Blog Post; April 2022

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

CPD courses to keep your practice up-to-date:

  • Charge Syndrome Australasia online course (reapproved for 12 points from 4 Jan 2022).
  • Orientation Aids and Tactile Maps: 90 minute webinar recorded by AER. This presentation will showcase multiple aids to familiarise students to their environment, including tools that are freely available from Google and other vendors that will allow an O&M to develop electronic and tactile maps for their students. 1.5 CPD points.
  • VoiceOver 101 for Sighted iPhone Users: 82 minutes webinar recorded by AER. Helping people new to vision loss to use an iPhone with Voice Over is easier than you think. Learn the basics as well as steps for individuals to learn more on their own. 1.25 CPD points.

Upcoming Conferences 

  • Collaborative Vision Conference (CVC), presented by Wisconsin AER Chapter (WAER), 5-6 May 2022. This virtual conference includes a presentation by Steve McAuliff on veering in adults with vision impairment and a presentation by Matt Tietjen, famous in CVI circles for his in-depth knowledge of how visual and environmental complexity affects people with CVI. You can find the official program and registration form here.
  • Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities virtual conference: 16-17 May 2022. The theme for the conference is ‘Inclusion and Access to Information in Our Changing World’.  Read more about the conference.
  • 11th National Deafblind Conference, 30 June – 1 July 2022. The first national Australian deafblind conference in six years!  Read on for more information.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

Deafblind International Communication Network webinars:

  • From emerging gestures to tactile sign language (for parents/carers) Wed 20th April 2022, 6:30pm – 8:30pm AEST via Zoom. Further information here. 
  • Orthoptics and congenital deafblindness webinar Tuesday 3rd May 2022, 7:30pm – 8:30pm AEST via Zoom. More information here. 

Upcoming DBIA congenital deafblindness workshops: These interactive workshops are being run across the country, and are suitable for education staff, therapy professionals, families and others caring for or providing services to people without full vision and hearing at birth or before acquiring language. Topics include definitions, causes, maximising functional vision and hearing, teaching and learning strategies and deafblind communication. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and case studies for personalised learning.

Sunshine Coast workshop: Tuesday 12th July 2022, 9:30am – 4:30pm AEST

Register for the Sunshine Coast workshop here.

Canberra workshop: Friday 15th July 2022, 9:30am – 4:30pm AEST

Register for the Canberra workshop here.

If you’re looking for other CPD opportunities, remember to check the OMAA website for suggestions where you’ll find many great course and conference options listed for your convenience.

Are you hosting or attending an upcoming CPD event? Would you like to be able to earn points towards ACVREP recertification at the same time? Click here to find out how you can register your event.

Job Vacancies

Have you looked at the Job Vacancies page on the OMAA website recently? You’ll find position vacancies listed for various agencies and locations across Australasia so remember to check it regularly.

Podcasts

Listen to the latest NextSense Institute podcast, where SPEVI President Dr Frances Gentle talks about her work as a Specialist Vision Teacher in Australia and her global contribution.

Other news

  • JSPEVI has now been published and is available for free download. As always, JSPEVI contains up to date research and practice in our field.

Return to OMAA homepage