Children with blindness and visual impairments Katie Sullivan

Children with blindness and visual impairments Katie Sullivan and Evan Straub

Label Visual impairment – VI National Agency • National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) • National Federation for the Blind (NFB)

Definitions Blindness: Loss of useful sight. Blindness can be temporary or permanent. Damage to any portion of the eye, the optic nerve, or the area of the brain responsible for vision can lead to blindness. There are numerous (actually, innumerable) causes of blindness. The current politically correct terms for blindness include visually handicapped and visually challenged. Visual Impairment: Visual impairment or low vision is a severe reduction in vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and reduces a person's ability to function at certain or all tasks.

Characteristics Impairment of vision on a spectrum ranging from near or far-sightedness to complete blindness. Difficulty seeing, discomfort in the eyes, awareness of the eyes, foreign body sensation, pain in the eyes or discharge from the eyes may be present or absent, depending on the underlying cause of the blindness, and discoloration of the eye.

Causes of blindness Myopia (Nearsightedness) -Hyperopia (Farsightedness) -Astigmatism- Glaucoma Albinism: Inherited condition -Amblyopia (“lazy eye”) -Cataracts: Opacity or cloudiness of the lens. Coloboma: A birth defect which causes a cleft in the pupil, iris, lens, retina, choroid, or optic nerve Nystagmus: Involuntary movement of the eye. Optic Nerve Atrophy: Damage or degeneration to the optic nerve which carries visual signals to the brain. Optic Nerve Hypoplasia: Underdevelopment of the optic nerve in utero Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP): a hereditary, degenerative condition of the retina Retinoblastoma: A cancerous tumor of the retina Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP): Disruption in the normal development of blood vessels of the retina in premature infants Strabismus: A muscle imbalance resulting in the inability of both eyes to look directly at an object at the same time

Non-Physical causes of Blindness CORTICAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS- due to damage to the visual cortex of the brain or the visual pathways which results in the brain not adequately receiving or interpreting visual information. Often in conjunction with cerebral palsy, seizure disorder, and developmental delays as a result of the damage to the brain. Shaken-Baby Syndrome (can cause retinal detachment)

Teaching Strategies Speak to the class upon entering and leaving the room or site. Call the student by name if you want his/her attention. Seat the student away from glaring lights and preferably in front of the class. Use descriptions in relation to the student's body orientation. Be specific in directions and avoid the use of vague terms with unusable information Describe pertinent visual occurrences Describe and tactually familiarize the student to the room and give verbal notice of room changes Offer to read written information, offer appropriate textbooks. Let the student know if you need to move or leave or need to end a conversation. Always identify yourself and others who are present. Also use an auditory or tactile signal where a visual signal is normally

How to evaluate for impairments These tests may include but are not limited to: measures of visual acuity (both near and distance) eye preference color vision visual fields visual discrimination depth perception contrast sensitivity reading rate and comprehension

How to evaluate: classroom assessments Testing accommodations/modifications: flexibility in scheduling/timing flexibility in the setting used for the administration of assessments changes in the method of presentation changes in the method of response simplification or explanation of test questions reading of items designed to test the student's reading skills use of spell and/or grammar-checking devices on a test of the student's writing skills use of a calculator on a test of the student's computational skills.

How to encourage participation Call on student by name to give answers Describe activities in detail Always provide the visual aides necessary for participation Use hands-on activities Use auditory activities and out loud reading

Accommodations Using tactile graphics Screen readers Talking equiptment (calculators) Enlarged Print Screen/text filters Magnifiers

Simulations http: //www. richmondeye. com/simulation. asp#ref http: //ohiolionseyeresearch. com/simulati. htm#Normal View http: //www. lighthouse. org/about-low-vision- blindness/vision-simulator/ (http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=7 Xm. Uxf 35 AVk&f eature=related) http: //visionsimulations. com/index. php? option=com_c ontent&task=view&id=53&Itemid=146#