Career Biographies
Nancy Prussing
Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired
Orientation and Mobility Instructor
Through a conversation with a co-worker about careers, Nancy's career life has blossomed in a new direction. After hearing about a mobility instructor from her co-worker (who has a visual impairment), Nancy decided to research this job and learn more about it. A pivotal point occurred in Nancy's life as she made a dramatic decision to change her career from an administrative role into a career which has a profound impact on other Virginians who are blind or vision impaired. This simple conversation led Nancy in pursuit of a degree as an Orientation and Mobility Instructor from Western Michigan. Since accomplishing that goal in 2002, Nancy has obtained her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from VCU.
What is Orientation and Mobility? What exactly do you do? Often, as sighted individuals, we take for granted some of our basic needs - like defining where we are (orientation) and getting from one place to another (mobility). When a person is blinded or has severe vision impairments, these activities can become challenging. We work with these individuals to help them learn adaptive skills that allow them to overcome the obstacles in day-to-day life, enabling them to more fully integrate into their community. There are O & M instructors who work in rehabilitation-based centers, like myself, and those who work on an itinerant basis (traveling from place to place).
My typical day involves up to 6 hours of direct, one-on-one teaching. I also have reports to write and staff meetings to attend. I work with adults most of the year and transition age students in the summer. Individuals who are blind or vision impaired are referred by our field counselors to VRCBVI when it is determined that they could benefit from a comprehensive rehabilitation program provided on a daily basis. Among the areas in which the Center can provide instruction are daily living skills (cooking, cleaning, etc.), orientation and mobility, work evaluation/assessment, communications and using assistive technology to access the computer. For some students, this may be the first time that they meet others who are visually impaired and experiencing similar life events.
When a client comes to the center, I want to understand what their needs are, and this involves a lot of listening as well as a review of their records. Here at VRCBVI, O & M instructors are responsible for both orientation and mobility as well as low vision assessment and training in the use of low vision aids for those students who have useful remaining vision.
With regard to O & M, I am responsible for teaching students how to travel safely within a variety of environments. The curriculum might include orientation to the Center, sighted guide and/or cane travel techniques, travel within an indoor environment, the residential, rural, small business, or downtown environments. We try to challenge the student to become as proficient as possible with their travel skills such that they can return to their home environment feeling confident about their ability to move around safely and independently.
Having responsibility for low vision case management has been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about low vision, and as a result, I am better able to understand the travel needs of my students. Let's say that I have a client who has retinitis pigmentosa. He may have fairly clear vision but a very small field of view - say only a few degrees of central vision. I might evaluate a variety of magnifiers, monoculars and other low vision devices to find what works best, and from there, I recommend my findings to our low vision optometrist who makes the final determination and prescribes accordingly. And from the knowledge of the client's visual abilities, I am more aware of his travel needs. To follow up on this example, my client with retinitis pigmentosa will probably have difficulty visually detecting a curb at the edge of the parking lot easily so I would emphasize use of the cane for this task rather than a reliance on remaining vision.
Why did you pick this work? I wanted a career that really made me want to get up in the morning. I absolutely love what I do. There is a great deal of variety and I learn so much about life from my students. It really is exciting to work with people - to see and experience their successes and motivations. An example of this is when I am training a student in how to cross the street, and there is that one moment when everything seems to be falling into place and he begins to understand - there is nothing better than to see that. In addition, I like working in a center based agency - it truly is the best place to absorb lots of information. We have an excellent staff and there is a great degree of collegial support.
What are your plans for the future? I currently am pursuing certification in low vision, and plan to take further classes at VCU next year. Nancy half-jokingly states, "I will probably remain a student forever, as it helps me stay focused and interested in what I'm doing."
