Speakers:
Natalina Martiniello, PhD CVRT, Assistant Professor, School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Regular Member, CRIR – Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille, CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre; CRIR – Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre (Layton-Mackay Site), CIUSSS West-Central Montreal
*
Walter Wittich, PhD FAAO CLVT, Associate Professor, University of Montreal, Regular Member and Site Director, CRIR–Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Center, MAB and Mackay sites, CIUSSS West-Central Montreal and CRIR– Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille, CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre
*
*
Date : Tuesday, February 24, 12h00-13h00
Location: In Person, MAB site, 7000 Sherbrooke St. W., room A-314
Language of the presentation: Bilingual
Bio
Dr. Walter Wittich, an Associate Professor at the School of Optometry at the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, is dedicated to researching the rehabilitation of older adults facing both vision and hearing loss. Originally focused on age-related vision loss, Dr. Wittich now explores dual sensory impairment and acquired deafblindness. His research spans basic sensory science, medical aspects, psychosocial factors, and rehabilitation approaches to sensory loss. He is the inaugural chair of the Deafblind International Research Network, the 2020 recipient of the Canadian Helen Keller Centre 10th Annual JT Award, is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Optometry, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and is Quebec’s first Certified Low Vision Therapist.
Dr. Natalina Martiniello is an Assistant Professor in Vision Rehabilitation at the School of Optometry, University of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. Her research focuses on braille (especially adult braille learning), accessibility and social inclusion for individuals who are blind or who have low vision. As the first blind researcher to obtain a Ph.D. in Vision Science in Canada, a cornerstone of her research is the integration of user perspectives into visual impairment research. She is a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, the Chair of Research for the International Council on English Braille, a Subject Matter Expert for the Academy for the Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Educational Professionals (ACVREP), and the immediate Past-President of Braille Literacy Canada.
Summary
Drs. Natalina Martiniello and Walter Wittich will present a dynamic overview of the most impactful projects emerging from more than five years of research collaboration with the MAB teams of the Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Center. Drawing on a diverse portfolio of initiatives, the session highlights how sustained partnerships can drive meaningful innovation in accessibility, rehabilitation, and lived experience.
Dr. Martiniello will share insights from her mentorship of summer students with visual impairments funded through Habilitas grants, emphasizing the transformative learning experiences and leadership pathways these opportunities created. She will also discuss recent advances in braille display research and their implications for everyday information access.
Dr. Wittich will showcase how participant recruitment through the MAB’s Dual Sensory Impairment Program directly contributed to the development of an international rehabilitation standard for deafblindness. He will outline how these standards are now being implemented in Sweden, Spain, and Poland, demonstrating the global reach of local collaboration.
This presentation offers a compelling look at how community partnerships translate evidence into real-world change.
Open access references
- Wittich, W., Dumassais, S., Prain, M., Ogedengbe, T.O., Gravel, C., Jaiswal, A., Minhas, R., Lopez, R. & Granberg, S. (2024). Development of Core Sets for deafblindness using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: The perspectives of individuals with lived experience, European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 60(6), 1060-1069. https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/europa-medicophysica/article.php?cod=R33Y2024N06A1060
- Overview of the entire project (I will present this context, it is open access):: Wittich., W. & Dumassais, S. (in press February 21st 2025). The WHO ICF Core Sets for Deafblindness: An Overview of the Development Process, British Journal of Visual Impairment, https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196251320351
- Deafblindness project’s website: https://whoisdeafblind.org/
For questions about the presentation, please contact Chantal Robillard, clinical research coordinator: chantal.robillard.mab@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
