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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 4
and were interviewed postsurvey. The interviews were recorded, and the data were
coded. Listening to each recording revealed a list of key themes.
Research Questions
The research questions designed for the study were as follows:
1. What do O&M specialists report are the roles and responsibilities of
paraprofessionals who work with students who are visually impaired?
2. What do O&M specialists report are the training needs of these paraprofessionals?
3. What do O&M specialists report are the supervision needs of these
paraprofessionals?
Population and Sample or Participants
The human participants for this study consisted of 11 O&M specialists (adult
educators, 18 years of age or older) who supervise paraprofessionals who work with
students with visual impairments in public schools (within the itinerant O&M service
delivery model) in Southern California.
Major Findings
Round 1
In Round 1, the responses organized into two major categories for the roles and
responsibilities of paraprofessionals, specifically, reinforcement of O&M skills and
monitoring of O&M skills.
Monitoring was defined as involving only observation of the student by the
paraprofessional and subsequent reporting to the O&M specialist about the student's
progress. Effective monitoring of a skill by a paraprofessional would require the