Transcript Document

Career Counseling for Clients
who Are Blind or Visually
Impaired
Lauri Dishman, M.A., LCPC
Manager of Counseling Services
Guild for the Blind
Purpose:
To provide information on best
practices when encountering
clients who are blind or have
vision loss.
Eye Conditions: Their
Impact on the Workforce
Age-Related Vision Loss in the
Workplace
• As baby boomers age, people with agerelated vision loss is expected to
double over the next 30 years.
• 65% with VI are people 55 and over
• Onset begins in people in their late 40’s
or early 50’s
--American Foundation for the Blind
Ranges of Vision Loss
Low Vision
• Vision loss that may be severe enough
to impede a person's ability to carry on
everyday activities, but still allows
some functionally useful sight.
• Examples: macular degeneration,
cataracts, glaucoma
Legal Blindness
• A level of visual impairment that has
been defined by law to determine
eligibility for benefits. It refers to
central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in
the better eye with the best possible
correction, or a visual field of 20
degrees or less.
Total Blindness
• The complete lack of form and
visual light perception
Types of Visual
Impairments
Cataract
• A condition in which the lens of the
eye, which is normally clear,
becomes cloudy or opaque.
Cataract
Macular Degeneration
• Disease that causes dysfunction of
the macula, the area in the middle
of the retina that makes possible
the sharp central vision needed for
such everyday activities as
reading, driving, and recognizing
faces and colors
Macular Degeneration
Glaucoma
• Disease in which the pressure of
the fluid inside the eye is too high,
resulting in a loss of peripheral
vision. If the condition is not
diagnosed and treated, the
increased pressure can damage
the optic nerve and eventually lead
to blindness.
Glaucoma
Diabetic Retinopathy
• Eye condition that results from the
damaging effect of diabetes on the
circulatory system of the retina.
Changes in the tiny blood vessels
of the retina can lead to vision
loss.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Professionals Who
Can Help
Optometrist
• A health care provider who specializes
in refractive errors, prescribes
eyeglasses or contact lenses and
diagnoses and manages conditions of
the eye as regulated by state laws. Ay
also perform low vision examinations.
Ophthalmologist
• A physician who specializes in the
medical and surgical care of the
eyes and is qualified to prescribe
ocular medications and to perform
surgery on the eyes.
Certified Vision Rehabilitation
Therapist (CVRT)
• Personal Management (grooming, hygiene, clothing
organization, medical measurement)
• Home Management (organization and labeling,
repair and home maintenance, budgeting and record
keeping, etc.)
• Activities of Daily Living (cooking, cleaning,
shopping, safety, money organization and
management)
• This includes techniques to stay organized in the
workplace.
Certified Orientation and
Mobility Specialist (COM)
• Concept Development, which includes
body image, spatial, temporal, positional,
directional and environmental concepts
• Motor Development, including motor
skills needed for balance, posture, and
gait, as well as the use of adaptive
devices
• Sensory Development, which includes
visual, auditory, senses and their
interrelationships
• Techniques for traveling in indoor and
outdoor environments
COM (Cont’d)
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Residual vision stimulation and training
Human Guide Technique
Locating Dropped Objects, trailing,
Cane techniques
Soliciting and Declining Assistance
Utilizing Landmarks, search patterns, route
planning, Analysis and identification of
intersections and traffic patterns, techniques
for crossing streets
• Using public transportation
Breakthrough Technology
Computer Software
• JAWS (Freedom Scientific)
• ZoomText (Ai Squared)
• I Zoom – Portable Screen Magnification
(No installation needed)
Text to Digital
Zoom-Ex (ABISee)
Audio Files
Victor Reader Stream (Humanware)
Video Magnification
Acrobat (Enhanced Vision)
Where to Get Help
Government and Private
Agencies
• State Department of Rehabilitation
Services/Bureau of Blind Services
• Local Veteran’s Administration
• Local Blindness Agencies (Guild for
the Blind, Chicago Lighthouse)
• American Foundation for the Blind 800232-5463 (To find services in your area)
Model of Successful Work
Experience for Employees Who
are Visually Impaired
Golub Study
Golub Study
• Surveyed employers of workers with visual
impairments who demonstrated great
success on the job.
• Through data analysis of results, was able to
devise an integrative model of successful
employment.
• Includes 7 steps that employers can take and
7 steps employees can take to ultimately
generate success for both parties.
Model for Employers – Step 1
Core Values from the Top Down
• Instill the value of diversity as a
strength. Have this flow from the top of
the organization down to the working
core.
• The Counselor’s Role: Look for employers
with these values. Mission statements are
often good places to look. Also, what types of
charities do companies and organizations
contribute to?
Model for Employers – Step 2
Fill the Toolbox
• Provide the physical tools that
employees need to do their jobs.
• The Counselor’s Role: Help the client learn how
to advocate for themselves. Lead them to
resources such as the Job Accommodation
Network with information and resources for how
people with difference levels of vision loss can
accomplish certain tasks. Find out where to get
these devices and their approximate costs. Help
them work with their DRS counselor to acquire
these products.
Model for Employers – Step 3
Accessibility and Accommodations
• All employees should have equal
access to all information
• The Counselor’s Role: If there is a problem,
help clients learn how to advocate for
themselves in a way that doesn’t jeopardize
their working alliance. Understand the
“letter” and “spirit” of the ADA.
Employer Model – Step 4
Attitude Counts
• Try to remove the blindness stigma
from the attitudes of other employees.
Do what is necessary to make the
workplace a level playing field where
everyone is treated equally (both
positively and negatively)
Employer’s Role – Step 5
Words Speak as Loudly as Actions
• Using words instead of actions to let
the worker with visual impairment
know what’s going on.
• Understand the proper etiquette when
encountering someone who is blind or
visually impaired.
Model for Employers – Step 6
Expect the same Performance
Model for Employers – Step 7
Mutual Accommodation
• recognize that differences among
individuals are substantial and must be
accommodated regardless of whether
they add value
Model for Employees – Step 1
Your Comfort is Contagious
• Person with visual impairment is comfortable in
their skin, can ask for what they need. Treats the
disability as just a part of who they are. People at
this stage have accepted their situation, are open to
talk about it and show people the tools and devices
they use to do their jobs.
• The Counselor’s Role: Refer for support and counseling
services if necessary. Encourage the expansion of social
networks and support systems. Expose client to successful and
mobile people who are B/VI.
Model for Employees – Step 2
Blindness Competencies
• Be up-to-date on mobility and
assistive technology skills
• The Counselor’s Role: Refer to a CVRT
and COM. Refer to the state DHS for
free services
Model for Employees – Step 3
Be An Ambassador for Blindness
• It’s the responsibility of the person
with vision loss to ameliorate the
awkwardness.
• The Counselor’s Role: Encourage
clients to be open with fellow workers.
Model for Employees – Step 4
Positive Attitude
• Having a positive attitude is
contagious. Takes away the
discomfort.
• The Counselor’s Role: Help client work
through barriers, increase confidence
and self-esteem. Refer out if necessary.
Model for Employees – Step 5
Work Etiquette
• Show manners and good social
skills. Understand non-verbal
communication “without the eyes”
• The Counselor’s Role: Job Readiness
Training with emphasis on ways to
instill these skills for people with
Vision Loss. Tactics that are B/VI
specific. (e.g. the Guild’s C.E.O.
Program)
Model for Employees – Step 6
Insist on Being Held
to the Same Standard
• This applies in terms of performance
and job duties
Model for Employees – Step 7
Mutual Accommodation
• People with Visual Impairments need to help
the employer move toward a model of mutual
accommodation, where there is open
dialogue about different ways to accomplish
tasks and discuss things from different
perspectives.
• Counselor’s Role: Encourage clients to ask
employers to form multi-cultural taskforces
References
• American Foundation for the Blind; Glossary of Eye Conditions;
www.afb.org
• Blasch, Wiener, Welsh; Foundations of Orientation and Mobility,
Second Edition; AFB Press 2000; p 750.
• Academy for Certification of Rehabilitation and Education
Professionals, www.acvrep.org/Rehabilitation_Teaching.html
• Golub (2006); A Model of Successful Work Experience for
Employees Who are Visually Impaired: The Results of a Study;
Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness
• Photos provided by Lighthouse International, ABISee,
Humaware, and Advanced Vision.
Contact Information
Lauri Dishman, M.A., LCPC
Manager of Counseling Services
Guild for the Blind
180 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60601
312-236-8569
[email protected]
www.guildfortheblind.org