What do all the acronyms mean?
Have you ever participated in a conversation or visited a website and left still guessing what they were talking about?
A big part of navigating systems to find resources involves decoding a lot of industry jargon. It can feel like learning another language.
Today let’s decipher some common acronyms used in the context of blind services.
IEP versus IPE
Public school system students with a visual impairment typically have a written plan referred to as an IEP that travels with them throughout their educational journey. In a nutshell, an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP, is a document detailing those accommodations a student might need to bridge the accessibility gap. A Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) works in the schools with students to implement this plan which is required by law.
Unlike an IEP, an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) only exists if you choose to apply for and are determined eligible for vocational rehabilitation (VR) services. The IPE, or workplan, is a document created for a vocational rehabilitation client defining a scope of services necessary to help the client prepare for, obtain, retain or maintain employment. The workplan describes skills training, services, or assistive technology devices a visually impaired client would need to achieve the employment goal: a specific job title. That specific job title is a little thing that matters a great deal. What is in your workplan depends entirely on what it takes to get hired in that specific role. The vocational rehabilitation agency will only pay for skills training, services or items necessary to land that job.
Who’s who Alphabet Soup
A person with visual impairment learning non-visual independence skills may encounter a host of specialized educators. Of course, they all have acronyms.
Instruction in outdoor navigation using a white cane, street crossing, and route planning (Orientation and Mobility or O&M) is taught by a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS).
Instruction in Assistive Technology skills (AT for short) is taught by a Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist (CATIS). A CATIS may teach skills like how to use an audio output computer software called JAWS (Job Access with Speech).
Instruction in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are complex tasks that help people live independently in their community:
Managing finances: Paying bills, keeping track of spending, and avoiding overspending
Managing medications: Refilling prescriptions and taking them correctly
Preparing food: Planning and cooking meals
Cleaning: Housekeeping and chores
Transportation: Driving, using public transportation, or arranging travel by taxi
Shopping: Shopping for groceries or making a shopping list
Using the phone: Answering and making calls
Instruction in non-visual techniques to accomplish both instrumental activities of daily living and basic Activities of Daily Living (ADL skills essential for basic living think eating, bathing, dressing, and walking) is taught by a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (CVRT).
People frequently ask about these. If you have other acronyms you’d like unpacked, please let me know.