What Do Vision Rehabilitation Therapists Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Vision Rehabilitation Therapists provide therapy to patients with visual impairments to improve their functioning in daily life activities. May train patients in activities such as computer use, communication skills, or home management skills. They also teach cane skills, including cane use with a guide, diagonal techniques, and two-point touches.

Other tasks include:

• Train clients to use tactile, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and propioceptive information.
• Assess clients’ functioning in areas such as vision, orientation and mobility skills, social and emotional issues, cognition, physical abilities, and personal goals.
• Teach clients to travel independently, using a variety of actual or simulated travel situations or exercises.
• Monitor clients’ progress to determine whether changes in rehabilitation plans are needed.
• Develop rehabilitation or instructional plans collaboratively with clients, based on results of assessments, needs, and goals.
• Recommend appropriate mobility devices or systems, such as human guides, dog guides, long canes, electronic travel aids (ETAs), and other adaptive mobility devices (AMDs).

We asked Vision Rehabilitation Therapists how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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74% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Vision Rehabilitation Therapists write reports or complete forms to document assessments, training, progress, or follow-up outcomes. They teach cane skills, including cane use with a guide, diagonal techniques, and two-point touches.

A typical day for a Low Vision Therapist, Orientation and Mobility Specialist and Vision Rehabilitation Therapist will also include:

• Train clients to use tactile, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and propioceptive information.
• Teach clients to travel independently, using a variety of actual or simulated travel situations or exercises.
• Recommend appropriate mobility devices or systems, such as human guides, dog guides, long canes, electronic travel aids (ETAs), and other adaptive mobility devices (AMDs).
• Train clients with visual impairments to use mobility devices or systems, such as human guides, dog guides, electronic travel aids (ETAs), and other adaptive mobility devices (AMDs).
• Design instructional programs to improve communication, using devices such as slates and styluses, braillers, keyboards, adaptive handwriting devices, talking book machines, digital books, and optical character readers (OCRs).

We asked some Vision Rehabilitation Therapists a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	64% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	44% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	80% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	12% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	4% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	60% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Vision Rehabilitation Therapists also administer tests and interpret test results to develop rehabilitation plans for clients. They may also refer clients to services, such as eye care, health care, rehabilitation, and counseling, to enhance visual and life functioning or when condition exceeds scope of practice.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Vision Rehabilitation Therapists Develop rehabilitation or instructional plans collaboratively with clients, based on results of assessments, needs, and goals. They might also Assess clients’ functioning in areas such as vision, orientation and mobility skills, social and emotional issues, cognition, physical abilities, and personal goals.

In addition, they Monitor clients’ progress to determine whether changes in rehabilitation plans are needed.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Collaborate with specialists, such as rehabilitation counselors, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists, to provide client solutions.

To some Vision Rehabilitation Therapists, it is also their responsibility to Design instructional programs to improve communication, using devices such as slates and styluses, braillers, keyboards, adaptive handwriting devices, talking book machines, digital books, and optical character readers (OCRs).

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Low Vision Therapist, Orientation and Mobility Specialist and Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/occupational-therapists.htm

http://www.aota.org/

http://www.nbcot.org/