(a) Reader, rehabilitation teaching, and
orientation and mobility services shall be included as VR services in an
assessment for determining eligibility for VR services of applicants who are
blind, or in an IPE when necessary for the vocational rehabilitation of
eligible individuals who are blind.
(1)
"Reader services" means any person's oral reading to an individual who is
blind, of ink print material which is not available through any of the accepted
special non-visual methods of reading used by individuals who are blind
(braille, talking book, tape recording). Reader services may also be the oral
reading of material which are available in those forms, when an individual who
is blind or visually impaired has not yet acquired sufficient skill in using
them to meet an immediate need in the rehabilitation process which, if
unfulfilled at the stage of rehabilitation, would impede the person's
rehabilitation process, or the person's attainment of or continuation in
employment.
(2) "Rehabilitation
teaching services" include the teaching of techniques fundamental to developing
personal independence by mastering common skills of daily living without
eyesight or with impaired eyesight. They encompass specific and identifiable
teaching methods to assist individuals who are blind and visually impaired in
personal independence.
(3)
"Orientation and mobility services" refers to the teaching of methods of
independent travel without sight or with partial sight. "Mobility" in this
context is the act of moving, while "orientation" is awareness of pertinent
factors in the environment which enable the person with partial or total
impairment of sight to react, move, and travel in a safe, appropriate and
purposeful manner.
(b)
Reader, rehabilitation teaching and orientation and mobility services shall be
provided by trained personnel, as necessary to assist individuals who are blind
and visually impaired in developing use of their remaining senses, especially
hearing and touch, and an awareness of obstacles to be overcome, including the
initial effect blindness can have on the individual's morale. In each instance,
the purpose for the services shall be explained to the applicant or eligible
individual who is blind. Such services shall be provided consistent with the
needs of the individual and, as appropriate with the individual's informed
choice in accordance with section 17-401.1-12.
(1) Reader services shall be provided in
accordance with the following:
(A) When
substantial amounts of reading are necessary for individuals who are blind
during the assessment to determine eligibility and priority for services, or
when entering employment, both for an individual working for an employer or an
individual who is self-employed, especially in the beginning of
employment.
(B) Payment for reader
services for an individual who is employed and before case closure is limited
to an initial period of four months and shall not exceed one year.
(2) Rehabilitation teaching
services may include the following:
(A)
Instruction in skills related to personal management including but not limited
to grooming, table etiquette, and personal hygiene.
(B) Instruction in communication skills,
including braille, tape recording, typing, and manual writing.
(C) Instruction in home management including
childcare and supervision, techniques of home maintenance, budgeting, cooking,
cleaning, and dietary and menu planning.
(D) Limited instruction in travel
techniques.
(E) Participation in
group activities in the community with sighted as well as blind and visually
impaired persons.
(3)
Orientation and mobility services shall be provided to enable an individual who
is blind or visually impaired to move about at an optimum level of independence
in immediate personal surroundings and ranges as far as required by the
individual's activities and interests. Services may include but are not limited
to:
(A) Sensory development;
(B) Use of a sighted guide;
(C) Use of hands, arms, and other body
movements in a protective way;
(D)
Grip and use of a cane;
(E)
Principles of indoor and outdoor orientation to the environment, including how
to obtain and use reference data through the remaining senses;
(F) Use of common modes of
transportation;
(G) Travel in
residential and business areas;
(H)
Travel with electronic mobility aids;
(I) Travel with guide dog; and
(J) Travel with low vision aids.
(c) Reader,
rehabilitation teaching, and orientation and mobility services are subject to
the use of comparable services and benefits provisions of section 17-401.1-13,
but are exempt from the use of personal resources (financial needs test)
provisions of section 17-401.1-14.
