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Working with the VISUALLY IMPAIRED

CARLY ANDREWJULY 28, 2012

+Who is visually

impaired?Visual Impairment:

any visual condition that impacts an individual’s ability to successfully complete the activities of everyday life.

+Categorization

Low vision – student us their vision as their primary sensory channel

Functionally blind – students can use limited vision or functional tasks but need their tactile and auditory channels for learning

Totally blind – students use tactile and auditory channels for learning and functional tasks

+Physical Signs

Crossed eyes

Eyes that flutter

Frequent blinking or squinting

+Behaviors

Clumsiness

Short attention span

Sensitive to bright lights

Poor hand-eye coordination

+Impact on Learning

Limited ability to learn incidentally from their environment

Low motivation to:Explore the environmentInitiate social communicationManipulate objects

+Expanded Core

CurriculumCommunication skills

Social interaction skills

Orientation and mobility

+Impact on Learning

VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN LEARN AT ROUGHLY THE SAME

RATE AS OTHER CHILDREN

Just need direct interventions to develop understandings of relationships between people

and objects in their environment

+Teaching Strategies

Encourage independence to avoid “learned helplessness” Encourage student to move independently around

the room Materials, desks and other objects in the classroom

should be maintained in consistent locations Things should be kept neat and tidy

Part of this is learning when to ask for assistance

+Designing Instruction

Design instruction so that student has the most opportunity to act independently Low vision – make sure front of the classroom Control lighting variables for students Use verbal cues with students who cannot

see body movements or physical cues

+During Class Discussions Call on student by name to have participate

in discussion

Make sure everything that is visually displayed is verbally described

Provide the student with a printed outline so the discussion can be more easily followed

+Notetaking

Note taking Any notes written on the board should be

said aloud Use high contrast writing tools when using

the overhead

+Projects & Reports

Verify student understands assignment instructions

Allow additional time for completion of projects Give the student and parent a checklist about

what is due and when it is due Provide enlarged samples for preview Allow alternate methods of project presentation Provide and review grading rubric so student

knows

Encyclopedia articles can be ordered in Braille for free from ROSE project (www.seedlings.org)

+Etiquette

Identify yourself and other group members before beginning a conversation

Allow for direct manipulation of materials when appropriate

Allow additional time for all assignments Verify student understands assignment

instructions Use both oral and written instructions

Access to textbooks and instructional materials in appropriate media AT THE

SAME TIME as their peers

+Lesson Plan

Modifications and Explanations:

Everything that is written, should be read aloud

As students speak (or are grouped) name them, so that the visually impaired student may identify the speaker as well

Try to reduce the amount of student traffic going on in the room at any given time

Create activities in which a visually impaired student may still have an active, unaltered role Such as the note-taker or speaker in the group

This helps to foster independence, avoiding “learned helplessness”

Make all hand-outs, notes, or written materials available in a format that is accessible to the visually impaired student Braille, voice-recorded, through a read-a-loud program on their computer or

assistive device NOTE: IMPERATIVE that these be available to the visually impaired student at

the same time that the other students also receive the same materials

+Organizations

American Council of the Blind (www.acb.org) American Foundation of the Blind (www.afb.org) American Printing House for the Blind (

www.aph.org) Blind Children’s Center (

www.blindchildrenscenter.org) Association for Education and Rehabilitation of

the Blind and Visually Impaired (www.aerbvi.org) Center for Disability and Development

(cdd.tamu.edu) Council for Exceptional Children – Division of

Visual Impairment (www.cec.sped.org)

+In the News

South Korean archer Im Dong-hyun (who is legally blind) broke the world-record in archery on Friday

Legally blind = what the normal eye sees at 200 feet in distance — needs to be within 20 feet to see the same detail

+Works Cited

Amber Keefer, “Characteristics of a Visually Impaired Child,” (March 12, 2011) http://www.livestrong.com/article/126096-characteristics-visually-impaired-child/

Carol Castellano, “Blindness Awareness for the Class,” (winter/spring 2006), http://www.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/fr/fr21/fr06ws09. htm

Jim Rodrigues and Kathy Decker, compl., “Making Modifications, Accommodations and Variations for Student Success,” (September 11, 2007), http://www.jimrodslz.com/sped/Disability_Info/Making%20Modifications%20visual%20impaired.pdf

Partnership for Accessible Reading Assessment, University of Minnesota, “Reading and Students with Visual Impairments or Blindness,” (2011), http://www.readingassessment.info/resources/publications/visualimpairment.htm

ProjectIDEAL: Informing and Designing Education for All Learners, “Visual Impairments,” http://www.projectidealonline.org/ visualImpairments.php

Sharon Z. Sacks and Rosanne K. Silberman, “Teaching Strategies for Students with Visual Impairments and Other Disabilities,” (February 2002), http://www.pbrookes.com/email/archive/february02/February02ED2.htm