For Teachers of Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

The trend in recent years has been for all children, including those with blindness or visual impairments, to attend their local schools. However, there are still many challenges to providing quality services to all students: lack of trained teachers, scarcity of materials, and little information about these students’ needs.

The articles in this section explore some of the obstacles and offer suggestions for making education accessible to students who are blind or visually impaired.

Assessment & Early Intervention

Assessment of Vision Functioning in Multi-Disabled and Visually Impaired Children for Early Intervention Planning, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
An outline of the system used in Prague to assess the vision of young children.

Development Activities, Hesperian Foundation
Scroll down to Chapter  35. This chapter from David Werner’s book, Disabled Village Children, focuses on ways to stimulate the development of young children.  Clear line drawings illustrate each point;  in English and Spanish (fee required).

Early Childhood Intervention, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
An outline of the skill areas in which young children with visual impairment need special instruction.

Early Intervention for Children with Visual Impairments, Eyeway.org (India)
The impact of early vision loss, with suggestions for activities that promote development. Focus is on increasing awareness of people and the surroundings.
         
Helping My Child, Sense International (India)
Suggestions for increasing a child's independence in self-care and the activities of daily life. Also available as a PDF.

Observation and Testing Visual Skills, Eyeway.org
A chronological sequence of normal visual development during the first year of life.

Playing with My Child, Sense International (India)
Ideas for encouraging play with children who are deafblind; characteristics of a good toy.

Strategies of Intervention Services for Visually Impaired Children during Early Childhood Stage, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
The importance of early intervention services for children with visual impairments, and a list of signs that may indicate a vision problem.

Toys You Can Make, Hesperian Foundation
Scroll down to Appendix B, “Toys You Can Make.” This section from Helping Children Who Are Blind includes ideas for making toys that encourage development; in English and Spanish.

Classroom Teaching Techniques

Adecuaciones curriculares y Creacion de Servicios Para la Atencion de los Multidiscapacitados con Ceguera de Base en Chile, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
The English title is “Curricular Adaptations and Creation of Services for Multi-handicapped Blind Persons in Chile”; in Spanish.

Education of Visually Impaired Pupils in Ordinary Schools, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
This 134-page handbook advises the general classroom teacher on"curriculum plus skills," materials, adaptations, and additional resources.

Embracing Diversity: Toolkit for Creating Inclusive, Learning-Friendly Environments, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education
Self-study kit to help teachers create an inclusive, learning-friendly environment; in English and Bahasa Indonesia. Available as a PDF as well.

An Introduction to Tactile Teaching Aids, Eyeway.org (India)
Suggestions for creating tactile teaching aids, including clocks, a geometry kit, tactile maps, globe, chemical equation tiles, and more.

Orientation & Mobility

Active Learning: An Approach to Teaching Orientation and Mobility to Preschool Students with Vision Impairment in Vietnam, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
This “active learning” approach incorporates play into mobility instruction. Advice for creating adaptations appropriate to local social, cultural and economic conditions.

Assisted Techniques for Children, The League of Friends of the Blind (South Africa)
Sighted guide techniques designed for those assisting children.

Working with Parents

Activities for the Young Baby (Birth to 6 Months), Hesperian Foundation
Scroll down to Chapter 5, “Activities for the Young Baby.” This chapter from the Hesperian Foundation book, Helping Children Who Are Blind, focuses on helping babies to trust people and their surroundings, respond to sounds, and develop motor skills.  Numerous line drawings; in English and Spanish.

The Blind Afghan Child, Independent Living Institute
Describes how a young man born blind in a remote Afghan village gained skills that allowed him to take his part in community life and later to earn his living. Transcriptions of a series of 1984 radio broadcasts for Afghan families.

Involvement of Family in the Comprehensive Rehabilitation of a Child with Visual Impairment, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
The importance of partnerships between professionals and families in the rehabilitation of children with visual impairments.

Starting Village-Based Rehabilitation Activities, Hesperian Foundation
Scroll down to Chapter 45. This chapter from David Werner’s book, Disabled Village Children, describes two models of rehabilitation and offers suggestions to help community members organize themselves; in English and Spanish.

Toys and the Act of Playing as Strategies of Integration of Visually Impaired Children, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
The importance of toys and play in the development of children with visual impairment, with emphasis on the need for collaboration between the family and the school.

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