VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 1
Few researchers have considered TSVI and O&M specialists' workloads.
The Visual Impairment Scale of Staffing Pattern Analysis (VISSPA), developed by
the Workload Analysis Subcommittee of the Texas Action Committee on
Education of Students with Visual Impairments, is the first tool focused solely on
the workload of itinerant vision professionals (Pogrund et al., submitted 2023).
TSVIs and O&M specialists spend approximately 19 hours per week on
professional responsibilities other than direct services to students, including travel
between educational sites (Griffin-Shirley et al., 2004; Zebehazy et al., 2023).
Surveys show that itinerant educators could be spending, on average, 5-7 hours per
week traveling between schools to provide services to children (Griffin-Shirley et
al., 2004; Hebert & Savaiano, 2021; Meador, 2015). Travel time varied greatly
among itinerant TSVIs and O&M specialists based on geographic locale, with
itinerants in rural areas spending more time per week traveling compared to their
urban counterparts (Hebert & Savaiano, 2021; Meador, 2015).
Travel time is only one aspect of an itinerant TSVI or O&M specialists'
workload that should be considered. Initial research suggests that considering an
itinerant educator's entire workload (i.e., travel, materials preparation, meetings)
could alleviate some of the negative outcomes of large caseloads (AOTA, APTA,
ASHA, 2014; Pogrund et al., submitted 2023). In particular, use of a workload
model increased opportunities for collaboration with other teachers and related
