The Missing Link: A Collaborative Approach to Early Childhood Orientation and Mobility

The current role of the Orientation & Mobility (O&M) instructor routinely involves working with young children (birth to 6 years). The inclusion of this population to the caseload of O&M instructors brings with it unique challenges. Young children’s primary means of learning comes in the form of play, yet O&M traditionally tends to focus on skill specific instruction. For young children who are blind or vision impaired the ability to move out into space independently and with confidence will impact greatly on their learning experiences. This paper will examine the need to embrace a collaborative approach when working in early childhood O&M, with an emphasis on the significance of O&M instructors working with paediatric physiotherapists.