Special Education-Chapter 12-Students With Vision Impairments

Amblyopia

(Lazy eye) is a reduction in or loss of vision that usually occurs in children who strongly favor one eye.

Eye socket

-(Orbit) the bony region containing the eyeball; -The orbital cavity.

Video magnifiers

-Electronic low-vision aids; -Allows changes in magnification and for the image to be manipulated and controlled.

Learning media assessment

-Evaluation process that gathers a variety of information to determine the primary and secondary learning media and literacy needs for students with visual impairments; -Often addresses a student's use of sensory channels and needs for general learning media.

Eye lids

Two movable folds of skin whose function is to protect front of eye.

Sclera

White part of the eye.

Number of people ages 12/older in the US have some type of vision impairment/could function with corrective lenses.

~14 million.

Low vision (moderate-severe visual impairment)

-Have some vision, but have difficulty accomplishing typical visual tasks, -Using compensatory strategies, technology, & environmental modifications, these individuals can enhance their ability to accomplish these tasks, -Students with this may need to use large print for reading, strong magnifying devices, & other adaptations, -Some students in this group also may learn to read braille & use tactile & auditory approaches to complete tasks.

Other historical developments

2.

Students who have a visual acuity between __/__ & __/___ typically would be considered mild/moderate functional visual impairments.

20/70 & 20/200.

Minimal level of acuity restriction for the purposes of qualifying for special services.

20/70 (sometimes 20/60 or better).

Number of students with visual impairments according to the US Department of Education.

25,567.

Grade 1 Braille

A beginning level of Braille in which a word is spelled out with a Braille letter corresponding to each printed letter.

Cogenital visual impairment

A condition that's present at birth.

Glaucoma

A group of eye diseases characterized by increased intraocular pressure.

Braillewriter

A machine for writing Braille.

Grade 2 Braille

A more complex level of Braille in which contractions are used to represent parts of words or whole words.

Stereotypical behavior

A pattern of behavior repeated with little variation in performance.

Optometrist

A person skilled in testing for defects of vision in order to prescribe corrective glasses.

Braille

A system of writing that uses raised dots which are read by the fingertips of a blind person.

Adventitious visual impairment

A visual condition that is acquired after birth.

KNFB

An alternative device like a video magnifier.

Functional vision assessment

An appraisal of an individual's use of vision in everyday situations.

Functionally blind

An educational description when the primary channel of learning is through tactile and auditory means.

Learning Media Assessment (LMA)

Examines a student's overall approach using a sensory information for learning, & identifies the kinds of literacy media that a student needs for school.

1900

First part-time class for students with visual impairments established on an experimental basis in the Chicago Public Schools.

Example of day-to-day adaptive techniques:

Folding money in ways to denote various denominations.

Samuel Gridley Howe (1801-1876)

Founder of the first American school for the blind students.

Alphabetic Braille

Grade 1 braille.

Literally Braille

Grade 2 Braille.

Low-vision devices

Optical and nonoptical devices and strategies that allow an individual with low vision to accomplish near and distant tasks.

Ophthalmologist

Physician who studies and treats diseases of the eye.

Uveal tract

Second layer of the eye that provides nutrition to it.

Visual acuity

Sharpness of vision.

1950's

Significant change came in this decade when a dramatic increase occurred in the number of babies who were visually impaired because of a condition called retrolental fibroplasia (RLF).

Braille printer

Special printer that can produce Braille text.

Synthetic speech

Speech generated by computers by converting text into phonetic sounds.

Example of how some students that're visually impaired may learn to read braille & use tactile & auditory approaches to complete tasks:

Students might learn to listen to books on tape to supplement print/braille reading.

Professionals generally use this term

Visually impaired.

IDEA's definition of vision impairment

-"Including blindness means a visual impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance, -The term includes both partial sight & blindness."

Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)

-A condition resulting from administration of an excessive concentration of oxygen at birth; -Causes scar tissue to form behind the lens of the eye.

1st historical development

-A radical shift in the methods used to teach students who were partially sighted, -In contrast to the earlier practice of sight saving for these students, research indicated that using residual vision could actually improve visual efficiency, & so sight-saving classes were disbanded in favor of programs that emphasized using available vision.

2nd historical development

-A sudden increase in the number of students with visual impairments who had additional disabilities--the result of a rubella epidemic in 1964 & 1965 that left 30,000 infants born with deaf-blindness & other health conditions, -Advancements in medical interventions for premature infants has increased their survival rate dramatically, but these infants often have multiple disabilities, including visual impairments, -Today, it's estimated that half/more of students with visual impairments have additional disabilities.

Bookshare

-Accessible for anyone with a qualifying print disability, -Used with DAISY, apps, and downloaded for Braille ready format.

Retrolental fibroplasia

-Blindness in newborn infants, -Oxygen poisoning from incubators of premature babies, -Complete or near complete blindness.

Examples of kinds of literacy:

-Braille, -Large type, -Regular type.

2 other terms that're used to describe visual impairments:

-Congenital, -Adventitious.

Examples of orientation & mobile skills:

-Contemporaries for traveling safely & efficiently through one's environment, -Tools.

Social characteristics (hardships)

-Developing friendships, -Promoting risk taking & decision making, -Maintaining eye contact & facial orientation, -Demonstrating confident body postures, -Using appropriate gestures & facial expressions, -Using appropriate voice tone & inflection, -Expressing feelings, -Timing messages during communication, -Demonstrating appropriate assertiveness.

Nonoptical devices

-Devices or strategies that do not involve optics used to improve visual performance of tasks for individuals with low vision; -Examples include: *Book stands, *Writing guides, *Lighting, *Large type materials.

Optical devices

-Devices that incorporate lens systems to enhance visual functioning for individuals with low vision; -Examples include: *Magnifiers, *Monoculars, *Binoculars.

Clinical low vision evaluation

-Examination performed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist who specializes in low vision to determine whether an individual with a visual impairment would benefit from the use of optical devices, -Nonoptical devices, or other strategies to enhance visual functioning.

Examples of objects that're unsafe:

-Fire, -Moving vehicles.

Characteristics of these new classes:

-Students spend most of the day in general ed classes & received instruction in braille & typing from a special teacher, -Were designed specifically for students with low vision who weren't blind; -The intent was to rely on oral instruction as a means of preserving their residual sight, an approach referred to as sight saving.

Examples of variety of settings:

-Up close, -At a distance.

2 subcategories of visual impairments:

-Low vision, -Blindness.

Examples of low-vision devices:

-Magnifier, -Spectacle mounted.

Examples of objects that're too large:

-Mountains, -Skyscrapers.

Howe developed these 3 principles principles:

-Pay attention to each student's individual's needs; -Provide a curriculum similar to that for sighted students; -Expect students to integrate into their communities.

Electronic braillewriter

-Produces braille but has special features, such as synthetic speech, braille & print translation, automatic erase & connection, & a memory for storing files, -It can also interface with a computer, printer, & other devices.

Cognitive characteristics of visual impairments

-Range & variety of experiences, -Ability to move around, -Interaction with the environment.

Legal blindness

-Refers to central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correction, -Or a peripheral visual field of 20 degrees or less.

Blindness (profound vision impairment)

-Refers to having no vision/only light perception, or the ability to determine the presence/absence of light, -Students with this complete most/all tasks primarily using touch & hearing, -Students learn to read & write braille & use many day-to-day adaptive techniques.

Examples of touch & hearing that don't compensate entriely for the quick & holistic information provided by vision:

-Size, -Color, -Spatial relationships.

Examples of objects that're too fragile:

-Snow flakes, -Small insects.

Examples of objects that're too far away:

-Stars, -Horizon.

Additional examples of visual impairments:

-Strabismus, -Amblyopia, -Cataract, -Glaucoma.

Consultant model

-Supply specific suggestions for activities that parents and teachers can use to engage the client, -Provide training in specific techniques -ongoing assessment and evaluation of the client's program, -Helping teachers understand and manage challenging behaviors.

Visual impairment specialists

-Teachers specifically trained to work with students with visual impairments, -Work with young children that they have a wide range of experiences & develop the unique perpetual & hand movement skills needed for braille reading.

Examples of sensory information for learning:

-Visual, -Tactile, -Auditory.

Number of students with deaf-blindness between the ages of 6 & 21 according to the US Department of Education who received

1,243.

Visual Impairment (VI)

An impairment (including blindness) in vision that, even with correction, may adversely affect a student's educational performance.

Refreshable Braille display

An output device that has a row of mechanical dots which can be raised or lowered as required to make Braille characters.

Refraction

Bending of light rays by the cornea, lens, and fluids of the eye to bring the rays into focus on the retina.

Nemeth Code

Braille symbols used for mathematics and science.

Example of a tool.

Cane.

Cataract

Clouding of the lens of the eye, which causes poor vision.

Iris

Colored part of the eye.

Orientation & mobility skills

Competencies used by persons with visual impairments to travel safely and efficiently in the environment.

Strabismus

Cross-eyed.

Tear ducts

Deliver tears from the lacrimal gland to the space behind the upper eyelid.

Federal government uses this term

Disabilities.

Educationally blind

Disability in which the auditory and tactile senses generally are used for learning during the school years, often including the use of braille.

Access technologies

High-tech and low-tech devices and software that allow persons with impairments to gain access to computers and other forms of information.

Unifed English Braille (UEB)

Implemented in the US as the literary braille system.

Blindness

Inability to see.

Dr. Johnathan Nemeth

Invented UEB in 1972.

Louis Braille (1809-1852)

Invented a printing system for the blind that consists of dots.

Vitreous humor

Jellylike substance found behind the lens in the posterior cavity of the eye that maintains its shape.

Example of ability to move around

Mobility.

1832

New England Asylum for The Blind (now Perkins School for The Blind) opens.

IDEA & ADA use this term

Visual disabilities.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Technology that can translate a scanned document image into text that can be edited and formatted.

Sight saving

The intent was to rely on oral instruction as a means of preserving their residual sight.

Optic nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Pupil

The opening through which light enters the eye.

Cornea

The transparent outer covering of the eye.

Lens

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

Visual field

The whole area that you can see without moving your head or eyes.

Low vision

Visual acuity between 20/70 and 20/200 in the better eye eye with correction/a visual field of 20-40 degrees/less in the better eye without correction.