Title : New approach to training cognitive orientation and mobility skills

The purpose of the presentation will be to orient the audience to a new system and method for developing cognitive Orientation and Mobility skills and to “make the case” for training cognitive O&M skills directly.

Orientation and Mobility training for blind, deafblind and visually impaired individuals has followed structured programs from the time that the first edition of “Foundations” was published in 1979. The reference has served and aged well being updated multiple times as recently as 2023. The fundamentals established in the reference focus on the theory and development of practical skills and the cognitive skills that underpin the practical, tend to be developed with the practical skills and as a result of them. Our endeavor was to develop a system and method for developing key cognitive O&M skills in a manner decoupled from the practical O&M training techniques. The reasons for decoupling are:

1. To make the developed skills more portable to any practical situation.
2. To independently focus on the development of the cognitive skills without the stress and distractions that are often present during practical O&M training exercises.
3. To provide a means to focus on factors that more directly address cognitive skill development.
4. To develop skills that will improve the likelihood of success in the more practical and traditional O&M activities, and; 
5. To avoid weather and environmental conditions that are not suitable for practical O&M training,

Our approach focuses on developing and reinforcing the cognitive O&M skills of:
1. Detecting non-visual and non-auditory cues in the environment;
2. Using those cues to make detailed and accurate mental maps of the environment and;
3. Keeping track of one’s position and orientation relative to their mental maps as they navigate within an environment.

Our team never set out to change the way O&M professionals train practical O&M skills. Instead we focused on training the cognitive O&M skills specifically. We identified a system and method to train the cognitive skills listed above and received U.S. Patent #12274664 on 15 April, 2025 for that system and method. The method trains the cognitive skills in a game-like context and so, reduces the stress that is often associated with practical O&M training methods. While the new method can be used as a basis for reinforcing proper cane techniques and other practical O&M skills it can also decouple the Trainee from the O&M Trainer if there is a desire to do so. The exercise we present is one that engages the Trainee directly with the environment. The O&M Trainer can observe from a distance and take notes. Research is ongoing at two universities regarding different aspects of the system including at what stage the skills developed using the method should be considered self-reinforcing.

The presentation will include a basic description of the concepts underpinning the method including its purpose and application and will describe the system functionality with photographs and video and system application screenshots.

Christopher Hekimian is an inventor and entrepreneur with experience as an engineer and researcher for the U.S. Department of Defense. He has a Dr. Sc. degree in systems engineering from the George Washington University and a MSEE from Cal Poly-Pomona. Dr. Hekimian began losing his eyesight due to a genetic retina disease starting in 2010. He developed the first computerized, multi-function Amsler grid and the Farmer Noah system for cognitive orientation and mobility training and pediatric occupational therapy support. He is currently advancing the Farmer Noah system through his company, Dxdt Engineering and Research, LLC.