Guide
Low vision accommodations for print materials
A quick bulleted list of the accommodations for print materials I received as a high school student with low vision.
While attending Virginia public schools, I had three different types of disability accommodations that I received over the years, including a Student Assistance Plan (SAP), a 504 Plan, and an Individualized Education Program (IEP). My disability accommodations evolved with me as my vision changed over time, and my vision loss has continued to progress since I graduated high school. However, I often get questions from people asking what my low vision accommodations for print materials looked like in different high school classes, so I’ve created this post to give a quick summary of what printed materials looked like for each of my classes, along with related links for further reading. Please note that these are not the accommodations or font sizes that I currently use.
English
- 22 point bold Arial font, on 8.5 x 11 blue/yellow paper
- Digital high resolution graphics as needed along with image descriptions
- Digital copies of books downloaded from Bookshare and/or Barnes and Noble
Related links
- Paper Colors And Low Vision
- My Eight Favorite Free Fonts For Print Disabilities
- How To Create Accessible Assignments With Microsoft Office Sway
- Ten Cool Things You Didn’t Know About Bookshare
- Taking Online English Classes With Low Vision
Geography
- 22 point bold Arial font, on 11 x 17 off white paper.
- Maps outlined in black Sharpie and the symbols enlarged 500%.
- High resolution graphics provided digitally on my laptop and on the class projector
- This class did not use textbooks
Related links
- How To Create High Resolution Images For Users With Low Vision
- My Appearance On AT The Heart: Assistive And Inclusive Technology Stories Podcast
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
- High School Laptops and Low Vision
- Using An Overhead Projector For Standardized Testing
Spanish/foreign language
- 22 point bold Arial font on 8.5 x 11 blue/yellow paper.
- Accent marks outlined in black Sharpie.
- Pictures were often eliminated since they were used for decorative purposes
- Textbooks and workbooks through AIM-VA
Related links
- All About AIM-VA
- What’s In My High School Backpack As A Low Vision Student
- My Talk At I’m Determined Summit: Crash Course In Immersive Reader
- How To Access Images Without Alt Text
- How To Request Accessible Textbooks In College
Math
- 22 point bold Arial font on 11 x 17 blue/yellow paper.
- Specific accommodation to use Sharpie pens instead of pencils.
- Graphs were either presented as high resolution images or outlined in black Sharpie.
- Textbooks from AIM-VA.
Related links
- Five Websites That Help Students With Low Vision In The Math Classroom
- Five Calculator Apps That Help Students With Low Vision In The Classroom
- How To Create Tactile Images With Everyday Objects
- Writing Utensils and Low Vision
- Math Test Accommodations For Low Vision
- No-Tech Solutions For Drawing Graphs With Low Vision And Dysgraphia
Science
- 22 point bold Arial font on 11 x 17 blue paper.
- Graphs and images presented digitally.
- Lab partner that can help with reading information during labs
- Textbooks from AIM-VA and Amazon.
Related links
- Science Labs and Low Vision
- Science Fairs and Low Vision
- 5 Apps That Help Students With Low Vision In The Science Classroom
- Notability and Low Vision Review
- Creating Audio Description For Science Experiments With YouDescribe
- Why I Prefer My Schoolwork Digitally: Updated Edition
Band
- Music enlarged 250%-300% on 11 x 17 off white paper that was cut into segments for easier page turns.
- Dynamics and other markings were highlighted with black Sharpie.
- Digital PDF files so I could play music on my iPad as needed
Related links
- Ways To Use Music Stands As Assistive Technology
- Tips For Reading Music On An iPad With Low Vision
- My Large Print Music Binder
- How To Make Music Accessible With Microsoft PowerPoint
Other links on disability accommodations
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
- How To Come Up With Sample Accommodations
- Learning to Self-Advocate
- What I’ve Learned About Print Disabilities
- Eight Things You Need To Know About Your Disability Accommodations
- Five Things Your IEP Case Manager Won’t Tell You
- Ten Lessons My TVI Taught Me
- Testing Accommodations For Low Vision Students
- Why You Should Get A Disability Services File
By Veronica Lewis/Veronica With Four Eyes, www.veroniiiica.com
Updated July 2023; original post published February 2017
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