LARA - Training and Services

Training and Services

Training and services at the BSBP Training Center (a part of Michigan's Bureau of Services for Blind Persons) are individually tailored to help students reach their maximum potential and achieve their highest aspirations. Training and services usually include travel skills, (using a long cane or dog guide), adaptive kitchen skills (cooking), Braille, communication skills (use of devices such as telephones, digital and analog recording devices, and talking books), keyboarding (typing on a computer keyboard), personal management/money and time (including topics such as grooming, household organization and cleaning, recognizing and handling money, and telling time), industrial arts (woodworking), occupational therapy/leisure time skills, recreation, audiological evaluations, and counseling.

Additional training and services that are offered as needed or upon request include handwriting, low vision evaluations and training, adaptive computer training, nutritional education, eating techniques, diabetic management, introduction to dog guide use, home mechanics, physical conditioning, psychological services, supervised apartment living, work evaluations, college readiness assessments, vending stand evaluations, and Deafblind services.

After the specific classes and activities of a student's individualized program have been finalized, the student is expected to participate in all areas of that program, including meetings with staff. At these meetings, students are expected to take an active part in making important decisions about their lives and to be informed regarding the choices that are available to them. Input and direction, provided by the student/client, is crucial to ensure that appropriate training is provided and goals are achieved. Meetings are scheduled on a regular basis throughout the training program:

A goal-setting meeting is scheduled during the second week of the student's program. This meeting is held to ensure that the training program reflects the student's goals, the expectations of the referring counselor or teacher, and the capabilities of the training program.
Weekly meetings between the student and selected staff are held to discuss possible changes in the student's training schedule. Schedules are updated weekly to ensure that the student is receiving the most appropriate, individualized training program possible.
Monthly meetings are held to evaluate the student's individualized program. These meetings include the student, the Training Center counselor, and the Training Center teaching staff to discuss progress made, the projected date when training in selected skills of blindness may be completed, new training areas that need to be scheduled, and an anticipated date when all training will be completed.
Final staff meetings are held to review progress made during the training program and to establish recommendations regarding the student's next phase of the vocational rehabilitation process. Information obtained during the goal-setting, monthly, and final staff meetings is forwarded to the Bureau staff member who referred the student to the center.