Visual Impairments

Presentation completed by

Marjorie N. Boeshansz

EDSP 578

Just the Facts

Sources reveal that 80% of everything that a child learns is acquired through his or her visual system

What would happen if I took away your visual systems…

Time for an activity...

Lessons from the simulation

How did this activity make you feel

how much do you really rely on your visual systems?

Doesn’t this activity make you realize how important vision is to your education!

What is a Visual Impairment?

A visual impairment means even after correction a child’s visual functioning significantly adversely affects his or

her education.

Three types of Visual Impairments. Functional Blindness- uses Braille but has

vision for environmental tasks Low Vision-can read with magnification or

environmental modification and.. Totally blind- must use hands and ears for

learning; no input through vision

Characteristics of Visual Impairments…

Limitations in range and variety of experiences.– People with visual

impairments can not always rely on their other senses for input

• buildings are too tall to touch

• fire is too hot to touch

• the sun is too far away

Characteristics of Visual Impairments

Limitations in mobility– individuals who have

impairments are limited in their movement through space

• child may not be able to move through the environment properly as a result of poor distance acuity or depth perception

Characteristics of Visual Impairments

Limitations in environmental interactions– often children who are

visually impaired have a difficult time interacting with others appropriately or even playing with specific toys

Another Simulation...

As a result of receiving unclear, incomplete or no visual input, a visual impairment can adversely affect object knowledge, social interactions and career development

to give you an idea of how difficult it is to only get information verbally, I want us to do another activity… this time we get to stretch our creative side...

The simulation- draw a house!

Draw a circle at the top right of your paper

next, in the center of the paper make a medium size triangle

then, at the bottom of the triangle make a medium size square

Inside the square toward the top make two small squares and have them next to each other

Inside the medium square and underneath the two small squares, draw a vertical rectangle

Now add grass to your lovely house!!!

Identifying the Causes

Because so many parts of the eye and Brain must work together in order for us to see well, there are three main ways for vision to be impaired...– Structural Impairments– Refractive Errors– Cortical Visual Impairments

Structural Impairments

– Damage to one or more parts of the eye

Cataracts: cloudiness of the crystalline lens of the eye

Glaucoma: the pressure from fluid inside the eye is too high

Strabismus: “crossed eyes” Albinism: decrease pigmentation in the eyes

Refractive Errors

– Refractive errors are those that include the inability to sharply focus images

Nearsightedness: the inability to see objects far away

Farsightedness: the inability to see objects in close proximity

Astigmatism: a misshape of the eye

Cortical Visual Impairments

– Are the result of damage to the vision center of the brain due to trauma or malformation

Do you qualify for a visual Impairment? THE LAW

– the law says, “that local educational agencies shall ensure that, at a minimum, test and other evaluation materials must be validated and tailored to assess specific areas of educational need for individual students with visual impairments.”

A Nondiscriminatory

evaluation

Types of evaluations

– An IEP team may identify a child as having a visual impairment after three types of evaluations…

– Functional vision evaluation

– Optometrist evaluation

– Orientation and mobility evaluation

Functional vision evaluations

Medical information- visual acuity measures, field loss information, and refractive corrections

Formal/ informal assessments- eye preference, color vision, observations in various situations

Educational and curricular implications- types of learning media

Optometrist evaluations

Diagnose eye conditions and examine the health of the eye, as well as to give prognosis of the visual field

Orientation and mobility evaluations Evaluates child to

determine if there are related mobility needs in home, school, or community

What happens after the evaluation Specific services for the child can be

identified– homebound instruction– special day services– resource room– regular classroom– 48% of children with visual impairments are

served in the general education classroom!!!

Teacher interventions

Environmental considerations

Instructional considerationsSocial skill developmentMaterial considerations

Environmental Considerations

Seat the student close to the Board

Seat the student with back to the light

Keep supplies in the same place

Instructional Considerations

Read written directions aloudPlan evaluations to be on tape

or orallyAssist the student in actively

developing listening skills

Social Development

Teach proper postures and customsTeach proper mannerismsDecrease habits such as head

rolling or rocking back and forth

Material considerations

Large print books concrete objects or manipulatives speech computers use of computers to do work Optical devices- magnifiers and

microscopes Have a person to take notes

THE END

–That’s all

folks!

Sources…

www.orchlish.org/2_vis_imp/vhmanual4.html www.viguide.com/vsninsvc.html www.empowermentzone.com/accomm.txt www.setbc.org/special/virg/p3_01.html www.children-speical-needs.org/vision_therapy/vision_therapy_books.html www.children-special-needs.org/parenting/learning_disabilities.html www.afb.org/info_document_veiw.asp?documentid=1737 (american foundation for the blind) wps.prenhall.com/chet_turnbull_exceptional_4/0,8158,953342-navbar,00.html www.tsbvi.edu (texas school for the blind) www.nichcy.org (national information center for children and youth) lecture notes, marta roth 2003, edsp 570 Turnbull, A. P., Turnbull, H.R., Shank, M & Smith J. (2002). Exceptional lives: Special education in todays schools.

(3rd Ed.). Englewood cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Children with visual impairments: a parents guide M. Clay Holbrook Ph.D