I first learned about vocational rehabilitation for college students with visual impairments when I was getting ready to graduate from high school. Even though I had been registered with the state agency for visual impairment since I was fourteen years old, I hadn’t talked to anyone from there in years, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when my mom and I met with someone who worked with the vocational rehabilitation program a month later. Here is an overview of what to expect from vocational rehabilitation for college students with visual impairment.
What is vocational rehabilitation?
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is a program that helps people with disabilities prepare, locate, and maintain employment by providing services related to job training/education, developing strategies for performing work and daily living activities with a disability, assistive technology/rehabilitation technology services and assessments, job counseling, and limited financial assistance that can be used to achieve employment-related goals.
Services may be offered in several different environments, depending on the employment goals of the individual and the agency that is providing services. Examples of places where trainings and services may be conducted include:
- On-site workplace visits
- High schools, colleges, universities, trade schools, or other educational institutions/job training centers where an individual may be enrolled
- Home visits or meetings in public locations
- Regional state agency offices
- Residential facilities for vocational rehabilitation training and skill development, which provide instruction for activities of daily living, orientation and mobility (O&M), and how to use assistive technology
Vocational rehabilitation services are often provided in conjunction with a state agency for rehabilitation services and/or state agency for visual impairment. In Virginia, this includes the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Service (DARS) and Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI).
Related links
- Services Provided By State Department/State Unit for Visual Impairment
- US Government Programs For Blind/Low Vision Residents
- Seeing The Future: College Transition for Visual Impairment
Who qualifies for vocational rehabilitation?
In order to be eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation services, individuals must meet the following general qualifications:
- US citizen or lawful resident that is eligible to work in the United States
- Has a physical or mental disability that fits the definition of a chronic condition (acute/short-term conditions do not qualify)
- Has a physical or mental disability that affects the individual’s ability to locate or maintain employment.
- Individual is willing to work and intends to work after receiving vocational rehabilitation services
- Individual is living in, working in, or moving to the state where they are receiving services
- Individuals who are employed may qualify for VR services if their disability causes them to be under-employed, contributes to difficulties with work-related tasks, or if disability progression makes it difficult or impossible to perform at their current job.
Referrals for Vocational Rehabilitation services can come from anyone, including family members, doctors, teachers, employers, social workers, and other members of an individual’s care team. Individuals may also refer themselves for services. Referrals may be done online, via phone, or by mail through the appropriate agency.
Eligibility requirements for visual impairment
While requirements may vary from state to state, individuals with visual impairments are generally required to submit medical documentation of their visual impairment to confirm that they meet one or more of the following requirements:
- Low vision or vision impairment where visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but less than 20/70 in the better eye with visual correction (i.e glasses, contacts, or surgery) or less than a 70-degree horizontal field
- Low vision or vision impairment where visual acuity is between 20/100 and 20/200 in the better eye with visual correction that requires additional specialty services from the state unit for visual impairment.
- Legal blindness where visual acuity is no more than 20/200 in the better eye with visual correction, or less than a 20-degree horizontal field. Profound blindness with or without light perception is also included in this criteria.
- Vision impairment or blindness combined with hearing impairment (Deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deafblindness)
Related links
- How I Respond To Questions/Comments About My Eyes
- How I Respond To Questions/Comments About My Glasses
- Learning To Explain Usable Vision
Do I have to be on Social Security for vocational rehabilitation?
Individuals who receive Social Security Disability (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are eligible for vocational rehabilitation services and their benefits are not affected by participation in vocational rehabilitation. However, individuals are not required to receive SSDI or SSI to participate in vocational rehabilitation.
The ultimate goal of the program is to allow participants to be self-sufficient and not need government assistance. Some services that are provided are based on financial need, such as scholarships, but students can still receive a lot of benefits from the program that aren’t necessarily linked to financial assistance.
Getting started with vocational rehabilitation.
There is no age limit for VR services, though as a general practice there is an age minimum of 14 for pre-transition services. Many of my friends started receiving vocational rehabilitation services through the pre-transition program at some point in high school, either before their senior year or during their senior year of high school— their teacher of the visually impaired/teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI/TSVI) referred them to the program. My referral was processed shortly before my high school graduation, and I met with a case manager for the first time a month later— this was about two months before my first semester of college.
Related links
- Ten Lessons My TVI Taught Me
- Seeing The Future: College Transition for Visual Impairment
- Eight Things You Need To Know About Your Disability Accommodations
- Ten Things I Wish My TVI Taught Me About Transition
- Questions To Ask Other Students With Low Vision
Can vocational rehabilitation make O&M referrals?
Short answer— yes! I received an O&M referral during my vocational rehabilitation intake meeting, and met with a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) for lesson at no cost.
The vocational rehabilitation services intake meeting took place inside of a restaurant. As my case manager watched me walk around, they noticed that I frequently bumped into objects, nearly walked into several walls, and relied on my mom as a human guide. They asked me how I cross the street, and my answer was that I listen for the cars. They did not like this answer, and they agreed with my mom that I would probably get hit by an electric car unless I improved my orientation and mobility skills, and that I would be a good candidate for using a blindness cane.
While I initially resisted, having orientation and mobility (O&M) lessons and learning to navigate college campuses with a blindness cane has helped me tremendously with being independent, and also helped me become familiar with public transportation. However, O&M isn’t just for learning to use a cane— it can also be useful for people who use guide dogs, other types of mobility aids, or people with low vision who don’t use any canes or mobility aids but benefit from learning how to navigate indoor and outdoor spaces independently.
Related links
- Ten Things To Know About Going To College With A Blindness Cane
- Five Questions To Ask When Buying A Blindness Cane
- Decoding The Tips of Blindness Canes
- How To Order Custom Colors for Blindness Canes
- Navigating College Campuses Archives | Veronica With Four Eyes (veroniiiica.com)
Developing an IPE
Once an individual is accepted into the Vocational Rehabilitation program, their counselor will work with them to create an Individualized Plan for Employment, or IPE. The IPE lists appropriate vocational goal(s) that relate to maintaining employment and the services and components that will enable the individual to achieve the goal(s).
To share an example from my IPE, my goal is to graduate from college with degrees in computational and data science and assistive technology and have full time employment working for a company. This goal is somewhat vague because assistive technology and accessibility intersects with a variety of different fields of study. In order to fulfill this goal, I will need to have assistive technology so I can make my coursework accessible and I will also need a disability services file at my university.
My case manager and I developed my IPE in an afternoon and would review it every year to see if there are any needed updates.
Related links
- How To Create A Disability Services File
- How To Get Disability Accommodations In Community College
- Why You Should Get A Disability Services File
- Ten Questions To Ask When Changing Your Major
- Why I Study Assistive Technology
Assistive technology and vocational rehabilitation
Assistive Technology is defined as “Any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.” Assistive Technology services may be included as part of the Individualized Plan for Employment when it is used to work towards the employment goal(s). Some examples of what this could look like include:
- Using a CCTV or video magnifier to enlarge text or for distance magnification in the workplace or classroom
- Access to work computers with accessibility software installed, such as a screen reader, magnification, etc
- Computer assistive technology/computers used for educational goals
- Adjustable height or specialty desks/chairs that can aid in proper positioning
- Voice-controlled interfaces
- Wheelchair or electric scooter for navigating the office
- Modifications to a vehicle for transportation or driving-related duties
The primary goal of an assistive technology assessment is to establish recommendations for tools that can reduce or remove disability-related barriers to employment goals. For example, an individual who is unable to complete typing-related tasks at work with a standard keyboard could be recommended an adaptive keyboard for typing, eliminating the barriers associated with the standard keyboard. Low-cost solutions will need to be ruled out before considering high-cost options.
In general, the state agency will cover the cost of purchasing approved assistive technology solutions at no cost to the individual, or may provide financial assistance for purchasing devices as part of Vocational Rehabilitation services. Financial need is not considered for technology purchased related to meeting employment goals.
Related links
- How I Use The HIMS E-Bot Pro In College
- Questions To Ask When Choosing A Laptop For College
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Computers
What to expect from an assistive technology evaluation
Many state units for visual impairment and/or rehabilitation services offers assistive technology services and assessments that may be conducted by qualified professionals/specialists, approved community partners, and/or staff at a vocational rehabilitation center. Assistive technology assessments may be conducted at regional offices, at the rehabilitation center, or in the environment in which the individual will be using the assistive technology (home, workplace, school, etc.). Individuals must be present for their assistive technology assessment to qualify for services.
Individuals with visual impairments are evaluated to determine appropriate access methods (media) for information, such as visual access, audio access, and tactile access. Some individuals may use multiple methods or dual media, such as braille and audio. Additional vision and hearing exams may be conducted in addition to assessments on computer skills when relevant; individuals with limited computer skills may go through additional or separate evaluations.
During the assistive technology assessment, the individual’s technology needs are considered through a functional evaluation. The individual may examine different categories of generic assistive technology or specific devices to determine the most effective and appropriate solution for their needs. This could include comparing different types of software, brands of assistive technology devices, or meeting with product vendors and discussing customization options.
The ability to learn/master the technology is also considered. For example, learning to use a braille display can be “expensive” in terms of the time it takes to learn to read braille at the speed necessary, so other alternatives for information access such as screen readers may be considered as well.
Once an appropriate assistive technology solution is determined, the counselor and individual will meet and the counselor will share information about purchasing, renting, or otherwise procuring a device for individual use. Vocational rehabilitation or the responsible state agency will only pay for a device if the individual’s employer is unable to or if the training facility cannot provide it.
For individuals in Virginia that receive services from DBVI, assistive technology devices costing between $499 and $4999 will become the personal property of the individual after one year, provided that the device is being used to achieve employment goals, after which point the individual will be responsible for maintaining the device (devices under $499 automatically become property of the individual). Devices over $5000 may become property of the individual if their VR case is successfully closed or if the value of the device depreciates to $0.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- Five Myths About Assistive Technology
- What To Know About College Assistive Technology Specialists
Other Vocational Rehabilitation services available for college students with low vision
- Many vocational rehabilitation programs have information about attending two-year and four-year colleges and universities in the state. They are a great place to start when doing research about the topics I mention in Seeing The Future: College Transition for Visual Impairment
- Another helpful resource I learned about from my case manager with vocational rehabilitation is the state Protection and Advocacy organization, which can provide pro-bono legal assistance for eligible cases related to disability discrimination. Learn more in My Experience With Disability Law Center of Virginia
- In Virginia, there may be some instances where an individual receives vocational rehabilitation services from both DARS and DBVI— this will be coordinated by the two agencies.
Published May 1, 2022. Updated June 2025