This year’s observance of Vision Rehabilitation Week begins on April 9, 2023, to commemorate Anne Sullivan’s birth on April 14, 1866. A pioneer in the field of vision rehabilitation, Sullivan was the teacher who worked with Helen Keller to develop the skills Keller would use later in her life as “an international lecturer and advocate for individuals with vision and hearing loss.” Sullivan graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind and began to work with Keller in 1887 as a Home Teacher, the title at that time for the profession now known as Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (VRT). Today’s VRTs generally have completed a Master’s level education and additional training and certification to provide training to clients on adaptive living skills, low vision devices, communication (including braille, as needed), using assistive technology, and more. For more information on the commemoration and how to celebrate, visit Low Vision Tech’s webpage on Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Appreciation Week. To locate a VRT near you, check out VisionAware’s Directory of Services at VisionAware’s Directory of Services. Thank you VRTs!
