National Blind Professional Certification

There are two certifying organizations in the U. S. for specialists who want to work with the blind.

There are two certifying bodies in the U. S. for professionals who want to work with the blind. They are the Academy for Certification of Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP) and the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB).

Academy for Certification

The certification programs offered by ACVREP are designed to ensure that "individuals who receive vision rehabilitation and education services have the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential." ACVREP offers professional certification for low vision therapists, orientation and mobility specialists and vision rehabilitation therapists.

National Blindness Professional Certification Board

NBPCB's literary braille certification requires proficiency in the use of a Braillewriter.

The NBPCB also provides certification for specialists who work with the blind. NBPCB is affiliated with the National Federation of the Blind, a 50,000-member organization for blind people in the U. S. NBPCB offers two certifications in orientation and mobility, and literary braille. The organization's National Orientation and Mobility Certification training emphasizes non-visual instruction and a style of learning called Structured Discovery. This learning method reverses the relationship between instructor and student, so the emphasis is on the learning style of the student rather than the knowledge of the instructor.

Orientation Centers

Both organizations inspect and approve private and government-operated orientation centers for the blind. Listings of approved centers and locations are published on their websites.

References

• National Federation of the Blind: Rehabilitation Professionals
• docstoc: National Blindness Professional Certification Board
• NPBCB National Blindness Professional Certification Board
• Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired: What Is Structured Discovery Learning?
• Nataional Federation of the Blind of Nebraska: Discovering The Structure of Structured Discovery
• Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals: Vision, Values and Purposes