Events that Influenced the Development of Orientation and Mobility

By amiejosmith

  • Dog guides trained for blinded World War I vets in France and Germany.

    Programs were developed in France and Germany to train dogs to guide blinded veterans of World War I.

  • Lions Club International votes to support passage of white cane laws in every state.

    White cane laws were established to offer blind pedestrians protection and the right-of-way while carrying a white cane.

  • World War II

    The field of orientation and mobility began to develop to help blind veterans coming home from World War II.

  • Hoover and others develop long-cane mobility techniques at Valley Forge Army Hospital.

    Richard Hoover, an army sergeant, and his colleagues developed specific techniques for using a cane that revolutionized independent travel for blind people and are still used today.

  • The first six O&M specialists are selected to work in VA hospitals.

    John Malamazian, Stanley Suterko, Alfred Corbett, Edward Thuis, Lawrence Blaha, and Edward Mees were sent out to work in VA hospitals with blinded veterans and other instructors.

  • American Foundation for the Blind establish criteria for selection of mobility personnel, to develop curriculum, and length of training program.

    AFB funded a national conference that established criteria for the basic selection of O&M personnel, develop a curriculum, and recommend the length of preparation. This was a significant step in the establishment of orientation and mobility as a profession.

  • Boston College start the first university program for O&M instructors.

    The first grant to establish an O&M university program was given to Boston College in June 1960.