Department of Orientation – Mobility and Daily Living Skills (M-O & DLS)

The training in the O-M & DLS Department is the cornerstone for the development of autonomy in people with visual impairment. For a student with visual impairment, orientation and mobility take place every single moment of the day, while the person explores the environment around him/her, and eventually interacts with it. The usage of long cane enables the person to feel and understand the dangers around him/her, so that it can move with safety. The student with visual impairment, as he/she is not able to obtain optical information from the environment, he/she can have access to it, through the senses of hearing, touch and smell.

The above mentioned fundamental skills, not only help students to access the school, but also prepare them, to live and work independently, one day.

CERB provides visual impaired students with training in Orientation – Mobility techniques and in daily living skills. The training emphasizes on the individual, and it varies depending on the age, the optical sharpness, the acceptance of the disability and most importantly, the trainee’s potential. The training includes the following skills:

pre-mobility
orientation
organization of thought
familiarization with space dimensions
mobility
social behavior
personal hygiene
clothing
house chores
At the same time, the Department organizes campaigns for the information and awareness of the general public, it intervenes with matters concerning the accessibility of public spaces and buildings, it makes tactile maps, etc.

The Department’s program, apart from being implemented in Athens and Thessaloniki, it also takes place in the Offices of the Regional Unions in Patras, Thessaloniki and Heraklion of Crete island, with the cooperation of the Panhellenic Association of the Blind, They all cover the local education needs of both students and adults.