VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 3
Kimberly Conlon, conlon_kimberly@asdk12.org
Ashli Mackey, mackey_ashli@asdk12.org
Anchorage School District, Anchorage, AK
What do we do for orientation and mobility (O&M) lessons in Anchorage,
AK when it is 20 degrees out and the distinctions between curbs or the side of the
road are obliterated by a sheet of ice due to recent freezing rain? When the school
playground becomes a hockey rink and all the kids are playing 'penguins' and
belly sliding around? When the snow builds up and the sidewalks disappear (if
there was one in the first place) and don't re-appear until April or May? How do
we teach safe, efficient and effective travel when the mobility cane can no longer
distinguish between safety or danger zones? As O&M instructors teaching in a
location that has what many would consider unfavorable or inaccessible winter
travel conditions, we want our students to be able to engage with their natural
home environments and be independent travelers year-round, not just during the
six months when walking paths are not natural slip n' slides. In order to do this, we
O&M Strategies and Partnerships
in the Far North
