There are free ACVREP continuing education credit opportunities online for O&M Specialists. I have done the research, taken the courses myself and I want to share my findings with you.

Confession time….I love classes. I love school. I love learning! It’s what I love to do on a Saturday night. Not everyone looks forward to taking classes as much as I do, which is why I’ve done the research and am sharing it with you. The ones I describe below are the best available!

What is ACVREP?

Our professional accrediting body, the Academy for Certification of Vision & Rehabilitation Education Professionals ( ACVREP) certifies Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists (COMS) around the world.

How many Continuing Education Credit Units do Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists need to have for recertification?

The recertification process for ACVREP is broken down in to four categories:

Professional Development
Professional Experience
Publications and Presentations
Professional Services

According to ACVREP’s recertification webpage, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists (COMS), currently need a minimum of 25 CEU’s from Professional Development with a total of 100 CEU’s from all of the categories. Professional Experience can only account for 50 points, maximum.

Unless you are going to write a book or volunteer on a professional executive board, then you will need at least 50 CEU’s from the professional development category.

ACVREP recertification happens every 5 years, which means you need at least 10 CEU’s per year if you are not on a board or writing for the profession.

Not too bad, but not easy to find if you aren’t willing to invest in your education.

Luckily, we found all of the free online ACVREP credits for Orientation and Mobility Specialists for you! There actually aren’t any other entities that offer free online ACVREP webinars.

Best Free Online ACVREP Credits for Orientation and Mobility Specialists in 2019

1. Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI)

TSBVI is probably not a surprise to you. They offer multiple webinars online. They have quality content and you may take them anytime anyplace, as long as you can connect to the internet.

I especially like the recent ones with Chris Tabb. His knowledge is incredible and his teaching style is really personable.

To register, you will need to sign up for an account on their software and fill out a form.

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2. Dona Sauerburger

Dona Sauerburger has two fantastic self study courses that she created with ACVREP. . If you are looking for the next level training for street crossing, these are the ones to take. I personally went through the Self Study Guide on Preparing Visually Impaired Students for Crossings with No Traffic Control and loved it! The 5 CEU course helped me use Dona’s TMAD method to teach my students how to cross intersections that have no traffic control.

To register, email Dona and let her know that you are taking this course. She will send you the needed information to get your CEU’s from ACVREP. Both courses are offered for 5 ACVREP CEU’s.

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3. Allied Independence

Not to be biased, but we think our webinars are top notch! This year, we currently have three free webinars on our calendar. Each of the webinar topics are decided upon by our Professional Learning Community.

This September we are offering a free webinar on helping your students with spatial awareness issues orient themselves to their immediate environments!

Take a look at our 2019 Programs this year and choose the one that best suits you.

Learn more