In 2000, Alphapointe took a major step forward in the provision of rehabilitation services to the over 50,000 people with vision loss in the Kansas City area and Midwest region when the organization opened the Center for Blindness and Low Vision. Housed at a local hospital, the CBLV, now known as the Comprehensive Vision Rehabilitation Program, provided a wide range of services to individuals aged 14 through the end of life.Now known as the Comprehensive Vision Rehabilitation Program, this multi-discipline approach to vision rehabilitation is the only one of its kind in the region. Last year, Alphapointe provided direct services to nearly 700 people with vision loss. Clients typically spend about three months in the program learning a variety of skills to maximize their independence in the sighted world.
The program consists of five components:
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Activities of Daily Living: Occupational Therapists
aid clients to assume responsibility for meeting their own needs. Most clients start their training in the Training Apartment at the Alphapointe Life Skills Campus. The Training Apartment is fully equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and washer/dryer so that the clients have as much “hands-on” training as possible.
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Orientation and Mobility Training: Instructors observe c
lients who have had a recent loss of vision in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings and training is provided sequentially: traveling with a sighted guide, white cane techniques, and use of public transportation.
- Adaptive Technology Training: Instructors work with clients in our computer lab, as well as at home or at the client’s workplace. Clients will learn how to operate a computer using a variety ofprograms that read, speak or magnify the screen.
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Communication Skills: Instructors teach clients to utilize adaptive aids to better access written communication. In addition, braille is taught to those clients that are appropriate for instruction and clients work to prepare for GED and college entrance testing.
- Vocational Placement: Employment Specialists provide job search assistance, resume and cover letter writing, job interviewing skills, teamwork skills development, workplace protocol and direct job placement.
