Editor and Author Bio
Mary Warren, MS, OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTA, is associate professor of occupational therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and director of the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation program. She chaired the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) panel to develop specialty certification in low vision rehabilitation. Warren provides workshops and presentations on low vision rehabilitation and on visual processing dysfunction following acquired brain injury and is an internationally recognized authority in this area. Her research has been published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, and she served as guest editor for a special issue of the journal devoted to low vision rehabilitation.
About the Authors
Lila Bartmann MA, OTR, is occupational therapist with the Ensight Skills Center for Visual Rehabilitation in Fort Collins, Colorado, and was on its founding board of directors. She has been serving people with visual impairment since 1994 as a clinician and consultant in general rehabilitation and outpatient and community programs. Bartmann has presented on low vision topics at state and national occupational therapy conferences and is involved in service organizations that support people with vision loss. She is a candidate for Specialty Certification in Low Vision through the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).
Elizabeth Barstow, MS, OTR/L, SCLV, is assistant professor of occupational therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she teaches in the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation program. She holds a graduate certificate in low vision rehabilitation from UAB and American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) low vision specialty certification. Barstow is a portfolio reviewer for AOTA low vision specialty certification. She has received grants to enhance the education of health care professionals in low vision rehabilitation and has published research on the topic. She has served as a National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research grant reviewer for projects related to low vision rehabilitation.
Denny Bettenhausen, BS, COTA, SCLV, is the executive director of the Ensight Skills Center for Visual Rehabilitation in Fort Collins, Colorado, and of the Curtis Strong Center in Greeley, Colorado. She has been supporting people with vision loss since 1995 in her work as an occupational therapy practitioner. She holds specialty certification in low vision from AOTA. and was a member of the AOTA panel that developed specialty certification in low vision rehabilitation. Bettenhausen has had personal experience with low vision because she was diagnosed with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy at age 19. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving People with Blindness or Visual Impairment and is a trustee with the Fort Collins Lions Foundation.
Adrienne Broadfoot, MS, OTR/L, SCLV, is an occupational therapist specializing in low vision rehabilitation. She has a master’s degree in occupational therapy and a graduate certificate in low vision rehabilitation from UAB. She is an independent contractor through Insight Therapy Services, LLC, Valdosta, Georgia, and works with optometrists to provide low vision rehabilitation services, accommodative/vergence orthoptic training, and specialized occupational therapy services for visual processing deficits. She also holds specialty certification in low vision rehabilitation from AOTA.
Yolanda Cate, MS, OTR/L, CDE, is manager and owner of an occupational therapy private practice providing low vision rehabilitation services and diabetes education. She has extensive experience in clinical practice and teaching. She served on faculties at the University of Kansas, Texas Women’s University, and University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She is adjunct faculty at UAB teaching in the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation program. She co-authored “Occupational Therapy and the Person with Diabetes and Vision Impairment,” published in Volume 49 of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (1995).
Laura E. Dreer, PhD, is assistant professor of ophthalmology and director of psychological and Neuropsychological Clinical–Research at UAB’s Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation. Her primary appointment is in the Department of Ophthalmology with secondary appointments in the Departments of Neurology and Psychology. Dreer’s areas of research include personal and familial adjustment to low vision rehabilitation, social problem solving, and issues related to competency (i.e., finances, driving, medical decision making). Her doctorate is in clinical psychology with specialization in medical rehabilitation psychology, neuropsychology, and geropsychology.
Marshall Flax, MS, CLVT, COMS, has a master’s degree in orientation and mobility from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served as a low vision therapist in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison and started the Vision Rehabilitation Service at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired. He has written several articles on low vision and is a co-author of “Coping With Low Vision” (Singular Publishing Group, San Diego, CA), a self-help guide and resource manual for older people with vision loss.
Jennifer Kaldenberg, MSA, OTR, SCLV, CLVT, is adjunct assistant professor of vision rehabilitation at the New England College of Optometry and the director of occupational therapy at its clinical affiliate, the New England Eye Institute. She has earned specialty certification in low vision from the AOTA and is a certified low vision therapist through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals. She was a member of the AOTA Specialties Board low vision panel. Kaldenberg is involved in research on the impact of the environment on visual function. She has spoken both locally and nationally and has published on subjects related to low vision rehabilitation.
Teddy Kern, MS, OTR, has been an occupational therapist for more than 40 years, providing direct services and contributing resources to the field of vision rehabilitation since 1981 to AOTA as well as to the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). She is director of occupational therapy and medical coordinator at VISIONS Services for the Blind in New York City and is a presenter and advocate in the field of vision rehabilitation. She co-authored Interdisciplinary Training: Collaborative Team Approaches in Low Vision Rehabilitation, which was presented at the Lighthouse International Conference in 1999. She is a contributing author for the first edition of AOTA’s Self-Paced Clinical Course Low Vision: Occupational Therapy Intervention with the Older Adult (AOTA, 2000) and for the first and second editions of Functional Visual Behavior: A Therapist’s Guide to Evaluation and Treatment Options (AOTA, 1997). She has written articles for the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness and has co-presented and toured nationally. With Charles Fox, OD, PhD, she co-authored one of AOTA’s first continuing education seminars and training manuals, Understanding Low Vision Rehabilitation and the Implications for Occupational Therapy (1996–1997).
Lylas G. Mogk, MD, is an ophthalmologist and director of the Henry Ford Health System Visual Rehabilitation and Research Center in Michigan. She is past chair of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Vision Rehabilitation Committee and Smart-Sight Taskforce and an editorial board member of the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. She has participated in formulating Medicare policy for vision rehabilitation and writes and lectures on topics related to vision loss and rehabilitation. Dr. Mogk and her daughter, Marja Mogk, PhD, co-authored the book Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight (Ballantine, 2003).
Rodney Nowakowski, OD, PhD, earned his doctor of optometry and his doctorate in medical genetics from UAB. He is a tenured full professor at UAB and serves as chief of staff for UAB Eye Care, the clinical entity of the UAB School of Optometry. He has published in the areas of optometry, low vision rehabilitation, and medical genetics and authored the textbook Primary Low Vision Care (Appleton & Lange, 1994). He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.
Anne T. Riddering, OTR, CLVT, COMS, is rehabilitation manager for the Henry Ford Health System’s Visual Rehabilitation and Research Centers of Michigan. She is a guest lecturer on vision rehabilitation in the occupational therapy department at Wayne State University and a frequent lecturer in visual rehabilitation for community and professional groups. She has authored several articles for occupational therapy publications. Riddering has served as secretary/treasurer for AER’s Division 7 Low Vision Rehabilitation and as a Low Vision Committee member for the Academy of Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals and the Low Vision Consensus Project.
Ronald A. Schuchard, PhD, is director of the Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Aging Veterans with Vision Loss. He is associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Neurology with appointments in ophthalmology and rehabilitation medicine and adjunct associate professor, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia. Schuchard earned an MS in physics from DePaul University and a PhD in medical physics from the University of Chicago. His current research focuses on application of the scanning laser ophthalmoscope and eye-tracking technology to retinal function testing and neuroplasticity/neuroreorganization for vision rehabilitation.
Shelley Sikes-Baker, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist with 28 years of experience in vision rehabilitation. She is a rehabilitation services coordinator at Alphapointe Association for the Blind in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a contributing author for the University of Missouri School of Health Professions’ Web-based Low Vision Assessment and Rehabilitation in the Virtual Health Care Team (2006). She co-authored and edited a .screenplay and acted the role of occupational therapist in an educational video, Learning to Live With Low Vision: A Journey Through Rehabilitation (2006), produced by Macular Degeneration Support, the Eyes of the Macular Degeneration Community.
Fawnda Steelman, OTR/L, has 13 years of experience in low vision rehabilitation. She holds a graduate certificate in low vision rehabilitation from UAB and is employed at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Hospital. She provides services in a collaborative low vision rehabilitation program with the department of ophthalmology and is involved in medical student and resident education and lectures to ophthalmic technicians.
Diane Storm-Weiss, MS, CVRT, is director of rehabilitation and community outreach for VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in New York City. She has worked in the field of vision rehabilitation for 26 years and has a master’s degree in education and blind rehabilitation/rehabilitation teaching. She is a member of the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals and of the University Review Standards Committee of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind, for which she was named Rehabilitation Teacher of the Year. She is co-author of Rehabilitation Teaching for Persons Experiencing Vision Loss, 2nd edition (VISIONS, 1997), and a contributing author for the first edition of AOTA’s Self-Paced Clinical Course Low Vision: Occupational Therapy Intervention with the Older Adult (AOTA, 2000).