Maria's Vision

Raising awareness and supporting individuals with developmental disabilities and blindness/visual impairment to ensure their basic rights to quality of life, health and wellness.  

Maria’s Story…

Vision Impairment Services and Orientation and Mobility Services should be a right for every eligible adult in our state, not just Maria.

My name is Bev Fields. My adult daughter Maria is blind and has developmental disabilities. I’ve worked very hard to find services that help Maria live as independently as possible. Maria needs the daily help of support staff called DSP’s (Direct Support Professionals) to do the everyday things that most people take for granted such as showering, preparing meals, taking medication and other activities of daily living. With properly trained staff supports, Maria can do many things for herself. The key to her success, however, is properly trained support staff, therapists, and family.

Because Maria is blind, special services called Vision Impairment (VI) Services and Orientation and Mobility(O&M) Services are required for her DSP’s, therapists and family to know how to support Maria effectively and to help promote Maria’s health and safety related to her visual impairment. Maria has had these supports in place for over 20 years, ever since she was about 10 years old.

However several years ago, the entity that authorizes the VI/O&M services decided to take these critical services away.  Removing these services would jeopardize Maria’s quality of life, health and safety. Along with lawyers and advocates, our family advocated for many years to keep these services in place for Maria. On January 24, 2017, the Court Decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals  https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/ED/Opinion_ED103936.pdf  confirmed that these services would remain in place. As a result, Maria’s DSP’s, therapists, and family continue to have the VI services and O&M training that is needed to support her Blindness needs.

Over the years, I’ve encountered many other families in Missouri who desire these services, but are unable to access them. Maria continues to be the only person with these disabilities in the state of Missouri that has ongoing access to these VI Services/O&M Services.

“Maria’s Vision” is a project that I created to raise awareness of this need for VI/O&M supports and to connect these other adult individuals to these critical services. Access to VI Services/O&M Services should be a right for all adult consumers in our state, not just Maria. The first step is to make sure that ALL adults with these disabilities that are participating in a Medicaid Waiver through the Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, access the same level of support by establishing a descriptive code for Vision Impairment Professionals and Orientation and Mobility Specialists. This code would serve those adults who are not eligible for services through the Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. The next step is to develop a plan to expand this support to the other adults with these disabilities served by Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities.

YOU CAN HELP! Do you know someone who needs these services? Do you have a school age child currently receiving VI/O&M services who will need these services to continue when he/she becomes an adult?  Are you a guardian, service provider, or advocate with questions and/or want to offer your support?

Please send me an email with your contact information so we can connect! Email: bev@mariasvision.org

Kind regards, Bev Fields

Maria’s Story…

Vision Impairment Services and Orientation and Mobility Services should be a right for every eligible adult in our state, not just Maria.

My name is Bev Fields. My adult daughter Maria is blind and has developmental disabilities. I’ve worked very hard to find services that help Maria live as independently as possible. Maria needs the daily help of support staff called DSP’s (Direct Support Professionals) to do the everyday things that most people take for granted such as showering, preparing meals, taking medication and other activities of daily living. With properly trained staff supports, Maria can do many things for herself. The key to her success, however, is properly trained support staff, therapists, and family.

Because Maria is blind, special services called Vision Impairment (VI) Services and Orientation and Mobility(O&M) Services are required for her DSP’s, therapists and family to know how to support Maria effectively and to help promote Maria’s health and safety related to her visual impairment. Maria has had these supports in place for over 20 years, ever since she was about 10 years old.

However several years ago, the entity that authorizes the VI/O&M services decided to take these critical services away.  Removing these services would jeopardize Maria’s quality of life, health and safety. Along with lawyers and advocates, our family advocated for many years to keep these services in place for Maria. On January 24, 2017, the Court Decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals  https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/ED/Opinion_ED103936.pdf  confirmed that these services would remain in place. As a result, Maria’s DSP’s, therapists, and family continue to have the VI services and O&M training that is needed to support her Blindness needs.

Over the years, I’ve encountered many other families in Missouri who desire these services, but are unable to access them. Maria continues to be the only person with these disabilities in the state of Missouri that has ongoing access to these VI Services/O&M Services.

“Maria’s Vision” is a project that I created to raise awareness of this need for VI/O&M supports and to connect these other adult individuals to these critical services. Access to VI Services/O&M Services should be a right for all adult consumers in our state, not just Maria. The first step is to make sure that ALL adults with these disabilities that are participating in a Medicaid Waiver through the Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, access the same level of support by establishing a descriptive code for Vision Impairment Professionals and Orientation and Mobility Specialists. This code would serve those adults who are not eligible for services through the Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. The next step is to develop a plan to expand this support to the other adults with these disabilities served by Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities.

YOU CAN HELP! Do you know someone who needs these services? Do you have a school age child currently receiving VI/O&M services who will need these services to continue when he/she becomes an adult?  Are you a guardian, service provider, or advocate with questions and/or want to offer your support?

Please send me an email with your contact information so we can connect! Email: bev@mariasvision.org

Kind regards, Bev Fields

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Maria’s Story…

Vision Impairment Services and Orientation and Mobility Services should be a right for every eligible adult in our state, not just Maria.

My name is Bev Fields. My adult daughter Maria is blind and has developmental disabilities. I’ve worked very hard to find services that help Maria live as independently as possible. Maria needs the daily help of support staff called DSP’s (Direct Support Professionals) to do the everyday things that most people take for granted such as showering, preparing meals, taking medication and other activities of daily living. With properly trained staff supports, Maria can do many things for herself. The key to her success, however, is properly trained support staff, therapists, and family.

Because Maria is blind, special services called Vision Impairment (VI) Services and Orientation and Mobility(O&M) Services are required for her DSP’s, therapists and family to know how to support Maria effectively and to help promote Maria’s health and safety related to her visual impairment. Maria has had these supports in place for over 20 years, ever since she was about 10 years old.

However several years ago, the entity that authorizes the VI/O&M services decided to take these critical services away.  Removing these services would jeopardize Maria’s quality of life, health and safety. Along with lawyers and advocates, our family advocated for many years to keep these services in place for Maria. On January 24, 2017, the Court Decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals  https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/ED/Opinion_ED103936.pdf  confirmed that these services would remain in place. As a result, Maria’s DSP’s, therapists, and family continue to have the VI services and O&M training that is needed to support her Blindness needs.

Over the years, I’ve encountered many other families in Missouri who desire these services, but are unable to access them. Maria continues to be the only person with these disabilities in the state of Missouri that has ongoing access to these VI Services/O&M Services.

“Maria’s Vision” is a project that I created to raise awareness of this need for VI/O&M supports and to connect these other adult individuals to these critical services. Access to VI Services/O&M Services should be a right for all adult consumers in our state, not just Maria. The first step is to make sure that ALL adults with these disabilities that are participating in a Medicaid Waiver through the Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, access the same level of support by establishing a descriptive code for Vision Impairment Professionals and Orientation and Mobility Specialists. This code would serve those adults who are not eligible for services through the Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. The next step is to develop a plan to expand this support to the other adults with these disabilities served by Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities.

YOU CAN HELP! Do you know someone who needs these services? Do you have a school age child currently receiving VI/O&M services who will need these services to continue when he/she becomes an adult?  Are you a guardian, service provider, or advocate with questions and/or want to offer your support?

Please send me an email with your contact information so we can connect! Email: bev@mariasvision.org

Kind regards, Bev Fields

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Maria’s Story…

Vision Impairment Services and Orientation and Mobility Services should be a right for every eligible adult in our state, not just Maria.

My name is Bev Fields. My adult daughter Maria is blind and has developmental disabilities. I’ve worked very hard to find services that help Maria live as independently as possible. Maria needs the daily help of support staff called DSP’s (Direct Support Professionals) to do the everyday things that most people take for granted such as showering, preparing meals, taking medication and other activities of daily living. With properly trained staff supports, Maria can do many things for herself. The key to her success, however, is properly trained support staff, therapists, and family.

Because Maria is blind, special services called Vision Impairment (VI) Services and Orientation and Mobility(O&M) Services are required for her DSP’s, therapists and family to know how to support Maria effectively and to help promote Maria’s health and safety related to her visual impairment. Maria has had these supports in place for over 20 years, ever since she was about 10 years old.

However several years ago, the entity that authorizes the VI/O&M services decided to take these critical services away.  Removing these services would jeopardize Maria’s quality of life, health and safety. Along with lawyers and advocates, our family advocated for many years to keep these services in place for Maria. On January 24, 2017, the Court Decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals  https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/ED/Opinion_ED103936.pdf  confirmed that these services would remain in place. As a result, Maria’s DSP’s, therapists, and family continue to have the VI services and O&M training that is needed to support her Blindness needs.

Over the years, I’ve encountered many other families in Missouri who desire these services, but are unable to access them. Maria continues to be the only person with these disabilities in the state of Missouri that has ongoing access to these VI Services/O&M Services.

“Maria’s Vision” is a project that I created to raise awareness of this need for VI/O&M supports and to connect these other adult individuals to these critical services. Access to VI Services/O&M Services should be a right for all adult consumers in our state, not just Maria. The first step is to make sure that ALL adults with these disabilities that are participating in a Medicaid Waiver through the Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, access the same level of support by establishing a descriptive code for Vision Impairment Professionals and Orientation and Mobility Specialists. This code would serve those adults who are not eligible for services through the Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. The next step is to develop a plan to expand this support to the other adults with these disabilities served by Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities.

YOU CAN HELP! Do you know someone who needs these services? Do you have a school age child currently receiving VI/O&M services who will need these services to continue when he/she becomes an adult?  Are you a guardian, service provider, or advocate with questions and/or want to offer your support?

Please send me an email with your contact information so we can connect! Email: bev@mariasvision.org

Kind regards, Bev Fields

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