Literacy for Students with Low Vision

Students with low vision need careful assessment to determine whether print, braille, or both are the appropriate learning media, and teaching techniques appropriate to their needs. This section has links to information about assessment and literacy instruction strategies for students with low vision.

Early Literacy and the Child with Low Vision: What Parents Should Know, Foundation Fighting Blindness
http://www.blindness.org/coping/story.asp?id=40
This article discusses methods of reading instruction for children with low vision and explores the benefits of dual learning, the concurrent teaching of print and braille.

Educational Interventions for Students with Low Vision, American Foundation for the Blind
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=44&TopicID=189&DocumentID=2646
AFB describes educational interventions for students with low vision, including creating access to the visual environment, information, and the curriculum.

Facilitating Visual Efficiency and Access to Learning for Students with Low Vision, Council for Exceptional Children  - Division on Visual Impairments (DVI)
www.cecdvi.org/Postion%20Papers/Low%20Vision%20Part%201.doc
DVI's position paper asserts the need for "appropriate assessment, instruction, and adaptations" and sets guidelines for providing an appropriate education program for students with low vision.

The Great Debate: Braille or Print for Students with Low Vision?
http://blindness.growingstrong.org/ed/aa050800a.htm
Sarah Blake explores the factors for deciding whether students with low vision should learn print or braille.

How Students with Low Vision Read and Write, Family Connect for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsite.asp?SectionID=77&TopicID=356&DocumentID=3872
This article describes low vision devices, print size, and literacy issues at school for students learning to read both print and braille.

Your Child's Right to Read, National Federation of the Blind
http://nfb.org/legacy/fr/fr2/fr99sf07.htm
Carol Castellano, president of New Jersey Parents of Blind Children, outlines a process that can be used to determine whether print or braille is the most appropriate learning medium for a child with low vision.

Research

Learning and Using Print and Braille: A Study of Dual-Media Learners, Part 1, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ755430
In Part I of a "study on the instruction of children who were learning or using braille and print simultaneously (dual media)" Kelley Lusk and Anne Corn explore demographics, the media assessment process, and attitudes of students and parents.

Learning and Using Print and Braille: A Study of Dual-Media Learners, Part 2, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/2b/2e/22.pdf
In Part II of a "study on the instruction of children who were learning or using braille and print simultaneously (dual media)" Kelley Lusk and Anne Corn explore the instructional methods, curricular decisions, current literacy levels, reading rates, and teachers' expectations.

Literacy for Students with Low Vision: A Framework for Delivery of Instruction, Cleveland Sight Center
http://www.clevelandsightcenter.org/SevenSees/Low_Vision_Delphi_Synopsis.pdf
Dr. Anne Corn and Alan J. Koenig study is aimed at gaining "professional consensus on the appropriate levels of instructional services to address the literacy needs of students with low vision."