Over 250 orientation and mobility (O&M) instructors who are also teachers of children with visual impairments were surveyed to determine their roles and responsibilities, satisfaction with their university training, and current jobs. The majority of the respondents were middle-aged, Caucasian women with master's degrees who were satisfied with their training and jobs. The respondents spent the largest proportion of their workweeks performing the duties of teachers of children with visual impairments and fewer hours teaching O&M techniques in public schools.The number of professionals who work with children with low-incidence disabilities lags far behind the demand, especially in rural areas. Many children and youths with visual impairments do not receive appropriate educational services because of the scarcity of professionals in the field, including orientation and mobility (O&M) instructors (Silberman, Com, & Sowell, 1989.Moreover, because of the rural nature of many states and the low incidence of visual impairments among children, public school districts often do not have the resources to hire both O&M instructors and teachers of children with visual impairments to serve a small number of children. Accordingly, it

A study was undertaken to ascertain the role of a field rehabilitation teacher. A questionnaire was sent to 111 rehabilitation teachers in thirteen southern and western states asking: How is the field rehabilitation teacher's time spent in providing instruction and services to the visually handicapped clients in his or her case load? Other data collected included educational levels and years of experience. The study concluded that the rehabilitation teacher's time is spent primarily in the areas of case recording, home management, communications, counseling, and travel, and this time may be affected by the educational levels and experiences of the teachers. Future research should look more in depth into the time spent in each category in relationship to the educational experience to see how one affects the other in terms of the duties, responsibilities, and job effectiveness of the field rehabilitation teacher.

In this pilot study four subjects were observed to determine the extent of the natural movement of their centers of gravity in relation to arc height during the two-point touch cane technique. The subjects learned and practiced a modified technique using their center of gravity as much as possible. Analysis of the data revealed that each subject was, to some extent, able to incorporate the movement of the center of gravity into the two-point touch technique.

Basic behavioral processes involved in motor control based on theories of motor control and learning are outlined using the teaching of two-point touch cane technique as an application of the theories. The authors believe that the keys to successful mobility training are repetition and correctly performed practice of each skill and sufficient learning time to facilitate overlearning and subsequent skill retention.

In this follow-up to a study conducted in 1977, the 50 state departments of education were resurveyed to determine the availabiltiy of orientation and mobility specialists in the public schools. A definite trend was found toward increasing the availability of these specialists. Although there is still a significant gap between the number of specialists needed and the number of specialists employed, the results are encouraging.