Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center

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Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center The Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center serves Texans who are legally blind in an adult residential reha

The Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center (CCRC) was built, staffed, and opened in two stages during the 1970-1972 and 1973-1974 bienniums as the first residential rehabilitation program owned by the Texas State Commission for the Blind. The Center was developed to assist individuals who lose their sight after completing educational programs offered by the state's public schools. The Center offers intensive vocational and independent living training to adult Texans who are blind, the majority newly blinded. Located in Austin, the center provides intensive, comprehensive training in areas such as orientation and mobility, Braille, communication skills, home and personal management, technology and career guidance. Other services include social, psychological, and vocational evaluations. The average trainee completes the program in 3 to 6 months. To participate in Center activities, clients must be eligible for VR programs, legally blind, able to move independently, willing to attend classes, and be able to demonstrate progress in training activities. Each year 500 to 600 clients participate in CCRC activities. The Center supports all aspects of the Texas Division for Blind Services programs by delivering services, training clients for the Business Enterprises Program, and training agency staff. The Center and the School for the Blind have a close working relationship, sharing certain resources and working jointly with the multiply handicapped. Through grant money from the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, a deaf-blind project has also been established at the Center.

Olly the Octopus says: access is a human right! 
07/05/2026

Olly the Octopus says: access is a human right! 

There’s a buzz in the air! Even the birds are singing about it! It’s convention season!  Whether you’re here with us ...
07/03/2026

There’s a buzz in the air! Even the birds are singing about it! It’s convention season!  Whether you’re here with us as a vendor, a representative of NFB or another affiliate group, or a starry-eyed newcomer, we welcome you to Austin! Stop by and see your CCRC family in the exhibit hall. Try your luck at blindness skills trivia, and win a prize! Leave a word of encouragement on our Wisdom Wall for our friends who are new to vision loss.   We are booth D9!@  

06/19/2026

Our career guidance team have been busy this summer! Tonight, we are partnering with our friends at Austin FC and Field of Vision to test their debut device which uses state-of-the-art haptic technology to equipped soccer fans who are blind to enjoy the game in real time! Very real time. This reporter definitely was not the one you saw shrieking when the tablet informed her Mexico had scored. No, that was somebody else. The tablet could also not be held responsible for the spontaneous outpouring of “Cielito Lindo.” 
Working with their CG instructors, our students are practicing their skills in assistive technology testing, marketing, entrepreneurship, and  good old Austin community building!

What a wonderful day Nigel and I spent with our partners at Vibrant Works! We tried their brand-new indoor beaconing sys...
06/17/2026

What a wonderful day Nigel and I spent with our partners at Vibrant Works! We tried their brand-new indoor beaconing system by Evelity, explored the low vision resource center, got some exciting tips on the Ticket to Work program, and didn't break any of the industrial sewing equipment. The attentiveness, talent, and pure joy of the Vibrant Works staff truly brightened our day!

06/01/2026

They’ve got the skills to work the grills! Video of our students using the skills from their daily living and recreation classes to grill under blindfold for the whole center!

06/01/2026

The best cure for fear is knowledge! The best answer to the blindness roller coaster is Hope! By building their confidence and learning core skills and surprising places, Our students become experts in the impossible. Last weekend, for example. The delicious feast you see here in the videos was grilled under blindfold! CCRC Students Noah, Vincent, Jose, and Carlos put together a cookout that fed the entire center. In the video, we see them using their skills to test the doneness of meat, gauge temperature, turn meet accurately and safely, and prepare plates for others.

Wishing our CCRC family a safe and reflective memorial day! Nigel, a black Labrador Guide dog, sits upright in his black...
05/25/2026

Wishing our CCRC family a safe and reflective memorial day! Nigel, a black Labrador Guide dog, sits upright in his black-and-white Guide Dogs for the blind harness. A small American flag is tucked into the left side of his harness. Behind him is a generated caption that reads: honor and remember. 

05/18/2026

What a beautiful conclusion to our “You Matter To Us” community food Drive, organized by CCRC student Genji Valdez. Here, Casa Marianella volunteer coordinator Jennifer and Genji share a few words about the impact of this project. The neighborhood roosters also share a few words on the impact of 30 people and one confused Guide dog standing outside their building. Thank you to our incredible partners for their hospitality, generosity, and vital work of welcome!

05/14/2026

Presenting with some of the greatest at the 24th annual accessU Conference on Digital Accessibility! 

Address

4800 N. Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX
78756

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

512-377-0300

Website

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