Description of Services

Aging Services: All services specifically targeted to adults who are visually impaired and over age 55. May include direct services, such as training in the skills of daily living, provision of adaptive aids and appliances, low vision services, family and peer counseling, or referrals to local agencies that specialize in services for older people, such as senior centers, home care agencies, geriatric medical practices, and assistive living facilities.
Audiodescription/Videodescription: Descriptions and explanations of the visual aspects of films, television programs, or plays to make them understandable to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Training of guides, describers, docents, or anyone who provides or is interested in providing this kind of narration.
Braille/Audio/Large-Print Production: Creation of materials in braille, audio, or large print upon the request of agencies or individuals.
Community Outreach Programs: Screening and other related activities conducted in the community to identify and assist blind and visually impaired individuals in need of assistance.
Computer Training: Training in the use of appropriate computers and assistive technology.
Consultation/Technical Program Assistance: Advice, assistance, and consultative support by specialized staff to local school systems, teachers of visually impaired students, and other agencies or professionals who work with blind and visually impaired persons.
Counseling/Social Work/Self-Help: Clinical evaluations, counseling, referrals, and support provided by professionals, such as psychologists and counselors, to visually impaired individuals and family members who may need them.
Distance Education: Off-campus programs for students who are working toward degrees or certification in specializations in the field of blindness and visual impairment.
Dog Guide Training: Schools that train and provide dog guides for people who are blind and offer instruction on how to work with a dog guide to negotiate the travel environment.
Early Intervention/Infants: Services provided to infants, usually from birth to age 3, and their families to enhance an infant’s development. Includes assessment of the child’s condition and needs, developmental enrichment, and coordination of health, social, and related services.
Education Services: Services related to the education of blind and visually impaired children and young adults, usually from birth through age 21. Includes agencies that provide adapted instructional materials and state and other agencies responsible for overseeing educational services to blind and visually impaired students.
Employment/Job Training: Career and skill counseling, prevocational evaluation, career preparation training, and vocational placement.
Health Services: General medical and related services, such as eye evaluations, treatment of eye conditions, genetic counseling, and other assistance.
Independent Living/Rehabilitation Services: Training in daily living and work activities, such as home management, personal management, communication, travel, and other adaptive skills.
Information and Referral: General information about blindness and visual impairment and referrals to sources of other information and services.
Library Services: Organized, often formal, collections of materials in print or other formats for blind and visually impaired individuals and the professionals who work with them.
Literacy Programs: Instruction and training in alternate methods of reading, such as the use of braille and optical devices, to promote literacy among blind and visually impaired persons.
Low Vision Centers and Services: Agencies that test and evaluate a client’s vision; prescribe appropriate optical devices; provide support, follow-up, and referrals to other appropriate agencies and professionals; and supply nonoptical (e.g., lamps, filters, bold-lined paper, writing guides) and optical devices (e.g., magnifiers, microscopes, telescopes) and training in their use.
Membership Organizations: Organizations for professionals and consumers in the field of blindness and visual impairment.
Newspaper Reading Services: Readings of articles from selected newspapers that are provided by phone or over the radio for blind and visually impaired persons.
Orientation and Mobility: Training in the use of systematic techniques by which people who are blind or visually impaired orient themselves to their environment and move about independently.
Parent Assistance: Consultation and referrals to appropriate agencies, parent workshops, and in-home visits and support services provided to parents of blind and visually impaired children.
Preschool Programs: Programs specifically geared for infants and preschool-age children who are blind or visually impaired.
Products Available for Sale: Agencies that sell products for use by clients who are blind or visually impaired.
Professional Training: Programs such as workshops, seminars, and in-service meetings whose objective is to train personnel who work with blind and visually impaired people.
Professional/Diagnostic Assessment of Clients: Specialized processes by which practitioners determine the present needs and skill levels of clients.
Publishers of Alternate Media: Producers of printed material in other formats, such as large print, braille, or audiocassette, that engage in widespread distribution and sale of these materials.
Radio Reading Services: Readings of newspaper articles, books, and consumer information for people with visual, physical, and reading disabilities that are broadcast over the radio, usually over otherwise unused frequencies.
Recreation Services: Leisure activities, such as those related to arts and crafts, sports, music, and drama, provided for blind and visually impaired persons.
Special Schools: Schools for blind and visually impaired students from kindergarten to grade 12, often having dormitory or other maintenance facilities for students.
University Degree Programs: Universities that offer degree programs and areas of concentration to prepare professionals to work in various capacities with individuals who are blind or visually impaired.