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
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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
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Date : Tuesday, February 24, 12h00-13h00
Location: In Person, MAB site, 7000 Sherbrooke St. W., room A-314
Language of the presentation: Bilingual
Summary
Drs. Natalie 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. 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
