Outreach Services.
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Outreach Weekends/Vacation and Outreach Summer Programs
Designed for public school students who are blind or visually impaired, Outreach Weekends/Vacation programs offer social, recreational, vocational and independent living activities. Participants enjoy traveling and exploring their creativity; Space Camp and the Theater Program are popular week-long adventures. Perkins Outreach Summer Programs help prepare students for independence with instruction in social skills, tasks of daily living, orientation and mobility, with attention to vocational exploration, community job experience, and home management.

Satellite Program
Perkins Outreach Satellite Program provides itinerant teachers for infants, toddlers, preschool and public school children who are blind or visually impaired in western Massachusetts and on Cape Cod and the Islands. These Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) focus on literacy, assistive technology, orientation and mobility (O&M), and other skills essential for educational success. The Satellite Services staff also provide consultation and support for parents and professionals working with children with visual impairments in those geographic areas.

Vision Rehabilitation Services
In addition to providing functional evaluations and training in the community, Perkins Outreach Vision Rehabilitation Services operates a Low Vision Clinic, serving people with visual, physical and cognitive disabilities of all ages. Evaluations, environmental assessments, individualized training with optical aids and nonoptical solutions are developed to increase visual functioning for education, employment and daily living.

Outreach Services to Elders
Seniors with blindness or vision impairments are the fastest growing segment of the population, and Perkins has programs to assist older people both in their homes and at the Outreach Elder Learning Center on campus. Rehabilitation specialists provide consultation and direct teaching to clients and their families to help them gain skills to allow them to remain independent and maintain their daily activities. The campus Center offers the additional advantage of allowing participants to learn from one another. Seniors participate in courses in gardening, crafts, yoga, exercise, and cooking techniques.