[visionrehabtherapist] Re: Visual Impairment Specialist?
- From: "McCall, Roberta (LARA)" <mccallr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'Polly.Abbott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <Polly.Abbott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "visionrehabtherapist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <visionrehabtherapist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:44:01 -0400
Hi Polly,
I have wondered along a similar line of thinking when I learned more clearly
the meaning of the term "rehabilitation" in the medical field's use of the
term. Rehab is something done to a system to make it function better than it
did after it became impaired/damaged. This is not what we do as VRT/RTs. We
do rehab to someone's life (life rehabilitation?) and rehab to their ability to
function in the new normal that is the person's life (independence
rehabilitation?) or the former term "blind rehabilitation" which probably
reflects most accurately what we do given the medical field's use of the term
rehabilitation.
Thanks for you thoughts this Monday morning!!
Roberta McCall, CVRT/RT
From: visionrehabtherapist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:visionrehabtherapist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Polly Abbott
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2013 10:58 AM
To: visionrehabtherapist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [visionrehabtherapist] Visual Impairment Specialist?
Hello VRTs,
I attended the AFB Leadership conference/AER Illinois state conference this
past weekend. AFB awarded the M.C. Migel Medal to Kay Ferrell.
http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=1&SectionID=47&DocumentID=6215
During her acceptance speech she made a point that has had me thinking about
what I do ever since. She said we are not "vision professionals" and that we
do not do "vision rehabilitation". She said we are actually "visual impairment
specialists". This really resonated with me. "She's right!" I thought, "My
area of expertise is blindness."
I am happy to call myself a CVRT and I am not looking for change at this time
but I notice it takes many words to explain what I do to clients, families, and
especially professionals outside the field. Our profession is already
suffering from a low profile. I wonder if we complicated our status further by
choosing VRT as our title. Kay Ferrell's comment, I confess, had me yearning
just a wee bit for a professional title that clearly stated what I do to the
layman.
My apologies to Kay Ferrell if I have misinterpreted the point she was trying
to make at the time. Whatever she meant to say has certainly been thought
provoking to me.
Polly Abbott CVRT
Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist
Director of Rehabilitation Services
Second Sense
65 E. Wacker Place Suite 1010
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 236-8569
www.second-sense.org<http://www.second-sense.org/>
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