courses in Health Sciences around Australia.

 



Conferences & continuing professional development

Conferences


Seminars

 

·         Short Course in Brain Function, Orientation & Mobility
10 day course, annually (recommended: 2 years prior experience in O&M)
Guide Dogs Victoria
Contact: Shirley Evers Buckland shirley.e@guidedogs.asn.au  (03) 9854 4442

 

·         ABI Day for Professionals
1 day, twice a year
Guide Dogs Victoria
Contact: Jhaneen Trimble jhaneen.t@guidedogs.asn.au  (03) 9854 4494

·         Pathways to Independence – Contemporary Issues in O&M
4 day course, annually
Newcastle University (NSW) - Renwick College Campus
Contact: jill.watson@ridbc.org.au

·         Cycle On - Bike Education Course
    2 day course
    Wilcare Services Pty Ltd,
    Contact: Ted Wilson (Instructor) wilsont@primus.com.au Ph (03) 5277 2327
    Fax (03) 5277 0267

This section last updated: 2/4/2007