May 21, 2025 • 14 mins
This resource will support listeners to:
- Recognise the impact of blindness or low vision on developing orientation and mobility.
- Explain why developing orientation and mobility skills is important now, and in the future.
- Explain how Orientation and Mobility are linked to development in other Life Skill areas.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:03):
Welcome to Vision Australia's podcast series, designed to help children
and young people develop the skills they'll need to open
their future.
Anne (00:14):
Hello, my name is Anne and I'm an orientation and
mobility specialist here to talk to you today about orientation
and mobility, commonly known as O&M. O&M is one of
the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum. In this podcast,
I will explain what it is, what it means for
your child, and how your child's skills develop as they
(00:35):
get older. But I'd like to start by asking you
to think about your day to day. What activities are
you planning to do and how will you move from
one activity to the other? Will you walk, Drive a car,
Catch a bus or a train? Even if you're staying
(01:01):
at home today. You'll probably move about the house quite
a bit throughout the day. Now imagine that you have
no or very little vision. How would that affect how
you move around? You may be fine moving within your
familiar home area, but what about moving around away from
home in less familiar places? To be able to move
(01:24):
from one place to another, you need to know where
you are in relation to objects, people and places and
be able to keep track of where you are as
you move. For example, when you stand at the kitchen bench,
the back door might be at your right, but if
you turn and face your kitchen sink, the back door
is now on your left. Understanding where you are in
(01:46):
space is much easier if understanding how things relate to
each other. Developing your child's O&M skills is important for
their independence, and will give them a full range of
options as they move into adulthood. Now, if the thought
of your child moving independently through the world is a
bit scary. Let me assure you, we didn't wake up
(02:07):
one day able to go about our business the way
we can now. It took time and practice to get there.
Building on our abilities as we grew and mastered different skills.
The same is true for your child. They just need
to learn some different skills which can help them develop
with encouragement and support and practice. In this podcast, you'll
(02:29):
look at how your child develops their O&M skills at
different ages and how you can support your child's learning.
We will take a look at how your child develops
environmental concepts and social decision making skills at different ages,
and will support their independent mobility. This may sound challenging,
but you won't be doing this alone. You'll have the
(02:50):
support of orientation and mobility specialists supporting your child to
build the skills, and making sure your child is working
on developmentally appropriate goals. Learning to understand the world and
physically moving through it is something that we learn gradually,
(03:11):
starting from when we're very young. Children develop an awareness
and an understanding of their body and how it moves,
as well as becoming aware of their familiar spaces and
the position of the objects in their environment. Perceptual and
sensory skills are also very important, and are covered in
more detail in the sensory efficiency and compensatory access areas
(03:32):
of the Expanded Core Curriculum. In the early years, children
develop an understanding of their body and the environment as
they learn to roll, sit, crawl, stand, walk, and climb.
You'll notice that their movements often have a purpose. For example,
to reach for a toy or something they find interesting,
(03:53):
or to move to you or someone who is important
to them. Once your child can crawl or walk, they
start to develop the ability to travel more independently throughout
the house. Why don't you try this exercise at home
by trying to find your way around your home, or
do some everyday things with your eyes closed. Start at
the front door and find your way to the kitchen,
(04:16):
the bathroom, and then the bedroom. What are you using
to tell where you are? Are you using touch to
know where the furniture is or to go through a
door opening? Are you listening carefully to what is around you?
Do you notice if you're using a mental map of
your home to follow, and which way to turn to
(04:36):
get there? Your child will learn to use their senses
to better understand their environment and recognize landmarks such as
the front door, the couch, or the kitchen benchtop. They
will make their own version of a map, and you
can help them do this by letting them explore and
move more independently through the house as they start to
become more mobile. Describing to your child about where you
(05:00):
are and what you're doing as you go about your day,
will also help them to build and consolidate their mental map.
To help your child learn and use landmarks in your home,
it is important to introduce them to the items and
concepts like doors, windows, hallways, rooms, wall surfaces, different types
(05:21):
of floor materials, stairs and furniture. For example, to learn
the concept of a door. Start by explaining what a
door is, what it feels like, what a door is
used for, the difference between a closed and an open door.
For example, the front door, the bedroom door, and the
(05:41):
back door. And what about a door on a cubby house?
Or a door on a toy car? When your child
starts to walk, they'll start to learn some skills that
will help them learn to move about more independently. Every
child is different, but it could be learning to use
a cane, trailing and body protection techniques like safe hands.
(06:02):
Your orientation and mobility specialists will help you with this.
Your child will also learn some specific movements such as
changing directions, turning to the left or right, turning halfway around,
or doing a full turn. Play is such a great
tool for your child to develop their own O&M skills,
(06:24):
because it encourages them to move without realising they are
actually learning. Playing with blocks, pretend play and games like twister,
adapted to have tactile markings on the circles are really
good ways to learn with your child or playing, Simon Says.
Or Hide and Seek are great ways to include O&M
in play. Outdoor play is important as well. Playground equipment
(06:48):
is designed to encourage children to move. With your help,
your child can learn how to climb, swing and keep
their balance on equipment such as seesaws. Primary school children
start to develop their independence by building on the O&M
skills they learned in their early years. They're able to
(07:09):
move more confidently around their home because it's a familiar environment.
But soon they'll be going to school and will need
to learn their way around the classroom and the playground.
So with the Ram, they'll learn about layouts and using
tactile or large print maps to understand the space, as
well as landmarks and clues to help them to navigate
within the school. As they get older, they'll also want
(07:31):
to learn the travel route or the walk to school
if it's appropriate. This is the start of the Learning
independent community travel, which is a skill that will take
them into adult life post school. To help you understand
the things your child will need to know in order
to travel independently, take a moment to imagine leaving your
home by the front door and walking to the end
(07:53):
of your street. You can probably see a clear picture
in your mind of all the things you come across
along the way, to help you to know where you
are and what's going on around you. Think about things
like houses, streets, trees, and different types of footpaths such
as walking on grass, concrete or gravel. Are there curbs? driveways? fences? mailboxes? Traffic?
(08:21):
Street names and signs? What's the shape of the intersection?
Are there traffic lights? Zebra crossings? What's the traffic flow like?
Are there medium strips? Is there a traffic island as well?
Understanding these things have been able to use them as
tools to travel safely will help your child to become
(08:41):
more independent. If your child uses a cane, it's important
to encourage them to use it as they move around
in the neighborhood and places you visit regularly. Don't worry
about your child's cane contacting things. That's exactly what it's
designed to do. Try holding off telling them about everything
that is coming up, and instead let them find things
(09:03):
with their long cane. Unless it's unsafe, if you have
the time, talk about what the cane has found. Does
it sound like metal or wood? Do you think it's
a fence or a rubbish bin? Help your child be
curious about the world around them. At this age your
child can take part in the family routines and start
(09:24):
taking on some regular household responsibilities, such as taking the
bin out, emptying the dishwasher, or vacuuming the bedroom or
the living room. Doing these activities encourages them to think
about and move in more complex areas. By the time
(09:47):
your child starts high school O&M becomes all about increasing
their independence, they may already know how to travel safely
to school and around familiar areas. This is a good
age to learn to travel independently as well as on
public transport. Again, this is something that they learn bit
by bit with the support of their O&M. Your child
(10:09):
will learn to use different equipment such as vision aids,
tactile or large print maps, and secondary mobility aids such
as mobile phone apps. They'll continue to learn to use
their senses more effectively, such as their hearing echolocation as well.
And if they're a cane user, they'll learn different techniques
they can use and know when to use them in
different situations and environments. Concepts your child develops at this
(10:35):
age are things like types and layouts of stores, shops
and shopping centers, parking areas, street furniture, escalators, travelators, elevators, lifts,
and automatic and revolving doors, as well as learning about
more complex areas like the nearest suburb, town or city.
You'll hear O&M specialists talk about quality movements, which are purposeful, self-initiated,
(11:00):
and goal directed in order to develop confident and successful movement.
For example, you might be going to help your child
make a toasted sandwich in the kitchen, so let them
walk to the kitchen and meet them there a few
moments later. This is purposeful movement incorporated into a daily routine.
(11:21):
To be able to travel independently, your child needs to
develop some specific communication skills. They may need to ask
people for help at times, such as confirming that they
are on the correct bus with the bus driver, or
give taxi drivers instructions about where they want to go.
Being confident and clear about what information or help they
would like is a valuable communication skill. The best way
(11:45):
they will develop this confidence and ability is to practice
firstly with somebody with them to provide assistance such as
yourself or their O&M specialist, as they go from early
to late high school years, as they develop in confidence,
start pulling back and letting them work things out for themselves.
Be guided by your child's O&M and when it is
a safe time to do this. You might be worried
(12:09):
about your child making mistakes or bumps and bruises. It's
a part of life that we all make mistakes. When
your child is little, they will fall and they will
bump into things. You may have the urge to stop
this all the time, but children fall or bump into things,
and it's a part of learning how to move around
and to cope with your surroundings and to solve problems.
(12:32):
As your child gets older, slowly let your child take
more control and do things by themselves. We have some
wonderful resources in the independent living that can help you
develop with your child the skills to become more independent.
We understand there's a lot for you and your child
to learn, for them to be able to move around
confidently and safely. Our O&M specialists are here to support
(12:55):
you and your child along the way. One of the
best ways for you to support your child is to
give them lots of hands on experience in familiar and
new environments, with plenty of time and encouragement to explore.
Describing the environment, the landmarks and the other objects, pointing
out what's around and asking them what they notice will
(13:15):
lay a really good foundation for later on. In the podcast,
developing your child's orientation and mobility skills, you'll find practical
strategies and tips and ideas to help your child develop
their O&M skills. And one final thing I'd love to
set you a challenge depending on your child's age and development.
(13:37):
What is something you can start doing today that will
help build your child's ability to move around? Is there
something you hadn't thought about that you can try out?
Thanks for joining me and we'll see you next time.
S3 (13:52):
Vision Australia. Blindness. Low vision. Opportunity.
Anne (13:57):
This podcast was written using the research and ideas of
Diane Al-fasi on orientation and mobility in ECC essentials, teaching
and Expanded Core Curriculum to students with vision impairments. Check
out other Expanded Core Curriculum orientation and mobility resources, as
well as resources for sensory efficiency, compensatory access, and assistive technology.
Welcome to Vision Australia's podcast series, designed to help children
and young people develop the skills they'll need to open
their future.
Anne (00:14):
Hello, my name is Anne and I'm an orientation and
mobility specialist here to talk to you today about orientation
and mobility, commonly known as O&M. O&M is one of
the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum. In this podcast,
I will explain what it is, what it means for
your child, and how your child's skills develop as they
(00:35):
get older. But I'd like to start by asking you
to think about your day to day. What activities are
you planning to do and how will you move from
one activity to the other? Will you walk, Drive a car,
Catch a bus or a train? Even if you're staying
(01:01):
at home today. You'll probably move about the house quite
a bit throughout the day. Now imagine that you have
no or very little vision. How would that affect how
you move around? You may be fine moving within your
familiar home area, but what about moving around away from
home in less familiar places? To be able to move
(01:24):
from one place to another, you need to know where
you are in relation to objects, people and places and
be able to keep track of where you are as
you move. For example, when you stand at the kitchen bench,
the back door might be at your right, but if
you turn and face your kitchen sink, the back door
is now on your left. Understanding where you are in
(01:46):
space is much easier if understanding how things relate to
each other. Developing your child's O&M skills is important for
their independence, and will give them a full range of
options as they move into adulthood. Now, if the thought
of your child moving independently through the world is a
bit scary. Let me assure you, we didn't wake up
(02:07):
one day able to go about our business the way
we can now. It took time and practice to get there.
Building on our abilities as we grew and mastered different skills.
The same is true for your child. They just need
to learn some different skills which can help them develop
with encouragement and support and practice. In this podcast, you'll
(02:29):
look at how your child develops their O&M skills at
different ages and how you can support your child's learning.
We will take a look at how your child develops
environmental concepts and social decision making skills at different ages,
and will support their independent mobility. This may sound challenging,
but you won't be doing this alone. You'll have the
(02:50):
support of orientation and mobility specialists supporting your child to
build the skills, and making sure your child is working
on developmentally appropriate goals. Learning to understand the world and
physically moving through it is something that we learn gradually,
(03:11):
starting from when we're very young. Children develop an awareness
and an understanding of their body and how it moves,
as well as becoming aware of their familiar spaces and
the position of the objects in their environment. Perceptual and
sensory skills are also very important, and are covered in
more detail in the sensory efficiency and compensatory access areas
(03:32):
of the Expanded Core Curriculum. In the early years, children
develop an understanding of their body and the environment as
they learn to roll, sit, crawl, stand, walk, and climb.
You'll notice that their movements often have a purpose. For example,
to reach for a toy or something they find interesting,
(03:53):
or to move to you or someone who is important
to them. Once your child can crawl or walk, they
start to develop the ability to travel more independently throughout
the house. Why don't you try this exercise at home
by trying to find your way around your home, or
do some everyday things with your eyes closed. Start at
the front door and find your way to the kitchen,
(04:16):
the bathroom, and then the bedroom. What are you using
to tell where you are? Are you using touch to
know where the furniture is or to go through a
door opening? Are you listening carefully to what is around you?
Do you notice if you're using a mental map of
your home to follow, and which way to turn to
(04:36):
get there? Your child will learn to use their senses
to better understand their environment and recognize landmarks such as
the front door, the couch, or the kitchen benchtop. They
will make their own version of a map, and you
can help them do this by letting them explore and
move more independently through the house as they start to
become more mobile. Describing to your child about where you
(05:00):
are and what you're doing as you go about your day,
will also help them to build and consolidate their mental map.
To help your child learn and use landmarks in your home,
it is important to introduce them to the items and
concepts like doors, windows, hallways, rooms, wall surfaces, different types
(05:21):
of floor materials, stairs and furniture. For example, to learn
the concept of a door. Start by explaining what a
door is, what it feels like, what a door is
used for, the difference between a closed and an open door.
For example, the front door, the bedroom door, and the
(05:41):
back door. And what about a door on a cubby house?
Or a door on a toy car? When your child
starts to walk, they'll start to learn some skills that
will help them learn to move about more independently. Every
child is different, but it could be learning to use
a cane, trailing and body protection techniques like safe hands.
(06:02):
Your orientation and mobility specialists will help you with this.
Your child will also learn some specific movements such as
changing directions, turning to the left or right, turning halfway around,
or doing a full turn. Play is such a great
tool for your child to develop their own O&M skills,
(06:24):
because it encourages them to move without realising they are
actually learning. Playing with blocks, pretend play and games like twister,
adapted to have tactile markings on the circles are really
good ways to learn with your child or playing, Simon Says.
Or Hide and Seek are great ways to include O&M
in play. Outdoor play is important as well. Playground equipment
(06:48):
is designed to encourage children to move. With your help,
your child can learn how to climb, swing and keep
their balance on equipment such as seesaws. Primary school children
start to develop their independence by building on the O&M
skills they learned in their early years. They're able to
(07:09):
move more confidently around their home because it's a familiar environment.
But soon they'll be going to school and will need
to learn their way around the classroom and the playground.
So with the Ram, they'll learn about layouts and using
tactile or large print maps to understand the space, as
well as landmarks and clues to help them to navigate
within the school. As they get older, they'll also want
(07:31):
to learn the travel route or the walk to school
if it's appropriate. This is the start of the Learning
independent community travel, which is a skill that will take
them into adult life post school. To help you understand
the things your child will need to know in order
to travel independently, take a moment to imagine leaving your
home by the front door and walking to the end
(07:53):
of your street. You can probably see a clear picture
in your mind of all the things you come across
along the way, to help you to know where you
are and what's going on around you. Think about things
like houses, streets, trees, and different types of footpaths such
as walking on grass, concrete or gravel. Are there curbs? driveways? fences? mailboxes? Traffic?
(08:21):
Street names and signs? What's the shape of the intersection?
Are there traffic lights? Zebra crossings? What's the traffic flow like?
Are there medium strips? Is there a traffic island as well?
Understanding these things have been able to use them as
tools to travel safely will help your child to become
(08:41):
more independent. If your child uses a cane, it's important
to encourage them to use it as they move around
in the neighborhood and places you visit regularly. Don't worry
about your child's cane contacting things. That's exactly what it's
designed to do. Try holding off telling them about everything
that is coming up, and instead let them find things
(09:03):
with their long cane. Unless it's unsafe, if you have
the time, talk about what the cane has found. Does
it sound like metal or wood? Do you think it's
a fence or a rubbish bin? Help your child be
curious about the world around them. At this age your
child can take part in the family routines and start
(09:24):
taking on some regular household responsibilities, such as taking the
bin out, emptying the dishwasher, or vacuuming the bedroom or
the living room. Doing these activities encourages them to think
about and move in more complex areas. By the time
(09:47):
your child starts high school O&M becomes all about increasing
their independence, they may already know how to travel safely
to school and around familiar areas. This is a good
age to learn to travel independently as well as on
public transport. Again, this is something that they learn bit
by bit with the support of their O&M. Your child
(10:09):
will learn to use different equipment such as vision aids,
tactile or large print maps, and secondary mobility aids such
as mobile phone apps. They'll continue to learn to use
their senses more effectively, such as their hearing echolocation as well.
And if they're a cane user, they'll learn different techniques
they can use and know when to use them in
different situations and environments. Concepts your child develops at this
(10:35):
age are things like types and layouts of stores, shops
and shopping centers, parking areas, street furniture, escalators, travelators, elevators, lifts,
and automatic and revolving doors, as well as learning about
more complex areas like the nearest suburb, town or city.
You'll hear O&M specialists talk about quality movements, which are purposeful, self-initiated,
(11:00):
and goal directed in order to develop confident and successful movement.
For example, you might be going to help your child
make a toasted sandwich in the kitchen, so let them
walk to the kitchen and meet them there a few
moments later. This is purposeful movement incorporated into a daily routine.
(11:21):
To be able to travel independently, your child needs to
develop some specific communication skills. They may need to ask
people for help at times, such as confirming that they
are on the correct bus with the bus driver, or
give taxi drivers instructions about where they want to go.
Being confident and clear about what information or help they
would like is a valuable communication skill. The best way
(11:45):
they will develop this confidence and ability is to practice
firstly with somebody with them to provide assistance such as
yourself or their O&M specialist, as they go from early
to late high school years, as they develop in confidence,
start pulling back and letting them work things out for themselves.
Be guided by your child's O&M and when it is
a safe time to do this. You might be worried
(12:09):
about your child making mistakes or bumps and bruises. It's
a part of life that we all make mistakes. When
your child is little, they will fall and they will
bump into things. You may have the urge to stop
this all the time, but children fall or bump into things,
and it's a part of learning how to move around
and to cope with your surroundings and to solve problems.
(12:32):
As your child gets older, slowly let your child take
more control and do things by themselves. We have some
wonderful resources in the independent living that can help you
develop with your child the skills to become more independent.
We understand there's a lot for you and your child
to learn, for them to be able to move around
confidently and safely. Our O&M specialists are here to support
(12:55):
you and your child along the way. One of the
best ways for you to support your child is to
give them lots of hands on experience in familiar and
new environments, with plenty of time and encouragement to explore.
Describing the environment, the landmarks and the other objects, pointing
out what's around and asking them what they notice will
(13:15):
lay a really good foundation for later on. In the podcast,
developing your child's orientation and mobility skills, you'll find practical
strategies and tips and ideas to help your child develop
their O&M skills. And one final thing I'd love to
set you a challenge depending on your child's age and development.
(13:37):
What is something you can start doing today that will
help build your child's ability to move around? Is there
something you hadn't thought about that you can try out?
Thanks for joining me and we'll see you next time.
S3 (13:52):
Vision Australia. Blindness. Low vision. Opportunity.
Anne (13:57):
This podcast was written using the research and ideas of
Diane Al-fasi on orientation and mobility in ECC essentials, teaching
and Expanded Core Curriculum to students with vision impairments. Check
out other Expanded Core Curriculum orientation and mobility resources, as
well as resources for sensory efficiency, compensatory access, and assistive technology.
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