Project CATS was developed through a four year (1999-2003) federal matchmaker grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs and the Indiana Department of Education, Division of Exceptional Learners. The project was administered through the Indiana Deafblind Services Project.
The mission of Project CATS was to promote movement and travel opportunities in natural environments. This was accomplished through a process of assessment, modification, support, and instruction by teams providing services to students who are deafblind and may have additional disabilities. The purpose of the project was to help teams use a web-based decision-making model regarding movement and travel for students not receiving formal services from O&M or Travel Training Programs.
It was not intended that the website act as a substitute for services from an O&M instructor. It was the intent of the CATS project to develop a web-based product that would help teams decide where and how students could participate more actively in movement and travel during typical routines and activities. Although some of the teams piloting the website decided to provide instruction for a student that involved learning traditional travel skills (e.g., sighted guide, trailing, protective techniques, and squaring off) taken from certified travel programs (e.g., O&M), educational teams not trained in travel techniques were still able to make effective decisions about travel situations and the strategies necessary to complete movement related steps and routes.
Teams from five states including Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee developed, used and evaluated the CATS model. Feedback from the participating states was used to modify the model and the subsequent multi-media package.
