OBVS offers services on the campus of DORS' Workforce & Technology Center (WTC), including evaluation and training and case management services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired to help them live and work as independently as possible.
Orientation and Mobility
We evaluate your ability to travel in and around the WTC safely and independently. We observe how effectively you are able to travel using any residual vision, low vision aids, mobility cane and/or guide dogs. We may make recommendations for orientation and mobility training in and around the community or place of employment.
Communications
We evaluate your ability to read mail, complete job applications, and write and read recipes using materials in appropriate formats such as large print, Braille and electronic format. Our training may include instruction in large/standard print and magnification. Students also learn keyboarding skills and learn to type in preparation for further assessments and/or computer-related training.
Household Arts/Daily Living
We evaluate your ability to care for home and personal needs. Our training may include instruction in telling time, money identification, dressing, sewing, laundering, cooking, cleaning and grooming. Recommendations for further training are made based on your needs, skills and abilities.
Adjustment to Blindness for Life & Employment (ABLE)
The ABLE Program is designed to provide individuals with blindness/low vision the opportunity to develop basic adjustment to blindness skills. This program will allow participants to develop and maintain independent living skills and work readiness skills in preparation for employment. Participants will have the opportunity to interact and share concerns and solutions with other program participants with vision loss.
This is an eight-week program operating four days per week, Monday through Thursday. Instructional hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. ABLE will be conducted two times per year, in the fall and in the spring.
Interview Prep
Interview Prep is a four-hour interview skills development module. Students learn appropriate standards for interview preparedness, grooming, dress code, body language, social expectations, common questions and answers, and post interview strategies.
Disability Advocacy
Disability Advocacy is a two-hour module for students who may need reasonable accommodation on their employment journey. The class covers the fundamentals of disability
disclosure, the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, and their limitations. Students will develop practical strategies to address their ADA needs.
Resume Prep
Resume Prep is a four-hour class discussing modern resumes and cover letters. Participants learn how to customize employment documents to jobs, what is and is not part of a quality resume, and how to use A.I. to assist with content creation while remaining professional. Consumers must have a current resume draft to participate in this class.
Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)
Student services to include job exploration counseling, instruction in self-advocacy, workplace
readiness training and counseling on post-secondary education opportunities.
