Orientation and Mobility Specialist (Perm)

No.:  CUPE C-22-0179UE

POSTED:  June 16, 2022

DEADLINE:  4:30 p.m. June 30, 2022

Orientation and Mobility Specialist

1 – Permanent Position

Special Education and Inclusion

CUPE Local 4400, Unit C – Grade M (School year plus 2 weeks)

$35.44 per hour

 The Toronto District School Board adheres to equitable hiring, employment and promotion practices.

NOTE: The Board is not permitted to offer this position to an employee if the time reasonably needed to travel to the location of this position from another position held by the employee -- and/or from this position to the location of another position held by the employee or the starting/ending times of the position would interfere with the employee’s one half hour lunch break as required by the Collective Agreement.

Reporting to the Centrally Assigned Principal, under the professional guidance of the Coordinator, the Orientation and Mobility Specialist is responsible for instructing travel skills to children who are visually impaired, including the use of canes, dog guides, sophisticated electronic traveling aids, as well as the sighted guide technique.  Orientation and Mobility Specialists instruct children how to move from one place to another safely and independently.  They also instruct children to orient themselves to their surroundings—they provide the skills and knowledge base to determine one’s distance and direction relative to things observed, heard, or remembered in one’s surroundings and the ability to keep track of these spatial relationships as they change during locomotion. 

Summary of Duties:

• Provide instruction (on a 1:1 basis) to student with a visual impairment, including those students with additional special needs to navigate as is possible with in the school and/or community setting. This may include pre-cane/adapted cane skills, white cane skills, sighted guide, spatial and sensory skills;
• Provide instruction in the use of electronic travel aids;
• Consult with school personnel (i.e., teachers, administrators, assistants), parents, outside agencies, Blind/Low Vision Program colleagues concerning issues regarding accessibility needs to assist blind and visually impaired students;
• Document student progress and prepare related reports;
• Prepare instructional materials into braille, tactile format (raised line maps, diagrams), and enlarged print; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Two year college diploma in related field and current certification by The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI) plus two years of experience instructing visually impaired students to navigate independently, or an equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Prior related experience working in a school setting with students ages 3 to 21 is preferred;
• Experience working as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
• Working knowledge and/or certification in braille;
• Able to communicate in a sensitive, courteous manner with students, parents, staff and the general public;
• Strong communication and organisational skills; and
• Understanding of and commitment to confidentiality.

Special Requirements:

• Must be able to spend most of shift walking/standing to assist students navigating at school and/or in the community;
• Must provide personal vehicle to travel across TDSB; and
• Requires frequent travel.

Location:    Will be based out of Yorkdale Secondary School, 38 Orfus Road (not wheelchair accessible) but will be required to work across the city according to student needs.

Hours:         35 hours per week.  Incumbents must be available to work weekdays and evenings.  Majority of hours for scheduled weekdays but some hours may be scheduled late afternoons, evenings in order to meet student needs.

Work Year:           School Year plus two weeks

Notes:

1. It is anticipated that interviews will take place within two weeks after the closing date of this competition.
2. It is anticipated that the successful applicant will commence as soon as possible and practical.

Please note:

Applications must be submitted:

1. in résumé form with a covering letter to: application.submission@tdsb.on.ca
2. with competition # CUPE C-22-0179UE in the subject line
3. Apply no later than 4:30pm on June 30, 2022

Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. Applications will not be acknowledged in writing.

We strive to meet the accommodation needs of persons with disabilities. Applicants are encouraged to make their needs for accommodation known in advance, during the hiring process.