Essay Example on Education for Visually Impaired Students

Definition of Blindness and Low Vision

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Blindness is the lack of light and form perceptions and is recorded by the NLP an abbreviation that means no light perception. Low vision on the other hand is a condition that is instigated by a disease in which an individuals visual acuity is 20/70 or poorer in the better seeing eye. The condition is labeled low vision if it can never be corrected with regular eyeglasses.

Etiology of Blindness and Low Vision

Eye conditions are the masterminds responsible for low vision in persons. Commonly known causes of low vision include:

Macular degeneration; it is a condition that affects the retinas light sensitivity lining at the black of the eye where pictures are focused. Sharp central vision is situated on the area the macular of the eyes resides. When it deteriorates, it causes blurred vision, which in turn causes difficulty reading and for other individuals, blind spot in the central area of vision. Although oldness is a major contributor of macular degeneration, some habits like nutrition and cigarettes smoking play a role in the development of degeneration.

Another condition that causes low vision is diabetic retinopathy. Visual functioning fluctuates daily in patents because of diabetes. Over time, it causes severe damage of the retina. Diabetes can cause the blood vessels that supply the retina with blood to leak causing low nutrition in the retina. Retinitis pigmentosa can also gradually destroy night vision. Therefore, it reduces the capacity of the eye to see at night and eventually may result to total impairment. It is an inherited condition and produces its first symptom at childhood or adolescence. Acquired traumatic brain damage is a cause of blindness and loss of clear vision if the brain gets a damaged ad stroke. Balance problems, dizziness, misalignment, weird body postures, and reduced visual acuity are the initial symptoms when brain trauma is present (Bruce, 2005).

Disability Characteristics and How They May Impact Learning

Experiences will contrast, depending on the natural surroundings of students with vision loss, any associated disability, their private setting and situations and distinct factors like age and persona. Moreover, they will need extra help when edifying themselves alongside daily living skills. Low vision students will need aids to learn like the large print learning material and software. On the other hand the students with blindness are characterized by the lack of vision hence need to use audio aids and tactile tools to learn. However, students with blindness and low vision and blindness have low vision and may find processing of visual information difficult and tiring. Their learning will be slower than usual students will, since they have a problem with getting the right information. Corrected visual learning is a way to assist the students gain more in class Barclay, (Herlich, & Sacks, 2010).

Eligibility in Oregon State

The student must fall under the criteria of the eleven disabilities stated in the OARs. Eligibility decisions are made by the special education team that deliberates on the qualifications of the child in need. They are normally a team inclusive of an experienced person in the related field of disability. The students regular teacher is also part of the team. They assess all the areas related to the suspected need of the student where they determine the primary disability. Oregon does not require double eligibility for a single student hence secondary should not result to another disability.

Teacher Practices Regarding The Supervision And Collaboration With Para-Educators, The Collaboration With Parents, And Coordination And Collaboration Related Services.

The educators are required to use both regular curriculum and expanded core curriculum to address the needs of the students with low vision and blindness. These curriculums include skills required at a greater depth than sighted peers do and skills the students with sight may not require. Expanded core curriculum skills include listening skills, social interaction skills, independent living, reaction and leisure skills, career transition skills orientation and mobility, literacy and braille, visual efficiency skills and compensatory skills (Anthony et al, 2002). Supervision for the students is heightened since they require more time as compared to the regular students who find it easier when they learn in class. The students are subjected to more specified supervision in order to place them in the same level as sighted students. Collaborative techniques are required to assist in the impartation of knowledge, as the students may need expertise from other knowledgeable professionals who are conversant with the problem.

Parents

Parent and teacher could collaborate to assist the child in when gaining educational material since they are the people who spend more time with them. Furthermore, students with disabilities are more comfortable around their kin since they feel more protected and can express themselves comprehensively because they are comfortable in the surrounding. A closer interaction and observation of both parents and educators benefits in the sense that the teacher shares the methods used to educate the child and the parents give the teachers the bio data on how the students comfort zones preset themselves (Cascella, Trief, & Bruce, 2012). In turn, they assist the student in learning where the environment favors them.

Ideas on Inclusion

Adaptation for color and visual discrimination problems is one of the ideas that are inclusive in the education of visually impaired students in a general class.

Moreover, sessions of counseling will be advocated for better self-stimulation of the student. To enable them further, inclusion of read aloud sessions in class will be a mandatory practice in the class.

Facilitation of the cd prints materials and audio tapes will assist in the class.

Another viable idea is to make sure the use of hands on models and manipulatives are included in the curriculum of the students learning.

Websites

http://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/

https://www.naset.org/learningdisabilitie2.0.html

http://www.teachblindstudents.org/

References

Anthony, T. L., Bleier, H., Fazzi, D. L., Kish, D., & Pogrund, R. L. (2002). Mobility focus: Developing early skills for orientation and mobility. In R. L. Pogrund & D. L. Fazzi (Eds.), Early focus: Working with young children who are blind or visually impaired and their families (2nd ed., pp. 326-355). New York, NY: AFB Press

Barclay, L., Herlich, S. A., & Sacks, S. Z. (2010). Effective teaching strategies: Case studies from the alphabetic Braille and contracted Braille study. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 104, 753-764.

Bruce, S. M. (2005). The impact of congenital deafblindness on the struggle to symbolism. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 52, 233-251.

Cascella, P. W., Trief, E., & Bruce, S. M. (2012). Comparing parent and teacher ratings of communication among children with severe disabilities and visual impairment/blindness. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 33, 249-251.