Bourquin Consulting: O&M, Travel Instruction, Low Vision, Interpreting

sharing this from my friends at HKNC.
Webinar: Tactile O&M Strategies for DeafBlind Travelers

June 30, 2026 | 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET
A man holding a white cane in one hand and the arm of a sighted guide, walking together on a sidewalk.

A research-informed look at touch-based strategies for DeafBlind Orientation and Mobility instruction, featuring Dr. Amy Parker (Portland State University) and Dr. Tara Brown-Ogilvie (HKNC), with a panel of DeafBlind voices and an O&M specialist.

Register for Tactile O&M Webinar
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fus.list-manage.com%2FhoK4hkdeAo6%3Fe%3D35ffbf5fa4%26c2id%3D0f4d1cd859ad176dc4767716f8937b9b&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cd8d1c0fb37f44f88234008deccb5242a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639173275530013198%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sr%2B9oH5bARHDn4MTtAVlvbGVkRXX9qDTTpkkZWEfbXQ%3D&reserved=0

Congrats to my colleaguesJamie Maffitt and Lukas Franck ON the recognition of their incredible work and contributions to the field of O&M

AERBVI ANNOUNCEMENT

The AER Orientation and Mobility Division has announced the recipients of its 2026 awards:
Lukas Franck received the Janet Barlow Environmental Access Service Award
Jamie Maffitt received the Sandy Kronick Distinguished Service Award
Rev. Dr. Gene Bourquin received the Lawrence E. Blaha Memorial Award.

AER O&M extends its congratulations to the recipients and appreciation to those who submitted nominations and served on the Awards Committee. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on July 30, 2026, during the AER International Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, followed by a reception celebrating the honorees.

Image description:
The letters A E R in dark blue
Two curved shapes in lighter blue, one with an arrow shape at the end, that form an eye figure. Bottom text, Association for the Education & Rehabilitation of the Blind & Visually Impaired.

The Lawrence E. Blaha Memorial Award
The highest honor the AER O&M Division bestows, established in 1968. It recognizes professionals with at least 10 years of experience who have made outstanding, lasting contributions to the O&M field through leadership, mentoring, publications, or service delivery. Named posthumously for Lawrence Blaha, an O&M pioneer who began his career in 1948.

The Janet Morgan Barlow Environmental Access Service Award
Established in 2021, this award honors professionals with a long-term commitment to environmental access — specifically the accessibility of the built environment. It bridges O&M with fields like traffic engineering and urban planning. Named posthumously for Janet Morgan Barlow, a leading researcher in human factors and accessible infrastructure design.

The Sandy Kronick Distinguished Service Award
Established in 1994, this award recognizes O&M professionals with at least 10 years of experience whose careers centered on direct, hands-on teaching of orientation and mobility. Recipients must go beyond normal job duties through innovative programs, mentoring, or publishing. Named posthumously for Sandy Kronick, an Oregon O&M specialist and AER leader.

We are pleased to share the upcoming publication (December 2026), A Meta-Analysis of Drivers' Yielding to Pedestrians With and Without Canes, in the Vision Rehabilitation International Journal

Over the past decade and a half, research in the O&M field has examined how blind pedestrians can mitigate risk at crosswalks with yield-influencing tactics and strategies. Now, a systematic review (including a random-effects meta-analysis model) of how drivers respond to pedestrians waiting to cross streets has looked at how different pedestrian behaviors affect whether drivers stop in the combined outcomes from the O&M, social science, and traffic engineering fields.

Incorporating 28 publications, with 54 distinct findings, and 12,957 data points, the meta-analysis looked at these distinctive conditions:
· NOPED – An empty corner with no pedestrians present
· NOCANE – A pedestrian present at the corner without a cane
· DSPLY – A pedestrian holding and displaying a cane without moving it at the crosswalk
· FLGING – A cane user who moved the cane left-and-right or up-and-down at the crosswalk
· HANDUP – A movement of the arm and hand toward oncoming traffic with or without a cane
· ASSERT – A pedestrian who uses assertive body gestures at the beginning of a street crossing without stepping forward.
· BMOV – A pedestrian moving their body forward into the crosswalk during the data collection time, with or without a cane.
· AFLAG – A pedestrian waving a crossing-pedestrian safety flag at the crosswalk
· VEST – A pedestrian wearing a reflective vest

Authors: Eugene A. Bourquin, Robert Wall Emerson, Dona Sauerburger, Deb Fiderer, and Joy Bieder

Image description: a bar chart with the following color-coded data. Dark blue — conditions with a statistically significant difference from NOCANE (ASSERT, HANDUP, FLGING, AFLAG, BMOV); Light blue — conditions not significantly different from NOCANE (NOPED, DSPLY, VEST); Amber — NOCANE itself (the baseline)

Effect sizes of conditions in the chart on drivers' yielding
NOPED 0.14
NOCANE 0.16
DSPLY 0.31
VEST 0.36
ASSERT 0.56
HANDUP 0.56
FLGING 0.67
AFLAG 0.70
BMOV 0.79

How wonderfully appropriate. One of my heros.

This is due to the efforts of Beezy Bentzen and others AER-EAC committee members.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field Announces 2026 Inductees

The Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is proud to announce the induction of three distinguished leaders whose contributions have significantly advanced services, advocacy, education, and opportunities for individuals who are blind or low vision: Janet Barlow, Deborah Chen, and Penny Hartin.

The 2026 induction ceremony will take place during a general session at the international conference of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI) on Friday, July 31, 2026, at 1:45 p.m. in Louisville, Kentucky. A bas relief plaque of each inductee will be added to the Hall of Fame located at the American Printing House for the Blind.

The Hall of Fame honors individuals whose leadership, innovation, mentorship, and lifelong commitment have made a lasting impact on the blindness and low vision community. This year’s inductees represent decades of transformative work across education, rehabilitation, advocacy, orientation and mobility, and professional leadership.About the 2026 Inductees

Janet Barlow
Janet Barlow is widely recognized for her leadership and advocacy in the field of orientation and mobility (O&M) and accessible pedestrian systems. Her work has helped improve accessibility, safety, and independence for individuals who are blind or visually impaired throughout North America and internationally.

[photo ID: 1. roadside, Gene in black hat and glasses wearing a Salus University black sweatshirt is pusing a pole-mounted pedestrian activation button. To the right of then pole stands Janet Barlow, in a tan hat and black shirt with images, and blue jeans. 2. In a restaurant, smiling, Dona Sauerburger in black blouse holding a coffee, Rob Wall Emerson (WMU) in blue and white shirt with the word Gagie on it, and Janet Barlow in same hat and shirt.]

Pleased to be back working with the kids and the Children's Sight Project in Chiang Mai.

hard to believe retirement from HKNC is 9 years behind me. miss the staff and being part of their mission.

Passing this on. Looking for participants for research to determine audible messages to be used when sidewalk closures are required in work zones. Audible information devices are intended to provide information to pedestrians with visual disabilities that is equivalent to visual signage for notifications of sidewalk closures and to explain a temporary path around a construction area, using a speech message. Such messages are required by the new Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way (PROWAG), but there are no requirements or guidance as to the nature of the messages.

This is sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and administered by Accessible Design for the Blind. They are looking for volunteers who are blind or have low vision, who cross streets independently, and are at least 19 years of age, to participate by being interviewed. The interview will be conducted over the phone with a member of the research team. The interview will take about 45 to 60 minutes. Participants will be compensated with a $25 Amazon eGift card and will be entered into a drawing for one of two additional $125 Amazon eGift cards.

If anyone you know is interested in participating in this study, they should send an email to [email protected], and indicate that they would like to schedule a time to be interviewed.

Please share this if you can. Thanks.

ID: ADB logo, a walking stick figure in a zebra crosswalk, using a white cane with a red tip. a montage of blurred images including a tactile map of a roundabout, the legs of two individual, one with a cane, and an APS.

The recording of presentation has been uploaded to the AER eLearning site. It can be found at the link below: Foundations of Orientation and Mobility, Volume 2, Chapter 16: "Teaching Orientation and Mobility to Learners with Vision and Hearing Loss" | AER ** Free for AER members **

https://www.aerelearning.org/courses/110012/sections/124367/video_presentations/446744

Thanks to everyone who attended. AER will be making the video available soon.

Do not miss the O&M Foundations Upcoming Webinar!

As part of the Foundations of Orientation & Mobility Chapter Author Webinar Series, join Dona Sauerburger and Gene Bourquin as they discusses effective O&M instruction for students who have both visual and auditory loss, including cultural and linguistic issues; communication with your student; teaching your student to interact with the uninitiated public, including research-based strategies; street-crossing assessment and tasks; using an interpreter; and working with an audiologist. Come join us to brainstorm how you can find and use the chapter information to address real-life scenarios with deafblind students.
Volume 2, Chapter 16: Teaching Orientation and Mobility to Learners with Vision and Hearing Loss
Presented by: Dona Sauerburger and Gene Bourquin
Date: Thursday, April 30, 2026
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 pm Eastern
Cost: Included as a benefit of AER membership or $25 each webinar for non-members

ACVREP credits: 1.5
Session length: 90 minutes

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fclicks.memberclicks-mail.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3Du001.zQMtDyzPkxw9dikwotiInngMXfx-2BuCFdy4Zx8aSE9r-2Ft0vy1eIV2uHSRYUh86OLZ0E4wRNdPoP-2BI5UV7P6ZKE9P0z3bpAQy7fW5ad-2F5xeJM8-2FX3rA6oTdsvGBPN2LOANeym3_jv3n0CVgh23vzrhV1mTVryKHz9mrxSqISfV2AaX0-2BwKEeAGvnqiwFzc1AbGlB7uJ7ZnVXxjTMzQLLmiRXuVdScDijnfZUpKvyGwJLUmljtZG99PDWLTVGunU46m0qCMrETpCd6duvzYNjGVvfdoZSNTtrYClJK4N6HOlWzd6fUAxQDrXr08IU70V0vuJ7gCXo9IaO2Qi9oiliJXiEenAqPNvi4EFAQkE4JVrGdkuoVhLS1njy51RQ8-2FuYRU-2BYIijqZjNr9JBJGnXsaNkBROEyWPEnRzK-2BxwnSWF7N1js6lorGLt82Q7m1zBu0TP2SY99&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0967b578f0c742b49fdd08dea46dbc35%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639128988395520089%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=29CvIIL7u8WKu8DHUQ6j73evncPLZ2yDIvJv9EKGBak%3D&reserved=0

Do not miss the O&M Foundations Upcoming Webinar!

As part of the Foundations of Orientation & Mobility Chapter Author Webinar Series, join Dona Sauerburger and Gene Bourquin as they discusses effective O&M instruction for students who have both visual and auditory loss, including cultural and linguistic issues; communication with your student; teaching your student to interact with the uninitiated public, including research-based strategies; street-crossing assessment and tasks; using an interpreter; and working with an audiologist. Come join us to brainstorm how you can find and use the chapter information to address real-life scenarios with deafblind students.
Volume 2, Chapter 16: Teaching Orientation and Mobility to Learners with Vision and Hearing Loss
Presented by: Dona Sauerburger and Gene Bourquin
Date: Thursday, April 30, 2026
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 pm Eastern
Cost: Included as a benefit of AER membership or $25 each webinar for non-members

ACVREP credits: 1.5
Session length: 90 minutes

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fclicks.memberclicks-mail.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3Du001.zQMtDyzPkxw9dikwotiInngMXfx-2BuCFdy4Zx8aSE9r-2Ft0vy1eIV2uHSRYUh86OLZ0E4wRNdPoP-2BI5UV7P6ZKE9P0z3bpAQy7fW5ad-2F5xeJM8-2FX3rA6oTdsvGBPN2LOANeym3_jv3n0CVgh23vzrhV1mTVryKHz9mrxSqISfV2AaX0-2BwKEeAGvnqiwFzc1AbGlB7uJ7ZnVXxjTMzQLLmiRXuVdScDijnfZUpKvyGwJLUmljtZG99PDWLTVGunU46m0qCMrETpCd6duvzYNjGVvfdoZSNTtrYClJK4N6HOlWzd6fUAxQDrXr08IU70V0vuJ7gCXo9IaO2Qi9oiliJXiEenAqPNvi4EFAQkE4JVrGdkuoVhLS1njy51RQ8-2FuYRU-2BYIijqZjNr9JBJGnXsaNkBROEyWPEnRzK-2BxwnSWF7N1js6lorGLt82Q7m1zBu0TP2SY99&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0967b578f0c742b49fdd08dea46dbc35%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639128988395520089%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=29CvIIL7u8WKu8DHUQ6j73evncPLZ2yDIvJv9EKGBak%3D&reserved=0