The document discusses blindness and low vision, including types of visual impairments and problems. It describes identifying visual impairments in infants and children, as well as implications and interventions. Strategies for teaching students with visual loss include ensuring attention, removing obstacles, moving closer during instruction, using assistive technologies like Braille, and developing other senses to acquire information.
The document discusses blindness and low vision, including types of visual impairments and problems. It describes identifying visual impairments in infants and children, as well as implications and interventions. Strategies for teaching students with visual loss include ensuring attention, removing obstacles, moving closer during instruction, using assistive technologies like Braille, and developing other senses to acquire information.
The document discusses blindness and low vision, including types of visual impairments and problems. It describes identifying visual impairments in infants and children, as well as implications and interventions. Strategies for teaching students with visual loss include ensuring attention, removing obstacles, moving closer during instruction, using assistive technologies like Braille, and developing other senses to acquire information.
The document discusses blindness and low vision, including types of visual impairments and problems. It describes identifying visual impairments in infants and children, as well as implications and interventions. Strategies for teaching students with visual loss include ensuring attention, removing obstacles, moving closer during instruction, using assistive technologies like Braille, and developing other senses to acquire information.
Inclusive Education (PRED 03) Chapter 4: Learners with Blindness or Low Vision
Presented by: Mariella Alexes R. Espiritu Instructor Blindness and Vision Impairments • Blind—visual loss is severe enough that it is not possible to read print. • Low vision—residual vision is sufficient to allow a child to read large print or possibly regular print under special conditions and to use other visual materials for educational purposes. Visual Impairment 1. "Partially sighted" is usually used in educational contexts to describe a visual impairment that requires special education services. 2. "Low vision" is used to describe a loss of visual acuity while retaining some vision 3. "Legally blind" indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better eye or a very limited field of vision (20 degrees at its widest point); and 4. Totally blind students learn via braille or other non- visual media. Types of Vision Problems A.Physical Abnormalities B. Visual Acuity Problems C. Muscular Abnormalities Blindness and Vision Impairments (continued)
• Types of vision problems
A. Physical abnormalities • Cataracts
• Glaucoma Blindness and Vision Impairments (continued)
• Retinopathy of prematurity • (ROP) is a developmental disease of the eye that affects premature infants. When a baby is born, the retinal blood vessels have not completed their development. • Cortical blindness (Neurological Visual Impairment or Cortical Visual Impairment) • occurs when the part of the brain that is responsible for seeing is damaged. • Types of vision problems B. Visual acuity problems • Refraction – focusing light as it passes through different components of the eye – Refractive errors are more common and include: • Astigmatism – focusing problems whether stimuli are near or far; usually present at birth; may cause headaches, nausea or tired eyes • Hyperopia – can see better at far distances than close up • Myopia – can see better at close range than at distances Taylor/Smiley/Richards, Exceptional Students • Types of vision problems A. Ocular Motility Defects – Nystagmus – eyes move abruptly in continual jerky types of involuntary motion; may cause the student to tilt or turn his/her head to try to see better – Strabismus – any deviation in the alignment of the eyes as a result of muscle imbalance or neurological condition – Amblyopia – suppression of images which causes a blurred image in either or both eyes (“lazy eye”); can lead to permanent vision loss if untreated Taylor/Smiley/Richards, Exceptional Students Possible Characteristics of Students with of Blindness or Low Vision?(continued on the next slide) • Intellectual Characteristics: The ability to see may have little or no effect on one’s general intelligence. • Play and Social Interaction Skills: These may be delayed. • Language and Concept Development: Language does not appear to be significantly affected for many students. Association of words with concepts and understanding concepts may be difficult without hands-on experiences. Taylor/Smiley/Richards, Exceptional Students Possible Characteristics of Students with of Blindness or Low Vision?(continued on the next slide) • Academic Achievement: When considering achievement, assessment methods should be considered. Students with blindness or low vision can succeed in academics at the same rate as their peers. • Perceptual Abilities: Visual perception may be significantly affected and include orientation, mobility, and wayfinding • Psychological and Social Adjustment: These areas may be affected including social isolation and negative reactions from peers Taylor/Smiley/Richards, Exceptional Students How is Blindness and Low Vision Identified in Infants and Toddlers? • Medical professionals may diagnose based on a child’s lack of visual fixation on parents’ faces or interesting objects, abnormal eye movement, family history, and visual acuity.
Taylor/Smiley/Richards, Exceptional Students How is Blindness and Low Vision Identified in School-Aged Students? • Snellen charts are used for screening. • Teacher reports of frequent behaviors (rubbing eyes, squinting, tilting head to look at books, holding objects close to eyes, etc.) that indicate problems seeing. • Comprehensive assessment – follows confirmation of a vision loss adversely affecting educational performance
Taylor/Smiley/Richards, Exceptional Students Problems faced by Learners with Visual Loss • Difficulty in reading and copying from the chalkboard and therefore may lag behind others in academic activities • Difficulty in reading books written on ordinary prints • Difficulty in finding their way within the class and school Problems faced by Learners with Visual Loss • Difficulty in identifying objects and posters and other learning materials within the class • Difficulty in learning concepts that have to be perceived through sight, such as colour and sky Implications of Visual Loss • Range of variety of experiences – if the onset of blindness comes early in life the child will not have visual concepts and will therefore have a limited range and variety of experiences. • Ability to move about (mobility) – is restricted because the individual does not have visual stimulation and feedback that will stimulate further investigations. Implications of Visual Loss • Control of the environment – it is difficult to familiarize with what is going on in the environment so they cannot choose freely to do what they want they want and they may find it difficult to choose friends that interest them. • Psychological development - Self concept - they tend to have more difficulty establishing their personal identity because of their poorly defined role within a sighted world. Implications of Visual Loss • Isolation and withdrawal - they may have a tendency to be isolated socially and this makes it difficult to choose companions, always needing to be spoken for first. • Inadequate social role models – because of social behaviour and attitudes are learned by observation and imitation, a person who has visual loss finds it difficult to emulate the role models with whom they are in daily contact with. Due to limited variety of observations their opportunities for participation in social activities are also restricted. Implications of Visual Loss • Educational development: Implications on cognitive development – a visual loss present at birth deprives the child of vital source of sensory information from the environment this deprivation has a negative influence on the child’s cognitive development. Loss of vision at an early age cause uneven intellectual growth, as rapid intellectual development occurs during the first four years of life. Interventions • Medical intervention – most eye diseases and defects can be prevented or treated. • Children should therefore be referred to hospitals that have eye units to undertake; • cataracts extractions, trachoma and other eye treatment, provision of eye glasses to improve vision Interventions • Educational intervention – for children ho can read enlarged print and have little or no problems in mobility, the following interventions can be used: - • move the child nearer to the chalkboard in the classroom or in a position which allow him/her to participate well in learning activities • provide large print materials Interventions • advise parents to provide optical low-vision devices • assign sighted learners in the class to act as guide. Make sure they don’t become too dependent on them • treat them just the same way as their peers Interventions • encourage them to participate in as many school activities as possible • arrange the classroom in such a way that, there is enough lighting and • remember some may not tolerate bright lights Interventions • For children who are blind and those whose vision is severely impaired, that they cannot read or write print, they can be helped through – orientation and mobility training – training in typing, Braille reading and writing – training on activities of daily living – training on listening skills – provision of tactile diagrams Strategies for teaching students with Visual Loss a) Teacher should make sure that having learner’s attention before beginning any instruction or demonstration. b) Remove all obstacles in the class that may interfere with the students mobility. c) When giving instruction or demonstration to the class the teacher should move closer to the learner. Strategies for teaching students with Visual Loss d) The teacher should help the learner by recording some instructions of the lesson on tape. e) The teacher should teach the learners to use a Braille machine or a type-writer . f) The use of large print for all reading materials should be used. Strategies for teaching students with Visual Loss g) Place the child close to the teacher and board or any visual aids related to what is being taught. h) Work with the child to develop an acute sense of touch and hearing in order to acquire information. i) Work closely with parents to develop orientation and mobility strategies that can be learnt and applied in both settings. Strategies for teaching students with Visual Loss j) Be consistent with where you place materials and other classroom related equipments to enable the student to be able to locate them independently.
