AER divisions are professional learning communities. They provide unique opportunities for members to learn, explore and grow professionally!
Division Handbook: Division-Handbook
There are 16 AER divisions:
Administration and Leadership
Join this division for current hot topics, regulatory and management issues, and fostering effective leadership skills. Ideal for administrators, principals, superintendents, executive directors, and emerging leaders.
Rehabilitation Counseling & Employment
Interested in information, resources, and building competencies related to helping clients gain economic independence through pre-vocational and employment strategies? Then, this is a division for you.
Multiple Disabilities & DeafBlind
Want the most current information and resources when working with clients and children who have additional disabilities, such as hearing, developmental, cognitive, or mobility impairments? This division is for you! Address topics such as sensory processing, adapting physical activities, access to information and so much more.
Psychosocial Services
Tools for mental health counseling, social skills training, and educational assessment and other content areas are explored within this division. It’s a valuable division for anyone who works with or on behalf of persons with vision loss.
Information & Technology
The division is aimed at making sure you are knowledgeable about trends and advances in technology, have the skills to match particular assistive technologies to needs, and are able to evaluate standards that guide developers and manufacturers who provide products for those who are blind or visually impaired.
Low Vision Rehabilitation
The division provides growth and development opportunities for professionals serving in a wide continuum of low vision services. It is perfect for teachers, rehabilitation specialists, low vision therapists, occupational therapists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, researchers, university personnel, administrators, and many others with an interest in low vision rehabilitation. It is a one stop portal for evidence-based literature and information on the latest low vision tech and devices, media assessment, visual efficiency trends, and more.
Infant & Preschool
Resources, discussions, and workshops related to school-based and in-home early intervention services for birth-five, parent engagement, and appropriate interventions for emerging diagnoses are provided in this division.
Orientation & Mobility
Are you a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, or do you have a keen interest in movement and traversing the environment? The AER O&M Division is a must for you! We encourage movement to facilitate the development of concepts, skills, and knowledge needed for individuals to achieve their present and future, and life goals. We offer resources, professional development, and information on an array of topics such as: environmental access, accessible pedestrian signals, rural wayfinding, the scope of practice, and tools to support the field of O&M. This is where Certified O&M Specialists convene to learn, grow, and expand their practice.
Education Curriculum
From resources on adapting general education assignments to best practices for teaching the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) to tools to support K-12 students, this division provides educators with the latest research and guidance.
Vision Rehabilitation Therapy
Membership in this division is a must for anyone who works with or on behalf of adults who are blind or visually impaired to attain adaptive techniques and to master daily living skills. The scope of topics covered by this division is limitless.
Division on Aging
Working with the older adult population? This AER division is for you! From fall prevention to reducing isolation to gaining tools to better support older adults with dual sensory loss, this action-forward division provides resources, educational sessions, and support to help you to better support older adults with vision loss.
Itinerant Personnel
The AER Itinerant Personnel division connects you to Itinerant Personnel in your community and across the globe. It provides resources and evidence- based practices related to travel and caseloads, DYI literacy kits, and other educational supports useful to itinerant teachers of children who are visually impaired.
Personnel Prep
The division focuses on college and university programs; best practices for program design and curriculum; and brings together university faculty members, professors, graduate students, and other professionals interested in the preparation of qualified personnel.
International Services & Global Issues
Connect, grow, and explore with colleagues about services and trends impacting people with vision loss from around the globe.
Physical Activity and Recreation
Physical activity and recreation extend across many disciplines and domains. Learn, collaborate, and share ways to make physical activity and recreation accessible. Learn how to help influence behaviors that lead to active and healthy lifestyles. The division provides an unmatched opportunity to join professionals working to enhance physical activity and recreational experiences for individuals who are blind and visually impaired.
Neurological Vision Impairment
Connect with the latest resources, strategies, and information related to increasing the knowledge base of care providers and improving interventions for children and adults with vision loss due to brain injury or disease.