[NFB_of_Georgia] Fwd: FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Institute on Blindness gets grant extension for improved mobility and rehabilitation programs

Sun Mar 29 20:51:46 UTC 2020

Great Opportunity.  please share!

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jo Ann Collins-Johnson <joann369 at bellsouth.net>
Date: Sun, Mar 29, 2020 at 2:29 P
Subject: FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Institute on Blindness gets grant
extension for improved mobility and rehabilitation programs
To: Dorothy Griffin <dgriffin at nfbga.org>

You may have seen this, there may be those who are interested.

Jo Ann

*From:* NFBNet-Members-List [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] *On
Behalf Of *Blake, Lou Ann via NFBNet-Members-List
*Sent:* Friday, March 27, 2020 5:19 PM
*To:* nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
*Subject:* [Nfbnet-members-list] Institute on Blindness gets grant
extension for improved mobility and rehabilitation programs

Institute on Blindness gets grant extension for improved mobility and
rehabilitation programs

March 20, 2020

Louisiana Tech’s Institute on Blindness has received grant approval for
Structured Discovery Cane Travel (SDCT) and Structured Discovery
rehabilitation training, a development that brings more depth and
opportunity to the Institute’s education programs that are specialized for
teaching individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Louisiana Tech University is the only university in Louisiana to offer
graduate certifications and master programs in Teaching Blind Students
(TBS), Orientation and Mobility (O&M), and Rehabilitation Teaching for the
Blind Counseling and Guidance. These graduate certifications and master
programs train individuals to become teachers who help give independence to
the blind community. The innovative and effective SDCT and Structured
Discovery rehabilitation training programs will offer more opportunities to
improve mobility and daily living skills for individuals who are blind or
visually impaired.

Dr. Edward Bell, Director of the Professional Development and Research
Institute on Blindness (PDRIB), expressed that he has seen great success
from previous years and through the renewed grant he anticipates
exponential growth.

“Over the past five years, Louisiana Tech has benefited from this grant and
has trained 35 individuals who have gone on to be employed across the
country in professional careers,” Bell said. “With this new grant, we are
excited to train as many as 40 new and eager students who are ready to
change the world by bringing independence to blind kids and adults
nationwide.”

The PDRIB, housed in Tech’s College of Education, prepares highly qualified
professionals to educate and rehabilitate individuals who are blind or
visually impaired. The PDRIB also conducts thorough research that broadens
perspectives, deepens the overall understanding of blindness, and seeks the
best methods to increase independence for individuals who are blind or
visually impaired.

However, there is a nationwide shortage of educators for the blind and
visually impaired community. With a 90% illiteracy rate and a 75%
unemployment rate nationwide within the blind community, there is a dire
need to increase the number of educators trained in teaching students with
visual impairments. Job opportunities have grown exponentially for teaching
blind or visually impaired students; currently there are four times the
number of teaching jobs available than there are the number of qualified
educators and instructors to fill those positions.

Through their job assistance placement services and new program offerings,
Bell and his team seek to do their part to fill this hiring need and
empower educators to change lives within the visually impaired community.

All tuition and fees are covered for the Structured Discovery Cane Travel
(SDCT) and Structured Discovery rehabilitation training programs.
Scholarships are available on a competitive basis for those who pursue
these programs. Students who receive scholarship funding must work in the
field of rehabilitation for two years for each year of their scholarship
support.

To become an educator for the blind and visually impaired community,
contact Bell at ebell at latech.edu. For more details on how to make a
difference in the national shortage of teachers for the blind and visually
impaired, visit  www.pdrib.com.

Lou Ann Blake, J.D.

Deputy Executive Director, Blindness Initiatives

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/200+East+Wells+Street,+Baltimore,+MD+21230?entry=gmail&source=g>

(410) 659-9314, extension 2221 | lblake at nfb.org

[image: National Federation of the Blind] <https://nfb.org/>

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<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>    [image: Twitter]
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>    [image: Youtube]
<https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we
work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

-- 
Dorothy Griffin - President
National Federation of the Blind of Georgia
dgriffin at nfbga.org
770-374-4832

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
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