For students who are visually impaired or deafblind, learning how to use all their senses to explore the world around them is crucial to their ability to learn and engage with their surroundings. A child who is blind may not be able to see a rose bush, but he may be able to smell its aroma, touch its silky petals or hear the wind rustling its leaves.
With strong sensory efficiency skills, students can use their senses – including any usable vision – to get information about objects and their environment. Parents can help build these skills by setting up safe opportunities for their child to explore.
In this hour-long webinar with Donna Duggan Edwards, you will learn:
How to understand your child’s visual impairment and what his or her usable vision might look like
Ways to encourage and facilitate exploration in a safe manner
How all the senses can be used to gain information about objects and surroundings
Tips for building sensory exploration into everyday activities like errands or even a walk around the block
How to monitor your child’s progress and adapt to the constant evolution of building sensory efficiency skills
Webinar presenter
Donna Duggan Edwards, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Orientation & Mobility Specialist
Donna has worked at Perkins School for the Blind in various capacities for more than 30 years, and is currently the Low Vision Clinic Liaison for both the Early Learning Center and the Lower School. Previously, she completed Perkins’ Teacher Trainee program (now the Educational Leadership Program) while working in the Secondary Program and preschool, and worked as an orientation and mobility specialist in the Lower School. Donna is a Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired as well as a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist, and has taught courses at Boston College and the University of Massachusetts at Boston. She is married and has two teenage sons.