Page last updated: Friday 1 February, 2008 3:23 PM

Don't let Professional Development get lost in translation.

As you may be aware, following the vision, ideas and an initial investigation by the London Rehab Workers Forum the SCA are proposing to forge links with the AERBVI (The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired) so we ask, will this improve access to professional development programmes?

The provision of Continual Professional Development (CPD) for qualified Rehabilitation Specialists is scant to say the least, only a handful of meaningful programmes exist and these are delivered by a small number of organisations. The proposed 'partnership' with the AER may provide additional resources for Rehabilitation Specialists, especially in the area of Orientation & Mobility practice and teaching.

However, the programmes on offer may well need 'tweaking' and translating for the UK market as delivery and initial training of instructors is different across the pond. In the US Orientation & Mobility is considered important and as such, concentration is focussed on teaching the client effectively – many are referred to a rehabilitation centre where they can assimilate the important underpinning foundations while also acquiring the skills.

An example of this can be found in the handout from the 2007 SWOMA (South West Orientation & Mobility Association) conference. This article highlights not only the differences in practice but also in professional power, “Would your employer allow you to deliver 400 hours of training?” nb clients are referred to as ‘students’

Learning skills and building confidence takes time. To teach transferable skills, students may need 80-400 hours to learn the basics. If a student requires 100-400+ hours of training, referral to a rehabilitation facility should be considered. What is important to recognize is that it is not possible to learn confidence and independence in travel skills in 10-30 hours with no previous training. While repetition is often the best way to recall information; repetition with challenges and problem solving are more likely to produce confidence and skills that will be applied.

Marin, Small SWOMA 2007

If the above recommendation of time is the norm in the US it would appear that the O&M instructor has the power to dictate and control the length and style of training offered to their clients, whereas the Rehabilitation Specialist in the UK is often restricted by the organisation’s policies and/or funding - thus rendering them powerless to deliver a training programme that addresses, in depth, the client's needs. 

The article also stresses the importance of practice, how much and where it appears in the training programme, confirming the old saying of 'practice makes perfect'. However, we must make sure that the meaning doesn’t get lost in translation, it should be that 'appropriate, timely and accurate practice makes perfect'.

Access to information from the US can only benefit the Rehabilitation Specialist but they must take care to translate and tweak it to fit with their practice. If done well, articles such as the one mentioned above will not only help you develop your knowledge but also add weight to your arguments and abilities to enhance the delivery of training to the client whilst reducing their dependency on the service provider.

Although it was cojoled, this proposal by the SCA to link with the AER must be applauded as access to CPD of this kind can only benefit the development of the profession – but don’t take our word for it, find out more about the benefits of this collaboration for yourself and contact the SCA