We are accepting donations for the Janet Barlow Legacy Fund. The Janet Barlow Legacy Fund will be used to further cooperation and mutual understanding between the orientation and mobility profession and the traffic engineering / urban planning professions, such as reimbursing expenses associated with accessing or creating educational opportunities that bring members of these professions together. Please consider participating by clicking here.

Who We Are

The Orientation and Mobility Specialist Association (OMSA), a 501(c)(3) tax exempt corporation, is maintained and governed by orientation and mobility (O&M) professionals working in the United States. The membership and the board of directors represent the diverse backgrounds of professionals who devote their lives to the teaching of movement independence to people with visual impairments. Our board of directors consists of Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists (COMS), Guide Dog Mobility Instructors (GDMI), National Orientation and Mobility Certification (NOMC), faculty preparing future O&M specialists, and a student preparing to become an O&M specialist.

Working Together to Maintain the
Profession Our Consumers Deserve

Promoting the O&M Profession When we increase visibility and an awareness of our profession, we can promote understanding of the importance of our roles, recruit new professionals to our field, and improve momentum for positive impact on the profession.
Learning from Each Other By coming together as a discipline to share ideas and provide opportunities for ongoing professional development, we can develop new ideas, increase the use of promising practices, and improve direct services to our students and clients.
Unifying our Voice When the O&M profession maintains a unified voice to outward-facing stakeholders, we can advance more productively on the national stage and support reform, improving services for the people we serve.