Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) certification examination Study Guide

Apply it

An adult requests help attending evening classes. Assessment examines the entrance, lighting changes, transport connection and route decisions, then links instruction to arriving at class rather than merely completing corridor cane exercises.

Apply it

A commuter interested in a guide dog compares daily travel demands, existing orientation skills and dog-care responsibilities with program expectations. The COMS supports an informed choice while continuing cane instruction for current journeys.

Apply it

A learner tires rapidly while managing a cane and walking aid. The COMS documents the travel task and collaborates with rehabilitation colleagues to evaluate coordination, positioning and feasible adaptations before expanding route demands.

Apply it

A rider needs a stop that is not normally announced. During trip planning, the rider practises identifying that stop to the operator and requesting an announcement, while also learning an independent cue near the destination.

Apply it

A learner reads a bus number in daylight but misses people approaching from the side after dusk. The assessment compares daylight and evening travel, including obstacle detection, visual search and use of nonvisual information.

Apply it

An older traveler notices the approaching bus but cannot read its destination display. Instruction separates detecting the vehicle from confirming the route, then practises an accessible identification method before boarding at the stop.

Apply it

Two learners read the same chart line. One overlooks doorway edges outside a restricted field; the other finds doorways but cannot read room numbers. Their instruction targets different information gaps despite similar measured acuity.

Apply it

A student locates a classroom door when the corridor is empty but loses it during class changes. The COMS compares these conditions and trials clearer landmarks, reduced competing information and an accessible nonvisual reference.

Apply it

Consider a hypothetical report with appropriately masked results. At 1000 and 4000 Hz, right-ear air/bone thresholds are respectively 20/20 and 60/60 dB HL: sensitivity is poorer at the higher frequency without an air–bone gap. Left-ear air thresholds are 40 dB HL at both frequencies, while bone thresholds are 10 dB HL: this gap indicates a conductive component. Word-recognition scores of 88% right and 96% left at documented audible presentation levels in quiet describe those test conditions. They do not establish speech understanding beside traffic. Observe communication and environmental-sound use in representative settings and examine speech-in-noise findings where available.

Apply it

During a walk, a learner taking insulin becomes shaky, hungry and confused. Stop in a safe place and follow the established hypoglycemia plan. If the learner is alert and can swallow safely, help check glucose as planned. For a reading of 65 mg/dL, a typical NIDDK response is 15–20 grams of fast-acting glucose or carbohydrate, followed by a glucose check after 15 minutes; repeat if still below target. If the learner cannot safely swallow or self-treat, give nothing by mouth. Obtain emergency assistance and administer prescribed glucagon only according to the plan and training; call 911 immediately after glucagon or if it is unavailable.

Apply it

A student repeatedly enters the wrong corridor. Observation shows accurate walking and turning but failure to identify the junction landmark. Instruction targets landmark discrimination before rehearsing the complete classroom route again with reduced assistance.

Apply it

After learning that an intersecting hallway forms a decision point, a learner identifies and uses comparable junctions in another building. The instructor observes whether the spatial relationship transfers without repeating the original route directions.

Apply it

After passing a doorway, a learner reviews the wall opening and distance cues that were available. The instructor asks which cue changed, then gives specific feedback on how the learner maintained contact with the reference.

Apply it

A learner reaches the elevator after a verbal reminder on each trial. The COMS gradually reduces that reminder and records whether the learner notices the elevator landmark and initiates the correct turn without instructor direction.

Apply it

A family reports difficulty locating the school exit, although classroom travel appears fluent. The COMS reviews the route demands and observes dismissal conditions, including crowding, lighting and available landmarks, before deciding what instruction is needed.

Apply it

A traveler identifies tactile symbols accurately at a desk but cannot use the station directory during a journey. Assessment examines directory location, reach, competing demands and how the symbols connect to the actual station layout.

Apply it

A learner misses a stair edge near a bright window. The assessor compares the same approach with glare controlled and with improved edge contrast, recording detection and approach behavior rather than judging brightness alone.

Apply it

Before teaching a lunch route, the COMS records that the student selects two of four turns independently and completes the others after verbal directions. The setting and assistance level become part of the baseline.

Apply it

An assessment shows repeated failure to detect low obstacles on a desired work route despite successful sign reading. The report links cane assessment and instruction to that obstacle-detection need rather than to acuity alone.

Apply it

A learner succeeds on a route only when a noisy fountain operates. Reassessment reveals dependence on that single cue, so instruction adds other stable references before the route is considered independently usable.

Apply it

Hypothetical baseline: across five classroom-to-library trips, a student independently selects one of three required route decisions and needs verbal direction at the other two. Goal: 'By the end of 12 instructional weeks, given the usual cane and the neutral instruction to travel from the classroom doorway to the library, the student will select the correct corridor at both junctions and identify and enter the library, without instructional prompts or safety interventions, on four of five observed trips across two consecutive weeks.' Record all three decisions on every trip, plus prompt type and any safety intervention. Requiring all three decisions addresses destination access; repeated successful trips test consistency beyond the baseline.

Apply it

An IEP records weekly O&M sessions but no method for evaluating the hallway travel goal. The team adds a measure of independently completed decision points and specifies when progress reports will be provided to parents.

Apply it

A worker demonstrates basic cane skills but cannot reliably identify the workplace entrance or navigate the evening bus connection. The worker wants to remain at home, can practise these routes between lessons and cannot regularly reach a distant center. These findings favor itinerant instruction at the workplace and transit connection, coordinated with the worker's schedule. A learner needing several coordinated rehabilitation services who can commute may instead benefit from center-based sessions. If sustained integrated practice is needed and the learner wants and can participate in an on-site living program, a residential arrangement may fit; it still requires assessment and instruction for home-community transfer.

Apply it

Before introducing a bus transfer, a learner practises locating stops, identifying the correct bus and confirming an alighting point. These components are then combined in the transfer journey with assistance adjusted to observed performance.

Apply it

A child names a shoulder but does not understand keeping it beside a wall. Instruction connects touch, body position and movement along the wall, then checks the relationship during a purposeful trip to a shelf.

Apply it

A learner identifies a chair on the right, turns to face the opposite wall and reassesses its location. The instructor uses this change to distinguish a body-relative direction from the chair's stable position in the room.

Apply it

A learner explores several doorway types and compares openings, frames and the spaces they connect. Later, the learner identifies an unfamiliar doorway by its structural relationship to the wall rather than by one remembered texture.

Apply it

A learner usually reaches an elevator after a short corridor walk. On a crowded day, elapsed time increases. The learner checks corridor features and the elevator recess instead of treating the usual walking time as exact.

Apply it

A learner independently reaches a bus stop but repeatedly misses the intended departure. Instruction connects preparation time, the walk to the stop and accessible schedule use, then checks whether the whole trip can be completed.

Apply it

A café's music helps locate a building during business hours but disappears before an evening class. The learner adds a permanent entrance recess and walkway change as references for the same destination after closing.

Apply it

A student knows the dormitory-to-library route but becomes confused when leaving the dining hall. Mapping the three buildings and their connecting paths helps the student select an approach from the new starting point independently.

Apply it

A traveler faces north, turns right and identifies the new direction as east. After reversing the journey, the traveler explains why the same building remains east even though it is now on a different body-relative side.

Apply it

After walking around a rectangular courtyard, a learner identifies the approximate direction of the original entrance and checks it against known building boundaries. The activity tests whether the entrance's relationship was maintained during movement.

Apply it

Construction blocks a familiar campus path. A learner compares two alternatives: one with unfamiliar complex crossings and one with longer walking but established references and accessible crossings. The learner explains the choice using those demands.

Apply it

A traveler reaches a dead end where a junction was expected. The traveler pauses, considers having turned one corridor early and checks for a known doorway pattern before deciding whether to retrace to the last confirmed point.

Apply it

Before classes begin, a student explores the main campus boundary, key buildings and connecting paths using an accessible map. Short purposeful journeys then test whether the map's relationships correspond to the student's understanding of the campus.

Apply it

A learner's cane coverage narrows while turning with a walking aid. The COMS examines the combined movement task and coordinates with rehabilitation colleagues to identify a workable approach before introducing a more demanding community route.

Apply it

At a narrow entrance, the guide signals the narrowing by moving the guiding arm behind the back; the traveler follows into single file using the practiced grasp adjustment. During separate controlled exploration, teach upper protection with the bent arm and forearm held across and ahead of the face, palm outward, to intercept upper-body obstacles. Lower protection places the arm diagonally across the body with the hand ahead of the opposite hip, palm toward the body, to encounter obstacles around waist or hip height. Compare the different body areas exposed during each task and adapt positioning to the learner's movement abilities.

Apply it

On a controlled practice route, a learner using two-point touch misses a shallow downward level change while the tip is airborne between taps. The COMS trials constant contact, teaching maintained surface contact and coverage ahead of each foot, then records whether the change is detected early enough to stop. This adjustment directly addresses the unsampled surface interval. Compare performance across repeated trials and representative surfaces: a sliding tip may catch on rough ground, requiring reconsideration of tip choice or technique. A stationary diagonal hold would not address the need for systematic surface sampling.

Apply it

A traveler makes a wide cane movement but repeatedly steps outside the sampled area while veering. Instruction connects alignment, cane position and body path, then checks whether obstacles are detected before the traveler reaches them.

Apply it

Compare northward crossings of an east–west side street beside a north–south avenue. At a verified conventional two-phase signalized intersection with concurrent pedestrian movement, identify the correct crosswalk and APS, align with the verified crossing direction and obtain its WALK indication. A northbound through-traffic surge can corroborate the phase, but turning vehicles may still cross the pedestrian path. At the same geometry with stop signs only on the side street, there is no pedestrian signal phase: avenue traffic continues independently of side-street stops. A parallel surge therefore supplies no initiation permission. Evaluate side-street approaches and turns from the avenue for yielding and sufficient crossing time through every conflict path.

Apply it

A learner hears a repeating locator tone near an intersection and approaches the button. The learner then identifies the associated crossing and waits for its accessible walk indication rather than beginning to cross on the locator tone.

Apply it

A learner aligns and identifies the appropriate interval at a straightforward crossing but struggles when turning traffic is added. Instruction targets that additional analysis before advancing to a junction with several simultaneous complications.

Apply it

A learner can ride the correct bus but becomes disoriented after alighting at an unfamiliar entrance. Instruction links the arrival stop with nearby boundaries, destination access and a plan for obtaining information if the stop changes.

Apply it

A traveler relies on a familiar walkway texture, but snow covers it and changes the walking surface. The traveler reassesses boundaries and route options rather than assuming the usual cue and movement strategy remain available.

Apply it

A learner misses room numbers while walking because the search area is too broad. Instruction establishes where signs are usually located and practises a systematic search there, then checks transfer to signs in another corridor.

Apply it

A traveler with central vision loss detects a destination sign but loses its detail when looking directly at it. With appropriate low vision collaboration, the traveler trials a viewing strategy and evaluates whether identification actually improves.

Apply it

A learner distinguishes raised shapes but cannot use a tactile map. Instruction first connects each symbol with a real location, then builds the relationships needed to select a route from the represented layout.

Apply it

A learner practises turning between two known corridor headings, describes the movement and checks the result against the wall direction. Later, the learner applies that awareness while navigating a route with several turns.

Apply it

A learner first points toward a ringing phone, then notices how a self-produced sound changes beside a wall and an opening. The instructor distinguishes locating the phone from interpreting reflected sound about the nearby environment.

Apply it

A learner can identify a distant sign with an optical device when stopped but struggles to manage it while walking with a cane. Instruction separates information gathering from movement and checks a workable sequence at real destinations.

Apply it

A deafblind learner does not respond to spoken route questions. The assessor works with the learner's established communication system and a knowledgeable partner, then evaluates choices during a familiar journey instead of scoring silence as failure.

Apply it

A wheelchair user needs information about doorway clearance and route continuity. The COMS assesses accessible exploration and device use from the seated position, then coordinates adaptations that fit the learner's movement and communication needs.

Apply it

A learner with memory difficulties loses a long spoken route sequence but succeeds when each decision is linked to a distinctive landmark. Instruction builds a short connected route and evaluates whether the landmark relationships remain usable later.

Apply it

An older adult stops attending a familiar activity after vision changes. The COMS assesses current route information, movement demands and preferred strategies, then adapts instruction rather than assuming that age makes independent participation unrealistic.

Apply it

A learner values traveling with relatives to community events while also wanting independent access to work. Planning addresses both priorities, clarifies the learner's preferred assistance in each setting and develops skills relevant to those choices.

Apply it

A wall display projects 8 inches into a corridor with its lower edge 48 inches above the floor. The accessibility review identifies a protrusion concern and considers recessing the display or providing an appropriate detectable barrier.

Apply it

A new 42-inch-wide gravel detour crosses a parking area between isolated cones, with its arrow sign beyond the last usable turn. Place accessible route information before that turn and provide a nonvisual means of identifying the diversion. Assess the loose gravel against the surface rule; widen the newly created route to at least 48 inches, since the existing-path exception does not apply. Replace isolated cones with compliant continuous detectable edging where channelization delineates the route, while evaluating vehicle crossings and reconnection to the sidewalk.

Apply it

A newly visually impaired adult avoids a favored community activity because using a cane feels conspicuous. The COMS explores the concern, explains options and plans a meaningful supported journey with opportunities for the learner to make decisions.

Apply it

A learner describes persistent sadness and withdrawal from several valued activities, not only travel practice. The COMS listens, discusses access to mental health support and adapts participation goals collaboratively rather than treating the issue solely as route avoidance.