Amman- 12 December 2021
The Vision Rehabilitation Center (VRC) at the German Jordanian University (GJU) continues to provide its comprehensive services in vision rehabilitation for people with visual impairment, whether blind or low vision, which includes assessment of visual functions, selecting the needed visual devices for each person with low vision, and providing advice on the necessary environmental adaptations according to their needs. In addition, the center delivers intensive training sessions on daily life skills and orientation and mobility using the white cane to increase their independence and self-confidence, which positively reflects on their quality of life.
Training using the white cane is done in various places, inside buildings such as halls, corridors, and rooms, and outside such as open spaces and stairs. People with visual impairment are trained to have the basic principles of how to use the white cane and interpret the information it provides so that they can move safely and independently. In addition, the places selected for the training are where persons with visual impairment go around, such as markets and streets, to have realistic experience sessions.
These training sessions also help to raise awareness in the community about the category of people with visual impairment and their needs, especially when the training is done for persons with low vision, to change the stereotypical thinking about the white cane that it is designed for and used by only persons with blindness.
The duration and length of these training sessions depend on the person's age when they became visually impaired and their orientation and mobility skills. Based on the VRC policy to be a non-profit center, the low cost of the training enables service users to get the highest possible rehabilitation and raise their efficiency as independent people.
It is also the mission of the German Jordanian University to provide a comprehensive community service for people with visual impairment.
