Blindness Occupational Therapy

Conquering the darkness

Making his way across the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Mall with a white cane, eyes covered by night shades and wearing a flower in his hair, 12-year-old Ian Moon of Apple Valley, Minn., and his friends — 10 blind or visually impaired kids — drew smiles and stares from students on their way to class and work.

“I can kind of see but I have a tendency to run into poles,” Ian said matter-of-factly.

Middle school students from around the country are in the middle of a three-week summer program that has them sleeping in Comstock Hall  and riding the city bus to Blind,Inc., where they take classes in cooking, Braille, “cane-travel” and computers.

On the way to the bus last week, Patrick Barrett, one of the group’s chaperones, also blind, blasted his whistle four times over the sound of power drilling nearby, signaling that there was an “issue” — the need for an immediate head count of the 10 participants.

“That whistle kind of sounds like a bird,” one participant, 9-year-old Brandon Pickle, responded.

Barrett shouted above the din of construction: “We’re losing people left and right — literally.” After a quick count, chattering resumed and the phalanx mobilized once more.

The purpose of The Buddy Program, Blind Inc.’s camp for kids ages 9 to 13, is to teach blind and partially-sighted youth to have fun and be independent without using their sight. During the program, partially-sighted youth wear night shades so they can fully immerse themselves in the training.

Staying away from home on a college campus adds challenges and extra learning opportunities like doing laundry, dealing with construction detours and navigating unfamiliar places.

“Whether you’re sighted or blind, you have to problem solve,” said Charlene Guggisberg, director of the Buddy program.

Fighting doubts

Ten-year-old Anna Walker, a Buddy Program participant from Pennsylvania, said well-intentioned bus passengers have asked elderly people to give up their seats for her when they saw she was blind.

“I don’t really like it when people try to do things for me,” she said. “I like to do things by myself.”

Other participants must prove wrong the doubts and fears strangers have about their safety and competence in the “real world.”

Muzamil Yahya, a counselor for the Buddy Program who teaches cane travel, graduated from Blind Inc.’s adult program in 2009 then came back to teach.

Pursuing Occupational Therapy Jobs

Occupational therapy jobs are available in many different areas. Occupational therapists begin to work with children and go all the way up to adulthood. It’s a very demanding yet rewarding job. There are a lot of people who seek the help of an occupational therapist. It takes years of education and board certifications and testing in order to become a licensed occupational therapist . The purpose of occupational therapy is to provide resources and help to people who want to become more independent in society. They may be dependent due to illness or disabilities, emotional problems, or other physical ailments. Some of these ailments may include things such as autism, blindness, deafness, or physical handicaps. Most of the time people who take part in occupational internet therapy also are involved in other sorts of therapy such as speech therapy or physical therapy, but this is not always the case.

Occupational therapists generally have a master’s degree in occupational therapy. There are many different programs offered for people considering a job in occupational cognitive therapy . Some of these include volunteer internships, shadowing opportunities, and research projects. Once you determine if this is something you wish to pursue as a career, begin the path toward your master’s degree in occupational therapy and get a lot of volunteer hours. This always looks great on your resume when seeking a job. Although this work can be a difficult line or work, it’s very rewarding for those who choose to pursue it. It definitely warms your heart to know that you’re helping other people in a way that no one else can. Independence is something that’s priceless.

This is often very important piece of this article. Salary for occupational therapy jobs, like any other jobs that are available, depends greatly on experience as well as the area that you’re in and the area’s demands for occupational therapists. Having more experience and being in an area that has a higher demand for occupational therapists will usually put you toward the higher end of the range, where someone who’s at entry level may make on the lower end of the spectrum.

Please be aware that there are NO certification programs for the PT aide or OT aide. The PT or OT aide probably does make minimum wage as someone else mentioned. The OT/PT aide generally transports patients to and from therapy, cleans equipment, answers phones and makes appointments. The OT or PT Assistant, however, has an associate (two-year) degree in OT or PT and has successfully completed the clinical fieldwork experience components and passed a national certification exam. Please realize that both the OT and PT field may be physically and psychologically (mentally) draining albeit I'm sure rewarding. For general career info: and can search. To search for accredited programs in OTA: For accredited programs in PTA: U.S.

Willard and Spackman's occupational therapy

Occupational therapy

Outlook for the blind

The Glaucoma Book, A Practical, Evidence-Based Approach to Patient Care

Low vision rehabilitation, a practical guide for occupational therapists