The Education of Students with Visual Impairments

National Association of State Directors of

Special Education

The Hilton/Perkins Program

Council of Schools for the Blind

Gaylen does welcome and housekeeping items

What do families of children with visual impairments expect in the education of their children?

The presenter informs the participants that they you stop the presenter at any time to ask question. When this occurs the presenter will either answer the question or will defer it to another section of the presentation.

In this first series of slides, the presenter establishes

  1. the foundation elements for educating students with visual impairment.
    [Turn to next slide]

2) parent and professional expectations for children with visual impairments should be the same as those for children without disabilities,

3) that the "special" in special education is the finding of ways to adjust, adapt, and add to a child's school experience in order for him to benefit from education.

Family Expectations

Families expect that their children with visual impairments will receive an educational experience equal to that provided to their non-disabled peers.

Read slide

How do we achieve this goal despite this significant disability?

In this next series of slides the presenter introduces the instructional concepts that define the unique educational and social needs of students with visual impairment.

Achieving this Goal:
With a High Degree of Specialization

Presenter reads each bullet and gives an appropriate example. Presenter informs the participants that they will receive more detailed information throughout the workshop on each area.

 

[define each example]

Definition of Visual Impairment

Visual impairment including

blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

There are three categories of disability in IDEA that include children with visual impairments: Visual Impaired, Multiple Disabled and Deaf Blind. It is the use of three categories that contributes to the lack of reliability in using IDEA child count data to determine the incidence of visual impairment. Of particular concern is the use of the category Multiple Disability.

 

Read definition from[Section 300.7(c)(1)]

Definition of Visual Impairment

Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness.

Presenter Reads definition.

 

Again the presenter reinforces the idea that there are children with visual impairment who are classified in the multiple disability category and that these student may be harder to find but may indeed require specialized services for their visual impairment.

 

[Section 300.7(c)(1)]

Definition of Visual Impairment

Deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs designed solely for students with deafness or students with blindness

Presenter reads definition

 

[Section 300.7(c)(1)]

Plus ….

Deaf blindness is a conditional in which the combination of hearing and visual losses in children cause such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special educational programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness or multiple disabilities.

Miles, B. (2000) DB-LINK, Overview on deaf-blindness

Deafblindness means the combination of impairments of both senses interferes with the ability of a person to function effectively in the hearing-sighted world.

Facts about Deaf-Blindness, Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults (HKNC).

Definition of Visual Impairment

Legal Blindness is often defined as less than

20/200 vision in the better eye with best

correction or visual fields of less than 20

Degrees

A child may meet the IDEA definition for a

Visual Impairment but not be legally blind.

Presenter reads definition of Legal Blindness and explains the concepts of 20/200 vision and field restriction.

The Presenter also explains how the IDEA definition is broader than the definition of legal blindness.

 

Section 300.7(c)(1)

Plus ….

Legal blindness is defined as visual impairment in which distance visual acuity is 20/20 or less in the better eye after best correction with conventional lenses or visual field restriction is 20 degree or less, often used as a criterion for determining eligibility for benefits or services in the United States.

Low vision is defined as a visual impairment after correction, but with the potential for use of available vision, with or without the use of optical or nonoptical compensatory visual strategies, devices, and environmental modifications, to plan and perform daily tasks.

Corn, A. & Koenig, A. (Eds) (1995) Foundations of Low Vision: Clinical and Functional Perspectives. New York: AFB Press.

Low Vision describes students who cannot perform typical tasks with standard correction, but can use vision for planning, execution of standard tasks.

Demographics of students with Visual Impairments

In the next series of slides, the presenter shows some of the most important characteristics of the population of children with visual impairments and blindness. The presenter points out the diversity of characteristics that exits within the population [compare this to other data from the Annual Report to Congress]

 

[Include individual state demographics]

Visual Impairment:

.2% of the public school population

60% of those have additional disabilities

(PRISM, 1996, n = 202)

Additional Disabilities

Note:

In total, 60% of the student had additional disabilities.

22% were diagnosed with mild additional disabilities, and

38% were diagnosed with severe additional disabilities.

It is important to also note that Learning Disabilities and Emotional Disabilities are not typically picked up until the school years. It is therefore likely the the percentage of students with additional disabilities will be higher, during the school years, than the 60% found in this study.

Future School Population of Students with Visual Impairments and Blindness.

In this next series of slides, the presenter gives information on the characteristics of infants and preschool children. The importance of this information for the school administrator is to note the characteristics of the VI population that will be in schools in the next 15 years. The presenter emphasizes the percentage of students with multiple impairments and perhaps ask the participates for their impressions of how this will impact the field.

Visual Disorders of PRISM Students (1996)

This slide shows the types of visual disorders reported by Project PRISM, a federally-funded research study conducted from 1991-96 studying infants and preschoolers. The project was housed at the University of Northern Colorado and involved 7 private agencies across the United States (in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Texas). This project demonstrated that the leading causes of visual impairment in children are cortical visual impairment and retinopathy of prematurity.

The presenter provides functional characteristics of these eye condition as well as other common eye conditions.

More detail can be added here.

Legislative Changes

In this next section, we will be reviewing legislative changes in IDEA as a result of the 1997 Reauthorization.

Legislative Changes in
IDEA: Braille

Statutory language (regulatory language is identical):

Important points:

Presumption of Braille

The determination that Braille is not appropriate for the child is made by the IEP Team. If that decision is made, the parents have a right to request a due process hearing and mediation.

This determination cannot be based on factors such as availability of alternate reading media, such as large print, recorded materials, or computers with speech output.

Once the IEP Team determines that a child requires instruction in Braille, that instruction (along with other aspects of the child's IEP) must be implemented as soon as possible following the IEP meeting and, in any case, without undue delay.

Legislative Changes in IDEA:
Orientation and Mobility

34 CFR Section 300.24 -

"(6) Orientation and mobility services:

(i) Means services provided to blind or visually impaired students by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home, and community; and

(ii) Includes teaching students the following, as appropriate:

(A) Spatial and environmental concepts and use of information received by the senses (such as sound, temperature and vibrations) to establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (e.g., using sound at a traffic light to cross the street);

(B) To use the long cane as appropriate to supplement visual travel skills or as a tool for safely negotiating the environment for students with no available travel vision;

(C) To understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision aids; and

(D) Other concepts, techniques, and tools."

Statutory language (regulatory language is identical):

Important points:

While Orientation and Mobility has also been an important service to students with visual impairments, the 1997 reauthorization specifically lists is now as a required related services if determined by the IEP team.

About 3% of the blind population use dog guides

Legislative Changes in IDEA:
Assistive Technology

"Consideration of Special Factors: The IEP Team also shall –

(v) Consider whether the child requires assistive technology devices and services." 34 CFR Section 300.346 (a)(2)(v) and 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)

"On a case-by-case basis, the use of school purchased assistive technology devices in a child's home or in other settings is required if the child's IEP team determines that the child needs access to those devices in order to receive FAPE." 34 CFR Section 300.308

Assistive Technology Devices and Services

The IEP Team must consider whether the student needs any assistive technology

Statutory Language (regulatory language is identical)

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of Services

In the next few slides we will review issues related to Least Restrictive Environment and Continuum of Placement Options.

The content for these slides is taken extensively for the recently released OSEP Policy Guidance, which is in your packet.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of Services

No

No

[We use a special effect here to have each bullet appear in sequence]

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of Services

Part B requires that each student's placement be based on his/her IEP. The goals and required services identified in the individual student's IEP form the basis for all placement decisions.

After the student's IEP is developed, the placement determination, that is, the setting in which services will be provided, must be make on an individual basis, consistent with the student's IEP.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of Services

Recognizing that the regular classroom may not be the LRE placement for every disabled student, Part B regulation require public agencies to make available a continuum of alternative placements or a range of placement options, to meet the needs of students with disabilities for special education and related services.

Least Restrictive Environment
Continuum of Services

Present provides a description on each option.

Important Points:

Special Classes can be all day or just part of the day.

The Continuum needs to be flexible.

In addition, the the LEA must provide for supplemental services (such as resource room or itinerant instruction) in conjunction with regular class placement is those services are needed for the child to receive an appropriate education in this setting.

Students can be place in specialized school as residential students, day students, or part time students. Some specialized schools off short term placement to address very specific skill acquisition.

Decision makers have an obligation to find a setting that allows for the achievement of all IEP goals and thus provides the child with a Free Appropriation Public Education

Least Restrictive Environment
Continuum of Services

In order to meet the LRE and Continuum requirements, States must

Least Restrictive Environment
Continuum of Services

Extensive efforts should be made to ensure that parents of blind and visually impaired students are informed about available placement options for their children, including addressing unique needs arising from a child's blindness or visual impairment and other disabilities and other identified educational needs.

A study described in The Report to the Nation on the National Agenda reported that …

70% of the parents of children with blindness or visual impairments in a national sample reported that their IEP team only gave them information on the placement option that they were recommending.

In a parallel study of Chairs of IEP teams, 55% of the Chairs reported that they only gave information on the recommended placement options to parents of students with blindness or visual impairments.

These data dramatically illustrate the gap in information that exists between what is currently made available and what should be available.

Least Restrictive Environment
Continuum of Services

The overriding rule in placement is that each student's placement must be determined on an individual basis.

What Students with Visual Impairments Need to Learn
in School

Shifting gears now, in the next section, we will share information on the curriculum needs of students with visual disabilities and concentrate on disability specific instruction. While not specifically defined in IDEA, this is often thought of in the field of blindness as the Expanded Core Curriculum

Presenter explains each bullet giving child centered examples of each.

Other Special Considerations

[we would again use kids as examples. Including photos of student engaged in those activities]

Expanded Core Curriculum

In this session, we will be giving more detailed information about three areas that contribute to the specialization necessary to provide an appropriate education to students with visual disabilities. The three areas are ,

[read slide]

Expanded Core Curriculum

Alternate Curriculum

The term Expanded Core Curriculum is a term used exclusively to refer to curricular adaptations needed by children with visual disabilities. It is equivalent to the term alternative curriculum used more widely in special education. All of the components of the Expanded Core Curriculum are not explicitly detailed in IDEA. They do, however, define areas of instruction that are important to children with visual disabilities. Under IDEA, these areas of instruction must be considered and provided if needed to meet the child's individual needs.

Sometimes I marvel at the number of things I do in my life that I don't even think about-I just do them! I get up in the morning, find my way to the bathroom, know instinctively where my toothbrush is, squeeze a specific amount of toothpaste on that implement, and brush my teeth. I find the shower, turn on the water, and enjoy the soft sting of warm water on my body as I continue to wake up. I dry off, and comb my hair. I go to my closet and look for what I want to wear today. If it's brown slacks, then it's also a brown tie and brown socks.

Components of the Expanded Core Curriculum

Presenters give a briefs definition of each area.

Compensatory Academic Skills, Including Communication Modes

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

What compensatory skills are effected by a visual impairment?

What comes to mind first is concept development. How do blind and visually impaired children learn associations, discriminations, and sequencing? How are same and different learned? Hot and cold? Rough and smooth? Long and short? These are fundamental concepts, but the need for instructional intervention does not end in early childhood. How about the concept of space and distance?

Another compensatory academic skill involving blind and visually impaired students is, of course, reading and writing medium. Educators of this special population believe that there are no blind or visually impaired students who cannot become literate using some medium. The teaching of any reading and writing medium, other than print, falls into the realm of Expanded Core Curriculum and becomes the responsibility of the special teacher.

This is a short sampling of one of many compensatory skills.

Orientation and Mobility

The ability of the blind or visually impaired person to know where he is in space (orientation) and to be able to move safely and gracefully through space (mobility).

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

This largely unknown term refers to the ability of the blind or visually impaired person to know where he is in space (orientation) and to be able to move safely and gracefully through space (mobility).

This absolutely essential skill is taught by specialists to children and youth as a part of their educational curriculum. Instruction in orientation and mobility for blind and visually impaired students is not an option--it is a necessity and must be taught by qualified professionals.

Social Interaction Skills

  [the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

Perhaps the most important ingredient that makes us socially acceptable to other persons around us is our ability to appropriately use social behavior in every occasion. Sighted persons learn these skills by visual observation of those around them. They soon learn acceptable social behavior on the playground, in the classroom, in a grocery store, at home, and in every conceivable place that children and youth may be found. The blind student has no opportunity to model social actions after those around her. Learning to face the person talking, learning not to interrupt, learning that non-verbal communication (facial expressions and gestural language) add much to conversations, learning a wide variety of conversational topics--all these behaviors must be taught to blind children. In the case of students with low vision, often the world is incomplete or distorted, and they are in as much need of instruction in social skills as are students who are totally blind. Qualified and credentialed teachers of the visually impaired know how to teach social interaction skills, and must be provided the time and encouragement to do so. Even a highly successful history in academic instruction will not save the blind or visually impaired young adult from isolation and loneliness if social interaction skills are not learned.

Play

Social Skills (graces)

Job interview skills

Ability to talk about their own visual impairment

Independent Living Skills

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

If you and I were to write down everything we did in a day, from the time we got up until we went to bed, we would be amazed at the number of actions and tasks that are a part of our daily life that we do not even think about as we do them. From getting dressed in the morning, to preparing and eating our meals, to checking the balance in our checking account, and countless other chores and routines that keep us busy all day long. How did we learn to do these things? Did our parents or our teachers help us learn all the activities of daily living that are both necessary and enriching? Perhaps they did teach us some things, but the majority of our activities were learned by watching others do them, then imitating their behavior. Instruction in independent living skills is a shared responsibility between teacher of the visually impaired and parents. When you think about it, it's not difficult to see that learning the skills of daily living is just as important for the blind or visually impaired student as learning to read. So it is up to the educational system to give instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum equal time with academics.

Recreation and Leisure Skills

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

Most of us develop a repertoire of recreation and leisure skills by observing games and activities, and then selecting the ones that seem most interesting to us. We then trim that list down through trial and error, and by discovering our own level of capability and skill for an activity. Once more, as is true of all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum, the blind or visually impaired student does not have an opportunity to observe an activity and make a decision as to whether to try it. These students cannot make a decision about whether they might enjoy horseback riding unless they get on the horse. Thus, educators, together with family members, have a serious obligation to introduce blind and visually impaired students to recreation and leisure activities, to teach them the skills necessary to enjoy participation, and then to allow the student to determine whether or not she will add it to her recreational repertoire. This area of the Expanded Core Curriculum, as is true of all the others, requires the teaching time from a qualified and certified teacher of the visually impaired.

Career Education

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

How do blind and visually impaired learners gather information about what people do as adults? Some grown-ups work, some go to school, some manage the home, while others fill their time by doing fulfilling volunteer work. As an encompassing term, career education refers to all of these roles in life, and many more. For educational purposes, teachers of blind and visually impaired students are most concerned about the knowledge and experience students receive about paid work. The young child, riding in a car, visually observes the window-washer on the side of a building, the jack-hammer operator at a road construction site. The sighted child casually observes the clerk in the grocery store, the gas station attendant, and the insurance agent who visits mom and dad. Gradually, unconsciously, the sighted child stores up visual memories and begins to make decisions about the kinds of work in which he may eventually be interested. And what of the blind or visually impaired child? What kinds of images of people working does she store in her mind? Enough to make a career decision? The answer to these and many other questions regarding this area of the Expanded Core Curriculum is that educators of blind and visually impaired students have the very serious responsibility for providing career education for these students. No, vocational education and career education offered to all students in the general education comprehensive high school will not suffice for blind and visually impaired students. The regular core curriculum in career education presumes too much visual learning and stored memories. Students who are blind and visually impaired will need their own sequence of experiences in career education to prepare them to enter the world of work.

Assistive Technology

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

All of us have been impacted by the effects of modern technology. This script was prepared on a laptop that can perform tasks that no one thought possible a mere 25 years ago. Our lives have been profoundly and forever changed by the technology we have today, and we can only imagine what the future holds!! These advances in how we receive, process, store, and retrieve information are also available to blind and visually impaired students. Even with all the ways technology has changed the lives of sighted persons, it has even more deeply impacted blind and visually impaired persons. While the laptop, pc, or Macintosh are absolutely necessary for these students, the basic equipment isn't enough. There are many different pieces of hardware available that make the computer easily accessible in braille, in voice, and in enlarged print for blind and visually impaired students. The additional equipment make it highly unlikely that these students will learn what they need to know in a technology class in general education. No, once again the teacher of visually impaired students will need to be the technology teacher for her students.

Visual Efficiency Skills

[the next slide is a picture and the presenter should click to the next slide halfway through these remarks]

Can we change the visual acuity of children by providing training in visual utilization? No, we cannot, but we can increase the visual efficiency of low vision students through an educational program that gradually increases the students ability to use remaining vision in an effective manner. It is the responsibility of the teacher of the visually impaired to provide training in visual efficiency skills so that students with low vision will gain as much as possible through visual learning.

And there you have the Expanded Core Curriculum. To review, there are three characteristics of this curriculum that are very important for you to remember:

First, the Expanded Core Curriculum addresses educational needs that are unique to blind and visually impaired learners. In other words, their sighted classmates are not going to have to learn these skills.

Second, sighted students will learn most of the content of the Expanded Core Curriculum by casually, visually observing what is going on around them. Thus, these needs are specific to the disability of visual impairment and blindness.

Finally, special instructional areas must be addressed by the teacher of the visually impaired. These special instructional areas are not the responsibility of the general classroom teacher. Instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum will take time and expertise. Will you be certain that both are available?

The Expanded Curriculum
How do you meet this Need?

Because the Expanded Core Curriculum requires instructional time from teachers who are certified and qualified to teach blind and visually impaired students, most of this learning experience will take place outside the regular classroom. It is imperative that teachers with special qualifications and special skills to teach the Expanded Core Curriculum have the time to provide this instruction.

Administrators have a number of options that will make it possible for teachers of the blind and visually impaired to have the time necessary to both support the academic learning and teach the Expanded Core Curriculum. The first, and most important option, is to limit class sizes and caseloads. In addition, the traditional school day may need to be modified in order to provide the instruction necessary to meet the student's individual needs. Meeting both of these options may require extending the school year for a student, or extending the number of years a student spends in school.

Finally, it may be necessary to enlist the assistance of a special school or agency for the blind, or some other service delivery system in order to meet all Expanded Core Curriculum needs.

Summary
Expanded Core Curriculum

And there you have the Expanded Core Curriculum. There are three characteristics of this curriculum that are very important for you to remember. First, they represent educational needs that are unique to blind and visually impaired learners. In other words, their sighted classmates are not going to have to learn these skills. Second, sighted students will learn most of the content of the Expanded Core Curriculum by casually, visually observing what is going on around them. Thus, these needs are specific to the disability of visual impairment and blindness. And finally, these are instructional areas that must be addressed by the teacher of the visually impaired. They are not the responsibility of the general classroom teacher. Instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum will take time and expertise. Will you be certain that both are available?