ACVREP CVRT key terms

A profession that teaches people with vision loss the adaptive skills needed to manage daily living, communication, and home tasks, emphasizing individualized instruction, functional outcomes, and collaboration with other rehabilitation disciplines.

The defined boundaries of what a certified vision rehabilitation therapist is trained and authorized to do, including skill instruction, assessment, documentation, and referral, while excluding services reserved for other licensed professions.

A set of professional principles governing conduct, including competence, confidentiality, informed consent, avoidance of dual-role conflicts, and honesty in documentation, that certified practitioners agree to follow and can be disciplined for violating.

The process of explaining the purpose, risks, benefits, and alternatives of a service or assessment in accessible format, then obtaining a person's voluntary agreement before proceeding.

Written records of assessment findings, instruction provided, progress toward goals, and recommendations, kept accurate, timely, objective, and confidential so that team members and funders can rely on them.

An approach that builds service decisions around the individual's own goals, preferences, values, and life context rather than around provider convenience or a standard curriculum.

A group of professionals from different disciplines, such as vision rehabilitation therapy, orientation and mobility, low vision optometry, and rehabilitation counseling, who share information and coordinate goals for one consumer.

The ongoing psychological and behavioral process through which a person incorporates sight loss into identity, gradually rebuilding skills, relationships, and a satisfying sense of self over time rather than in fixed stages.

The emotional response to losing vision or valued activities, which may include denial, anger, sadness, bargaining, and eventual acceptance, though real reactions vary and rarely follow a fixed sequence.

A pattern in which repeated failure or overprotection leads a person to stop attempting tasks, believing effort is useless; rehabilitation counters it by structuring achievable successes that rebuild confidence.

A person's belief in their own capability to perform a specific task successfully; strong self-efficacy predicts persistence in learning new adaptive skills after vision loss.

A social process that marks people with disabilities as different or lesser, often producing embarrassment, avoidance, or hiding of vision aids and reducing willingness to request help.

A person's sense of belonging to and valuing the disability community, which can support pride, peer connection, and advocacy as an alternative to framing vision loss only as tragedy.

A structured observation of how a person actually uses remaining vision across real tasks and environments, describing usable fields, lighting needs, contrast sensitivity, and task-specific performance rather than clinical acuity alone.

Breaking a complex activity into small, ordered steps so instruction can be sequenced, gaps identified, and progress measured; it is the backbone of teaching daily living skills.

A written plan, developed with the consumer, that states goals, measurable objectives, services, timelines, and responsible providers, and is reviewed and updated as circumstances change.

Measurements of performance collected before instruction begins, such as time, accuracy, or level of assistance, used to set realistic goals and later demonstrate whether progress occurred.

Objectives written to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, giving both learner and provider a clear shared target for judging progress.

Basic self-care tasks such as eating, dressing, grooming, bathing, toileting, and transferring; they are the first focus when vision loss threatens independence at home.

More complex tasks needed to live independently, including cooking, shopping, managing money, doing laundry, using transportation, and handling medications or appointments.

Modified methods or tools that let a person complete a task safely despite vision loss, such as pouring over a sink, using a talking timer, or organizing items by consistent location.

Using an intact sense, such as touch or hearing, to obtain information normally gathered by vision, for example reading braille or identifying bills by feel.

A tactile writing system of raised six- or eight-dot cells representing letters, numbers, punctuation, and contractions, used for literacy, labeling, and note-taking by people who cannot read print efficiently.

The active exploration of objects through touch to judge shape, texture, weight, and position; training improves speed and accuracy of identifying items without vision.

A small template with a cutout window that positions a pen on a line so a person with limited vision can sign documents in the intended place.

Software that converts on-screen text and interface elements into synthesized speech or braille output, letting a user navigate a computer or phone with keyboard commands instead of a mouse.

Programs that enlarge on-screen content and offer contrast, color, and cursor options, allowing a person with low vision to read and operate a computer at higher magnification.

A device with rows of pins that rise and fall to form braille characters, giving tactile access to digital text while a screen reader controls what is shown.

A camera-and-display system that enlarges printed or near materials onto a screen, with adjustable magnification, contrast, and color modes for reading, writing, and viewing objects.

Technology that converts an image of printed text into machine-readable digital text, which can then be read aloud, enlarged, or displayed in braille.

Designing products, environments, and instruction so they are usable by the widest range of people without adaptation, reducing the need for separate specialized solutions later.

A state-federal program that provides assessment, training, technology, and job placement services to help people with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and keep employment.

A change to a job, workplace, or process, such as accessible software or modified duties, that removes a barrier for a qualified employee with a disability without imposing undue hardship on the employer.

A systematic review of a specific job's tasks, environment, tools, and demands to identify barriers and determine what accommodations or training a worker with vision loss will need.

The skill of clearly stating one's needs, requesting accommodations, and negotiating solutions, which is essential for maintaining employment and participating in community life.

A progressive condition affecting the macula, reducing central vision and detail discrimination while often sparing peripheral vision; it is a leading cause of vision loss in older adults.

Damage to retinal blood vessels caused by diabetes that can produce blurring, floaters, fluctuating vision, or sudden hemorrhage; management includes glucose control and timely eye treatment.

Loss of half the visual field in one or both eyes, commonly after stroke, which affects scanning, reading, and mobility and calls for systematic visual scanning training.

Combined hearing and vision impairment that compounds communication and orientation difficulty; instruction must adapt methods, use remaining senses, and often involve interveners or specialized technology.

Vision difficulty caused by brain involvement rather than eye damage, often showing variable attention, preference for movement or high contrast, and fatigue; instruction uses controlled environments and familiar targets.