This paper presents the concept of an environmental rating scale for Orientation and Mobility for blind and vision impaired persons. Such scales currently exist for describing the level of difficulty associated with ski slopes, white water rapids, mountain climbing, and golf courses, to name but a few. These scales serve as the basis for proposing a system which could lead to the standardisation of ratings of difficulty and complexity for this purpose as well. If successfully developed, such a system could serve to inform choice concerning both routes used for travel and environments selected for instruction. In addition, the student’s present level of performance, environments of travel and routes travelled may be more easily and effectively conveyed to others.
