Voices of Orientation and Mobility Instructors Who Are Visually Impaired: Results of a Focus Group

Four orientation and mobility instructors who are visually impaired participated in an online focus group. The themes that emerged included monitoring, instructor position, equipment/technology, accommodations, skills needed to become an O&M instructor, and what motivated the participants to become O&M instructors. The participants entered the O&M field to assist individuals with visual impairment for altruistic reasons. This study added to the past research focused on nonvisual teaching strategies and accommodations of O&M instructors who were visually impaired. Future research in this area should include a larger sample size, interviewing instructors with visual impairment, and observing them during their O&M lessons.