Welcome to School Age Itinerant Services

(Kindergarten to 21 years-old)

Program Coordinator: Lynne Williams

Curriculum: The Itinerant Program works within the general education curriculum at each student’s school to provide supports, strategies, and technology to help the student access that curriculum.

Supportive. Experienced. Empathetic.

An itinerant Vision teacher is a professional who travels from school to school, providing special materials, consultation with school personnel, and individualized instruction in disability-specific skills that encompass the expanded core curriculum. This includes:

• Compensatory academic skills, including braille and communication modes
• Social interaction skills
• Recreation and leisure skills
• Use of assistive technology
• Independent living skills
• Career education
• Visual Efficiency skills
• Self-determination skills
• Orientation and mobility (O&M)

An itinerant Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist is an individual who uses a sequential process to teach students with visual impairments to utilize their senses to determine their position in space so that they are better able to move about/travel safely, confidently and independently in their environment.

Overbrook School for the Blind offers itinerant services (Teacher of Students with Visual Impairment, TVI/Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, COMS travel to your school) for K-12 students at charter schools, private schools, and school districts in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. Overbrook School for the Blind also offers professional outreach workshops for instructional staff, expert assessments in areas like Orientation and Mobility, Functional Vision, and Learning Media Assessments, and resource support for the Philadelphia Community. Our teachers are highly qualified and receive on-going professional development in all areas of visual impairment as well as all state required trainings.

Itinerant services are appropriate for general education students who can benefit from participation in regular class activities, who will use adapted materials and special equipment and techniques and can function as members of a general education.

To learn more, contact Lynne Williams at Lynne Joy-Williams, Program Coordinator.

Recognizing Signs

Is your student experiencing the following and you are unsure what to do to help?

• Squinting
• Tripping over and bumping into objects or people
• Difficulty finishing work on time
• Frequent headaches Eye rubbing
• Poor eye-hand coordination
• Holding materials extremely close
• Sitting very close to computer or TV screen
• Extremely sensitive to light
• Difficulty copying from the board

Finding Solutions

What does a teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) do? 

• Conducts Functional Vision Evaluations and Learning Media Assessments
• Provides training in assistive technology
• Recommends classroom strategies
• Consults with teachers and service providers
• Adapts classroom materials
• Communicates with parents about needs and progress
• Participates in IEP planning and implementation
• Implements the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)
• Strives for student success by supporting students across the curriculum
• Braille assessment, instruction and support Support transition goals and needs

Why Choose Overbrook for Itinerant Services?

• Certified Teachers of the Visually Impaired
• Orientation and Mobility assessment, instruction and support
• Consistency in service provision for students K-21
• Knowledge and support of available assistive technology
• Excellent coordination with schools, service coordinators, and teachers
• Outreach to parents and families of students
• Links to outside resources for families and staff
• The leader in the implementation of the Expanded Core Curriculum
• Overbrook School for the Blind has 185 years of experience of providing education to students who are blind and visually impaired