Ann Pilewskie, Blindness/Visual Impairment - The Ohio State University

Ann Pilewskie has been a special educator for 35 years, serving students with complex or multiple disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and blindness/visual impairments, in various capacities. She received her B.S. in Special Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. in Special Education/Supervision from The Ohio State University.  She has served as a classroom teacher in both elementary and middle schools and as the Low Incidence Consultant and a Special Education Coordinator for Columbus Public Schools. Ann also served as Director of Autism Services at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence. She most recently served as the Transition Coordinator at the Ohio State School for the Blind and Project Manager for the Ohio Transition Collaborative for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired, a special contract/project with the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired (BSVI)/Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) (OH’s Vocational Rehabilitation Agency).  

Ann has been an instructor for Outreach and Engagement classes, as well as TVI classes at the Ohio State University and a frequent presenter at conferences, workshops, and professional development engagements, in the areas of: transition and integrated employment; students with complex disabilities including those with autism and blindness, blindness and orthopedic impairments, and other intellectual disabilities, developmental or communication disorders; inclusion/differentiated instruction; sensory and environmental accommodations to meet the needs of all learners, as well as other current topics in the education of students with disabilities.    

Recently, Ann has led in the development and coordination of not only a summer residential program, but a year long intensive work and independent living skills program for young adults who are blind or visually impaired with secondary disabilities, many of them complex. 

Ann will begin work in August on her Ph.D. in the area of Transition and employment issues for young adults who are blind and visually impaired, with a focus on those with complex disabilities, and closing the gap between education and vocational rehabilitation. Ann will study at THE Ohio State University.