Draft:Vision Rehabilitation Therapist

  • Comment: Unsourced paragraphs remain. Htanaungg (talk) 06:13, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: The draft seems to promote the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP), it should not favor one certification body over another, if mentioning any at all. Overall, I agree that the draft needs globalization. Netherzone (talk) 14:31, 23 June 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: more citations needed; too narrowly focused on US/Canada Snowman304|talk 03:49, 22 October 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: Draft currently focuses exclusively on the United States. Would be good to see some coverage on visual rehabilitation in other countries. Mgp28 (talk) 12:12, 29 July 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: This is a bit better, but it's far from acceptable. Some valid sources were added, but the article is still full of acvrep.org links, and a bunch of (unacceptable) inline URLs. Plus, the wording esp. in the beginning is not encyclopedic, for starters. Drmies (talk) 17:36, 26 March 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: ck if merge is needed DGG ( talk ) 06:24, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Vision Rehabilitation Therapists or VRTs are a professionals who teach adapted daily living skills (ADLs) to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.[1] "VRTs are the most highly trained professionals to provide education and rehabilitation for people with visual impairments across the lifespan, and they are a bridge between the medical, education, and rehabilitation systems."[2] Vision Rehabilitation Therapists work for state or federal agencies, non-profit agencies, or as private contractors. The Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP) provides national certification for vision rehabilitation professionals in Canada and the United States.[3]

History

Vision rehabilitation therapy began in the mid-1800s with individuals called Home Teachers, who taught blind or visually impaired people techniques for reading religious material using tactile symbols embossed on paper. One of the first Home Teachers, Dr. William Moon, developed a set of tactile symbols, called Moon Type and established The Home Teaching and Visiting Society of London in 1847.[4]

The first national, professional certification was developed by the American Association of Workers for the Blind (AAWB) in 1945.[3]  Western Michigan University established the first graduate-level training program for Home Teachers, in 1963.[5]  The professional title of Home Teacher was changed, in 1965, to Rehabilitation Teacher, and changed again in 2002 to Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (VRT).[3]

Techniques and Training

A vision Rehabilitation Therapist (VRT) provides training that is designed to develop or relearn adapted daily living skills and concepts a blind or visually impaired person needs. VRTs provide services across the life span, teaching children and adolescents in school programs, as well as adults in a variety of community-based and rehabilitation settings. Although VRTs are primarily responsible for ADL skills training, their work may not always be done directly with the client. In some cases, the VRT may provide consultation to the teacher of students with blindness or visual impairment, orientation and mobility specialists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, employers and family members.[6]

VRTs often complete a Master's degree in vision rehabilitation, a national certification (CVRT), and works within the scope of practice outlined by ACVREP.[7] A vision rehabilitation therapist provides Instruction in the use of adaptive skills and compensatory strategies to enable individuals with vision loss to meet their specific goals in the workplace, home, school, and community. The VRT serves individuals of any age, whether vision loss is congenital or acquired later in life.

A vision rehabilitation therapist may include the following during training:[3]

  • Low vision skills and devices
  • Communication such as alternative forms of reading, writing, braille, and assistive technology
  • Personal management, including grooming, medication management, meal preparation and home care
  • Leisure activities such as crafts, active forms of recreation, and adapted games
  • Counseling, including adjustment to vision loss
  • Computer access
  • Employment readiness skills
  • Jobsite accommodations[3]

Certification

Vision Rehabilitation Therapists are nationally certified, by the  Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP)[8] in both the U.S. and Canada. To obtain certification as a CVRT, professionals must complete a course of study through a university program, complete a 350-hour internship, and pass a certification examination. The Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist uses the professional credentials CVRT.

Employment

Vision Rehabilitation Therapists are hired by state vocational rehabilitation programs, non-profit agencies, Veterans’ Administration (VA) hospitals[9], or they may choose self-employment, working as private contractors. A VRT may provide services one-on-one or in a group setting. Services are provided in the client's home, classroom, workplace, or community to include the same environmental factors for skill development and task completion.[3] Services might also be provided in a residential or rehabilitation facility.

References

  1. ^ Connors, Elyse; Norris, Daniel E.; Ottowitz, Jennifer; Abbott, Polly (2024-07-22). "Uniting Efforts to Strengthen the Future of Vision Rehabilitation Therapy". The New RE:view. 2 (1): 18–26. doi:10.56733/TNR.23.009. ISSN 2832-1693.
  2. ^ Connors, Elyse M.; Abbott, Polly M.; Norris, Daniel E.; Ottowitz, Jennifer J.; Morren, Brigitte N. (July 2023). "The Perspectives of Vision Rehabilitation Therapists on the State of the Profession: A Time for Action?". Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 117 (4): 303–313. doi:10.1177/0145482X231194634. ISSN 0145-482X.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lee, Helen; Ottowitz, Jennifer (2020). Foundations of Vision Rehabilitation Therapy. APH Press. p. vii. ISBN 9781950723065.
  4. ^ Burt, Charles Thomas (1948). The Moon Society A Century of Achievement 1848-1948. London: Moon Works. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Home Teacher training offered". Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 59 (6): 210. June 1965. doi:10.1177/0145482X6505900605. ISSN 0145-482X.
  6. ^ "CVRT - AERBVI". 2025-06-24. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  7. ^ "Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (CVRT) Certification Handbook, Section 2- Scope of Practice". Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation Professionals (ACVREP). Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  8. ^ Whittaker, Stephen G. (2015). Low Vision Rehabilitation: A Practical Guide for Occupational Therapists. Mitchell Scheiman, Debra Sokol-McKay (2nd ed.). Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-040-14294-3.
  9. ^ VHA Handbook 1174.05 (PDF). Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA). 2011. p. 3. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Vision_Rehabilitation_Therapist