National Orientation and Mobility Assessment (NOMA) As you may know the National Orientation and Mobility Assessment (NOMA) is a two part assessment: (1) a Screening inventory used to determine if a referral for O&M services is appropriate; and (2) the Skills Assessment, which is used to measure progress on the IEP through the service delivery during the year. The NOMA was developed at Louisiana Tech University to assist school districts and O&M instructors in determining if a student can benefit from direct orientation and mobility services and what skills need to be addressed in order to promote independent travel. If you need more information about the assessment or would like a copy, please contact Edward Bell, 318-257-4554, or ebell at latech.edu <mailto:ebell at latech.edu> . We are also excited to let you know of a brand new tool to add to your toolkit. After considering the current concerns about needing a method to determine the appropriate amount of time that is recommended for direct service minutes in the area of O&M, Sheena Manuel, Outreach Specialist, has designed the NOMA Direct Service Scale. If you would like to add this tool to your professional toolkit, please email Sheena at <mailto:smanuel at latech.edu> smanuel at latech.edu for a digital copy. Thanks, SManuel Louisiana Tech University Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness smanuel at latech.edu Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC Director, Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Louisiana Tech University 210 Woodard Hall PO Box 3158 Ruston LA 71272 Office: 318.257.4554 Fax: 318.257.2259 (Fax) Skype: edwardbell2010 <mailto:ebell at latech.edu> ebell at latech.edu <http://www.pdrib.com> www.pdrib.com ************************************************************** "I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." -- Stephen Jay Gould