[visionrehabtherapist] Re: National Rehab Awareness Week
- From: "McAndrews, Maryfrances E." <Maryfrances.McAndrews@xxxxxx>
- To: "'skelley4195@xxxxxxxxx'" <skelley4195@xxxxxxxxx>, "visionrehabtherapist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <visionrehabtherapist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:25:03 -0400
Thank you for advertising National Rehab Awareness Week and promoting the
valuable field of Vision Rehabilitation Therapy. At the Veterans
Administration Vision and Blind Rehabilitation centers, Vision Rehabilitation
therapists are an integral part of the medical centers. Although our main role
is providing training in activities of daily living, we also establish
comprehensive treatment plans in tandem with other clinics such as PolyTrauma,
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Audiology and Patient Education. As an
itinerant Vision Rehabilitation therapist/Rehabilitation Teacher working for
the state programs for the blind, the role was being the link to adjustment to
vision loss and to services in their community. At times, RT/CVRT would
perform aspects of daily living, basic sighted guide, computer skills and use
of low vision aids. In addition, the RT could also provide guidance as to
employment counseling and referral to Vocational Rehabilitation.
Therefore, the field of Rehabilitation Teaching and Vision Rehabilitation
differ according to the location of the job and the types of skills required.
In general, the emerging trend in our profession is requesting the RT & CVRT to
become more skilled in working with technology such as smartphones and to
cross train in other skill areas such as low vision therapy techniques
(eccentric viewing)
Once again, thank you Steve for promoting our profession- CVRT- Certified
Vision Rehabilitation Therapy.
From: visionrehabtherapist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:visionrehabtherapist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of steve kelley
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2013 8:26 AM
To: visionrehabtherapist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [visionrehabtherapist] National Rehab Awareness Week
Hi All!
I took the opportunity of National Rehab Awareness Week to draft the following
press release promoting, I hope, CVRTs. Please feel free to distribute it or
use in newsletters as you feel appropriate. To download a copy of the PR as a
Word doc please go to
http://www.lowvisiontech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/rehab_awareness_week_2013a.doc.
I'd welcome any comments readers have on this. Thanks!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…
Contact: Steven Kelley CRC, CVRT 207-774-6273 X3327
Email: skelley4195@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:skelley4195@xxxxxxxxx>
National Rehabilitation Awareness Week is celebrated annually the third week of
September. During this week, according to the National Rehabilitation Awareness
Foundation, we “celebrate the powers of rehabilitation and share the message
that through rehab there is hope, achievement and success!” This year’s Rehab
Week celebration, September 15-21, provides a wonderful opportunity to
highlight one of the least known, highly skilled rehab professionals, Certified
Vision Rehabilitation Therapists (CVRTs).
CVRTs may be one of the best kept secrets for anyone experiencing a vision loss
from macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or many other eye
diseases. CVRTs often work in state agencies or non-profits, hold a Master’s
Degree and professional certification in Vision Rehabilitation, and adhere to a
rehabilitation or educational model of skills training. In Maine, you will find
CVRTs working statewide through The Iris Network or the Maine Division for the
Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI).
A CVRT typically provides training in a client’s home or a rehabilitation
facility, working on adaptive daily living skills (ADLs) covering a wide range
of everyday skills used at home, in the work place, and school. ADLs may
include such skills as reading, personal finance, home and business management,
access to computers and technology, cooking, and leisure activities, to name a
few. The CVRT develops a rehabilitation plan and goals, with the client, to
learn adaptive techniques and advocacy skills that will help compensate for a
loss of vision.
Why the secrecy? It’s complicated, and one of the main reasons may be that most
private insurance and Medicare do not cover services provided by Vision Rehab
Therapists. The cost for vision rehab services provided by a CVRT is provided
through the Federal Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and individual
state funding, usually through the Departments of Education or Labor. In Maine,
for example, funding is through DBVI, housed in the Department of Labor. This
means, client’s have access to most vision rehab services, with a CVRT at
no-out-of-pocket cost! In addition, clients do not need a doctor’s referral to
get services, although this is often how services begin.
Another reason for the secrecy may be the historical tradition of the Vision
Rehab Therapist, who was until 2006, called a Rehab Teacher or RT. The first
RTs in the US began working with clients in Pennsylvania, and were called,
“Home Teachers of the Blind.” Often these original home teachers had no
specialized training other than adapting to their own vision loss. Lessons at
that time were based on access to the Bible through some form of embossed type.
In the 1930s-1940s more standardized training for RTs was developed, and
graduate level training began first at Michigan State in the 1960s. While CVRTs
today still teach braille to appropriate clients most rehab training is with
client’s experiencing varying degrees of vision loss acquired from aging,
disease, or accident. Although some of these client’s may in fact be “legally
blind,” most do not identify themselves as blind, nor frankly, do they wish to
have much to do with a “Teacher of the Blind.”
Today’s Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist certainly recognizes the
power of rehabilitation to restore hope, achievement, success and renewed
independence for client’s with a wide range of vision loss. Recent advances in
computers and technology offer CVRTs a much broader array of tools and
resources to work with clients as they explore new skills for adapting to
vision loss or “low vision.” For more information, or to make a referral in
Maine, call The Iris Network at 800-715-0097. For a national directory, go to
the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education
Professionals at http://www.acvrep.org/directory.php.
Steven Kelley CRC, CVRT is a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist and Rehab
Counselor in Portland, Maine and maintains the website LowVisionTech.com,
Contact him at skelley4195@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:skelley4195@xxxxxxxxx>
Steven Kelley CRC, CVRT
White Cane Walk for Independence
Team WhiteCane.ME
www.whitecane.me<http://www.whitecane.me>
Oct. 19, 2013 Monument Square
Portland, ME
Other related posts:
