Salus University’s Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies Kicks Off New Summer Sessions

Every summer, Salus University’s Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies welcomes incoming students for on-campus summer programs. These students are pursuing studies either in Low Vision rehabilitation, orientation and mobility (O&M), education for teachers of children with visual and multiple disabilities or vision rehabilitation therapy.

As a part of their training, students from the O&M program take to the streets of Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood to experience the challenges of trying to navigate a busy urban environment for those who are blind or have low vision. Students who complete the program will be orientation and mobility specialists and will be teaching the blind and visually impaired how to navigate, whether that’s in their homes, their communities, getting a job or going to school.

“It’s a very open-minded, intense and tough summer,” said Amrah Baldini, who oversees the internship and fieldwork and who also graduated from the O&M program. “The students are thrown into this environment, and it takes a lot of stamina to figure it all out. But when the students finish, they can work with the blind and visually impaired and help them through situations because they’ve been through those situations themselves.”