Editorial

Welcome to the inaugural volume of the International Journal of Orientation & Mobility (IJOM). Our website is at www.ijorientationandmobility.com The journal results from a recognition of the need for a publication specialising in orientation and mobility (O&M) that will facilitate the communication of a range of developments, issues, analyses, philosophies and technologies among professionals. Aided by such a journal as this, we in the O&M profession are assisted in reflecting about, and enhancing our practice. We welcome submissions of original research and analyses, essays, conceptual papers, innovative practice reports, evaluations, case studies, policy analyses, commentaries and debate on a wide variety of issues and topics related to the O&M of people who are blind or vision impaired.

It is important to acknowledge organisations and individuals without whom this journal would not be possible. First, the RIDBC Renwick Centre, affiliated with the University of Newcastle, Australia, and Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australia both of whom sponsor its production. Thanks as well, to some of the world’s finest academics, professionals and leaders in O&M who generously provide direction to the editors and comprise our distinguished Editorial Advisory Panel; namely: Dr Bruce Blasch, Dr Nora Griffin-Shirley, Dr Susanne Grünberger, Dr Kathleen Mary Huebner, Dr Steve La Grow, Dr Nurit Neustadt-Noy, and Dr Sandra Rosen. Appreciation is also extended to the peer reviewers who play an essential role in selection of the manuscripts that we publish. Finally, our thanks are extended to the contributing authors who believe in their research, practices and opinions, and who have the courage to submit their work to the blind peer review process that underpins the journal’s quality control.

Together, we work in a variety of countries and communities, and as a group, our contributors, whether advisors, reviewers or authors, have terrific skill and innovative ideas. We are all, at times faced with similar O&M scenarios, (though each is unique) that result largely from the cultural, environmental and societal influences that affect the ways we work. Thus, it becomes the responsibility of each of us to share our talent and experiences so that we continue to lay the foundation of learning for those who will succeed us, to build upon what we already know, and to strive for improved practice, so that the profession of O&M continually develops.

This inaugural volume presents a variety of topics intended to be of great interest to our readers. Topics are as diverse as Gleeson’s analysis of changes in perspectives on Toxoplasmosis and Lucas’s description of a trial to determine the feasibility of a guide dog instructor vacancy being filled by a candidate who is blind. Our lead article by Blasch, La Grow, and Penrod deals with the concept of an environmental rating scale to systematically describe and rate travel environments for people with vision impairment. Such an instrument offers instructors and clients a reliable method by which to judge the complexity of travel routes, and helps indicate a skill-set that a client requires to safely and independently negotiate particular travel routes. The implications of the scale are far reaching. Through its use the client is empowered to determine his or her place of residency based on knowledge that their environment is of a particular but definable complexity.

Evidence of the use of dogs to lead people with vision impairment appears as far back as 79AD, with a wall painting in Pompeii portraying a man who is blind being led by a dog. Guide dogs remain a primary mobility aid although there is a dearth of recent empirical evidence validating their use as mobility aids. Lloyd’s two part study, examines the perceived effectiveness of the guide dog on travel performance, and describes changes to travel habits, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of guide dog mobility in today’s environment.

For those instructors who are not well versed in guide dog mobility, Joyce presents and describes three critically important factors that are ‘must knows’ when working with guide dog handlers and their dogs. These key factors are important when providing a range of programs to guide dog clients, for example, orientation or electronic aid programs.

At the forefront of our work with any mobility aid, is of course the client. Although we attempt to listen and understand, it is always a challenge to fully appreciate the client’s true perspectives and the individual’s experience of having a vision impairment. In her commentary, de Haseth Meddens goes some way in helping us appreciate this experience. She describes the acquisition of her vision impairment as a result of medical error and provides a revealing account of her journey as a person with sudden vision loss. de Haseth Meddens in becoming the first guide dog handler in the Caribbean discusses the discrimination she experienced and introduces the reader to the Foundation she has recently established.

Echolocation is a skill sometimes used by clients in addition to mobility aids in order to assist their detection of obstacles and maintain orientation. Interestingly, Brazier found that her client sample preferred using non-traditional ‘below the waist’ methods to generate sound rather than such ‘above the waist’ methods as tongue or finger clicking. Brazier’s conclusions remind mobility instructors of the importance of considering individual client need and expectation, rather than following a generic recipe approach to training.

Serving individual need is also the central theme in Sauerburger, Siffermann, and Rosen’s report on their principles for providing O&M to people with vision impairment and multiple disabilities. The formulation of these principles results from years of observation and application that the authors have found both reliable and effective. It is important to note that their report includes the term ‘deaf-blind’ rather than ‘deafblind’. Deafblind is the term adopted by the Australian Deafblind Council and by the national organisation ‘Sense’ in the United Kingdom. Much of the international literature also uses the term deafblind, the rationale being that the condition is simply not a combination of Deaf and Blind, but a disability in its own right. However, IJOM as an international journal respects the recent decision by the American Association of the Deaf-Blind to continue using the hyphenated term “deaf-blind” and acknowledge that philosophical variation and preference will occasionally occur with regard to terminology. In this and similar instances, the author’s preferred terminology will be used.

Effective multi-disciplinary team collaboration is both advocated and questioned in some reports. Ravenscroft questions the effectiveness of multi-agency rehabilitation teams, reporting that as a consequence, many adults and children have vision impairment problems that go unrecognised and remain untended. Ravenscroft provides insight into why this continues to occur. Alternatively, Wells highlights the developmental-based O&M needs of children that require the expertise of family members and professionals including instructors knowledgeable in early childhood education, paediatric physiotherapists and specialist therapists. Similarly, Scott describes the importance of the Western Australian Early Intervention Team Service that includes a child-centred O&M program. Through that service, O&M programs for children are introduced as soon as the child begins to walk, and adapted guiding techniques are introduced as well as the long cane once the child is able to balance and move independently. Scott describes the advantages and method of introducing the long cane at an early age.

Finally, Chambers and Dannaway provide sobering observations about the necessity of including physiotherapy intervention if the effectiveness of some O&M programs is to be increased.

Readers will observe that authors present a variety of perspectives, innovative practices and possibly transformational ideas. This is the hard work that catalyses necessary change and evolution in a profession that must keep pace with the advances and expectations of our clients in a progressive world.