The Education of Students with Visual Impairments

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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

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

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

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How do we achieve this goal despite this
significant disability?
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Achieving this GoalWith a High Degree of
Specialization

• Specialized Instruction
• Curriculum Modification
• Experiential Learning
• Compensatory Skills
• Accessible Materials
• Accessible Technology
• Specialized Personnel

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Demographics of students with Visual Impairments
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Additional Disabilities
(PRISM, 1996, n 202)
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Future School Population of Students with Visual
Impairments and Blindness.
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Visual Disorders of PRISM Students (1996)
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Legislative Changes
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Legislative Changes inIDEA Braille

• Consideration of Special Factors The IEP Team
  also shall
• (iii) In the case of a child who is blind or
  visually impaired, provide for instruction in
  Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP
  Team determines, after a determination of the
  childs reading and writing skills, needs and
  appropriate reading and writing media (including
  an evaluation of the childs future needs for
  instruction in Braille or the use of Braille),
  that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille
  is not appropriate for the child. 34 CFR
  Section 300.346 (a)(2)(iii) and 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)

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Legislative Changes in IDEAOrientation 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.

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Legislative Changes in IDEAAssistive 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)
• The student can take assistive technology home
  if needed to receive FAPE.
• Regulatory language
• On a case-by-case basis, the use of school
  purchased assistive technology devices in a
  childs home or in other settings is required if
  the childs IEP team determines that the child
  needs access to those devices in order to receive
  FAPE. 34 CFR Section 300.308

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of
Services

• States are required to have policies and
  procedures for ensuring that , to the maximum
  extent appropriate, students with disabilities
• are educated with students who are not disabled,
  
• and that special classes, separate schooling, or
  other removal of students with disabilities from
  the regular educational environment occurs only
  as the nature or severity of the disability is
  such that education in regular classes with
  supplemental aids and services cannot be achieved
  satisfactorily.

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of
Services

• Should all students with visual impairments be
  automatically placed in specialized schools?
• No
• Should all students with visual impairments be
  automatically placed in regular Classrooms?
• No

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Continuum of
Services

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

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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.

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Least Restrictive Environment Continuum of
Services
Continuum options include but are not limited to
instruction in

• Special Classes
• Regular Classes
• Specialized Schools
• Hospital and Institutions
• Home Instruction

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Least Restrictive Environment Continuum of
Services
In order to meet the LRE and Continuum
requirements, States must

• Have available each of the continuum options
• Communicate information on these options to IEP
  decision makers, including parents.

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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 childs blindness or visual
  impairment and other disabilities and other
  identified educational needs.

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Least Restrictive Environment Continuum of
Services

• The overriding rule in placement is that each
  students placement must be determined on an
  individual basis.

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What Students with Visual Impairments Need to
Learnin School

• General Education Curriculum
• Alternate Curriculum
• Expanded Core Curriculum
• Experiential Learning
• School to Work Transition Skills

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Other Special Considerations

• Opportunity for students to have access to
  appropriate role models and mentors
• Need for students to participate in a full
  educational experience, including
• extracurricular activities
• socialization activities with disabled and
  non-disabled peers
• sports

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Expanded Core Curriculum
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Expanded Core Curriculum

• Alternate Curriculum

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Components of the Expanded Core Curriculum

• Compensatory Academic Skills
• Orientation and Mobility Skills
• Social Interaction Skills
• Independent Living Skills
• Career Education
• Assistive Technology
• Visual Efficiency Skills
• Recreation and Leisure Skills

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Compensatory Academic Skills, Including
Communication Modes

• Concept Development
• Braille
• Nemeth Code
• Tactile Graphics
• Listening Skills

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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).

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Social Interaction Skills
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Independent Living Skills
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Recreation and Leisure Skills
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Career Education
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Assistive Technology
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Visual Efficiency Skills
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The Expanded CurriculumHow do you meet this Need?

• Class Size --- Caseload
• Time to teach
• More Years in School
• Special Delivery Systems

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SummaryExpanded Core Curriculum

• Represents educational needs unique to blind and
  visually impaired learners
• Skills incidentally learned by sighted peers must
  be taught to blind and visually impaired learners
• Blind and visually impaired learners must be
  taught by personnel specially trained in VI.