Jeff Thom Receives Well-Deserved Recognition From State Orientation And Mobility Instructors
By Susan Glass
It is my pleasure to pen this long overdue congratulations to Jeff Thom for an accomplishment and an award that he has kept humbly tucked under his hat.
Many BC readers will recall Assembly Bill 947 which focused on extending orientation and mobility instructor rights to teach students in broader areas. You may recall that some California school districts were preventing orientation mobility instructors from taking blind students off campus in order to teach them about crossing streets, boarding buses, navigating shopping malls, and addressing many skills essential to their survival in an urban world. Districts were expressing concerns about student safety, but also their own liability, and O and M instructors were severely curtailed in what they could teach.
Jeff worked hard with O and M instructors, school district officials, and state legislators until finally on October 12, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 947 into law.
At its 2019 annual conference, the California Association of Orientation and Mobility Specialists (CAOMS) presented Jeff with its Pete Wertsburger Award, in recognition of his essential work in removing prescriptive criteria that school districts were applying to O and M instruction. This was the first time in history that CAOMS has ever awarded someone outside of their own ranks.
According to their website, "CAOMS is a nonprofit statewide organization whose mission is to facilitate professional growth, and to support the role of orientation and mobility (O and M) specialists in rehabilitation and education of individuals who have visual impairments. Founded in 1966, CAOMS hosts an annual statewide conference. Membership consists primarily of credentialed O and M specialists. Student and associate memberships also make up the ranks of its membership."
Congratulations, Jeff! This is truly an honor for you, one that you richly deserve. And thank you from all of us in CCB.
