ABSTRACT
The field of orientation and mobility (O&M) is, essentially, teaching a person who has a visual impairment how to optimize their movement through their environment. As such, the field touches on many other fields. An O&M specialist must know about child development, how perception of the outside world is processed in the brain, the impact of vision loss etiologies on perception, basic kinesiology and body biomechanics, the application of simple tools such as the long cane and more advanced technology such as GPS units, how the built environment is structured, accessibility guidelines and strategies, mass transit and on-demand transit systems, and how to individualize instruction with all of these components inter-related. This chapter will explore research developments in many of these areas as they relate to the movement of people who are blind or visually impaired through any environment.
