BRS Orientation & Mobility Instruction 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'two-point touch' (touch technique) cane method is PRIMARILY used for:
- Indoor travel in familiar environments
- Outdoor travel on sidewalks and pedestrian paths (Correct answer)
- Navigating through crowded indoor spaces
- Trailing along walls in corridors
Correct answer: Outdoor travel on sidewalks and pedestrian paths
Two-point touch is the standard outdoor cane technique where the cane arc matches the width of the body, tapping at each side with each step.
Question 2: A client with diabetic retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy presents for O&M assessment. The neuropathy is MOST likely to affect which O&M skill?
- Auditory localization of traffic
- Tactile sensitivity for cane feedback and surface detection (Correct answer)
- Cognitive mapping ability
- Use of optical low vision devices
Correct answer: Tactile sensitivity for cane feedback and surface detection
Peripheral neuropathy reduces sensation in the hands and feet, directly impairing the tactile feedback received through the cane and the detection of surface changes underfoot.
Question 3: When teaching a client to cross a street, the O&M specialist instructs them to align perpendicular to the curb. What is the PRIMARY reason for this?
- To minimize crossing distance
- To ensure the client crosses parallel to traffic flow, reducing risk (Correct answer)
- To face oncoming traffic for better awareness
- To align with the accessible pedestrian signal button
Correct answer: To ensure the client crosses parallel to traffic flow, reducing risk
Perpendicular alignment ensures the client travels parallel to traffic lanes, which is the safest and most direct path across the street.
Question 4: Which environmental modification is MOST beneficial for a client with low vision navigating an office building?
- Replacing all fluorescent lighting with natural light
- Adding high-contrast tactile markers on door handles, steps, and elevator buttons (Correct answer)
- Removing all rugs and floor coverings to create uniform surfaces
- Installing motion-sensor lighting throughout all corridors
Correct answer: Adding high-contrast tactile markers on door handles, steps, and elevator buttons
High-contrast tactile markers provide both visual contrast (for residual vision) and tactile information, making key features distinguishable in an office environment.
Question 5: The O&M specialist notices a client consistently overshoots the target door when walking down a hallway. The MOST likely cause is:
- Inadequate trailing technique
- Poor auditory localization skills
- Failure to use a systematic landmark and clue identification strategy (Correct answer)
- Overreliance on the sighted guide
Correct answer: Failure to use a systematic landmark and clue identification strategy
Overshooting a target typically indicates the client is not using landmarks and clues systematically to detect when they are approaching their destination.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the role of 'clues' versus 'landmarks' in O&M?
- Landmarks are permanent features; clues are temporary, context-specific sensory cues (Correct answer)
- Clues are visual; landmarks are tactile
- Landmarks are used indoors; clues are used outdoors
- There is no functional difference between the two terms
Correct answer: Landmarks are permanent features; clues are temporary, context-specific sensory cues
Landmarks are consistent, permanent, and identifiable features used repeatedly for orientation, while clues are transient sensory cues that provide situational information.
Question 7: A newly blinded veteran is resistant to using a white cane due to stigma. The MOST appropriate initial response of the O&M specialist is to:
- Require cane use as a condition of continued O&M services
- Explore the client's feelings and discuss the functional benefits and alternative mobility options (Correct answer)
- Provide written materials about cane travel statistics and safety data
- Contact the client's family to encourage cane acceptance
Correct answer: Explore the client's feelings and discuss the functional benefits and alternative mobility options
Addressing the client's emotional concerns through counseling-informed discussion respects autonomy and builds therapeutic rapport before addressing practical training.
BRS Orientation & Mobility Instruction 4
The 'two-point touch' (touch technique) cane method is PRIMARILY used for: