About Us

MISE is a group of professionals who work with Children & Young People (C&YP) who have a visual impairment.  We have many different titles such as Rehabilitation Workers, Mobility Officers and O&M Teachers, depending on the context in which we work.
See FAQs

We are all Mobility & Independence Specialists with one aim which is to maximise every child’s potential for independence.

Our work focuses on teaching Mobility and Independence skills and this is an essential component of The Specialist Curriculum for C&YP with a visual impairment.  Our students are usually in the age range of birth to 19 years old although many Specialists also work with adults who have a visual impairment.  A considerable proportion of the C&YP that we work with have additional disabilities such as physical and learning disabilities.  

Mobility & Independence Curriculum - See Case Studies

‘Every child deserves to reach their potential for Independence and M&I Educators work towards
this goal’ TAPS Curriculum, Texas School for the Blind & VI

Orientation & Mobility is the Art of safe travel whatever the potential of the learners.  It may
be indoors or outdoors, walking or travelling in a wheelchair, making choices,
taking responsibility and control.

The aim of this curriculum is to ensure that C&YP with a VI have safe access to their environment, at school, in their home and community.  This promotes inclusion and provides skills that can be used throughout a person’s life.

After initial and ongoing assessment by a suitably qualified and experienced specialist, the programme followed will depend on the age and stage of the child, taking into account any other disabilities that a child may have.

All of the curriculum areas focus on functional activities that will increase independence and choice as well as an awareness of their environment.  Although there are regional differences, the curriculum will broadly focus on the following areas:

Safe movement skills 
This can range from reaching out and exploring the environment to skills which help a child to move safely outdoors, basic skills to move around indoors, spatial concepts, orientation strategies for increasingly complex environments and using an appropriate mobility device such as a long cane.   Our C&YP also need strategies and practise regarding road and personal safety.  This includes dealing with people appropriately when they offer help.

Daily Living Skills
This can include personal care skills such as dressing, keeping clean and healthy and eating.  It may also involve advising on basic food preparation and organisational skills.

Social and Leisure Activities
Visual impairment has a huge affect on communication skills as non verbal communication such as gestures and facial expressions so often give meaning to our speech.  It is essential that we help our C&YP to develop appropriate social skills.  We can often help to encourage inclusion into community activities so that the C&YP develop a network of support and most importantly a way of having fun.

Many people have a part to play in developing M&I skills and we work with families, school staff and other professionals to provide a source of advice and training in this specialist area.  There are many resources which can help make independence possible in many areas.  A growing area of work for us has been Environmental Audits, assessing accessibility of an area and advising on adaptations which will facilitate inclusion.  The main driver for this has been the Disability Discrimination Act which requires accessibility compliance.

Mobility & Independence Specialists in Education (MISE)

MISE was set up as an RNIB curriculum group in 1989 and remains affiliated to the RNIB and VIEW.  It has grown and is now a national group, servicing all of the regions, consisting of over 100 members.  All the members teach mobility and independence skills in a variety of settings.

As a group (join us) we meet twice yearly for a conference, inviting speakers from a variety of specialisms, covering recent developments in the field and related areas.  The conference gives people the opportunity to share expertise and support each other in our practice.

Members are provided with an up to date database of the MISE membership.

All the regions have a representative and there are some groups who also meet to discuss regional developments.

The MISE group provides a focus for developments in the wider community and enables us to contribute to key policy areas.  Most recently we are involved through the Chair with the Rehabilitation Projects Group which is undertaking a national review of Rehabilitation services.  See News

If you are a professional involved in the field or would just like more information about the work that we do please Contact us and join us!