how to help a blind student in a composition course

How can I make art accessible to students who are blind/visually impaired?

Mar 11, 2016 · The mission of Teaching Students with Visual Impairments is to provide all persons involved in education students who are blind or visually impaired with the necessary resources to help each student become successful members of their communities and to equip those in the visual impairment field with resources to meet the wide range of needs of ...

What is a blind classroom?

High Technology Reading and Writing Devices for People with Vision Problems. Making Your Web Pages and Course Materials Accessible Building Accessible Curriculum and Courseware Tools - Education Beyond the Campus ... Resources for Blind Students Resources for Blind Students Transitions: Reflections of a Blind College Student ...

What are the educational requirements for students who are blind or visually impaired?

Helping Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired Manage Classroom Work and Homework. Your daughter’s fourth grade class is studying the solar system. The midterm assignment is to find out 10 facts about an assigned planet, using sources such as books, magazines, and the Internet. Each student is to make a poster including facts, figures, and any pictures that are …

Can I cover a lesson for a blind student?

Dec 05, 2017 · Avoid words and phrases like “here,” “there,” “over here,” “over there,” and gestures that provide direction, i.e. pointing to a location without verbalizing what is being pointed to because visually impaired students cannot see that. 4. Avoid asking if a student can see something. Don’t ask a student, “Can you see this?”

How can you help a blind student?

10 Tips for Teaching Blind or Visually Impaired StudentsAlways use names. ... It's okay to use words that reference sight. ... Don't gesture, always verbalize. ... Avoid asking if a student can see something. ... Correct seating is crucial. ... Contrast, contrast, contrast! ... Follow the leader. ... Be a confident sighted guide.More items...•Dec 5, 2017

How do you accommodate visually impaired students in the classroom?

What are typical accommodations for students with blindness?Audiotaped, Brailled, or electronically formatted lecture notes, handouts, and texts.Verbal descriptions of visual aids.Raised-line drawings and tactile models of graphic materials.Braille lab signs and equipment labels; auditory lab warning signals.More items...•Apr 9, 2021

How do you teach a blind child to write?

If she has little or no vision, try taking a piece of paper and put it over a piece of window screen cut to fit on a clipboard. When she writes on the paper using a crayon, it will make a raised mark that she can feel. Ask your child's teacher of students with visual impairments to show you how a braillewriter works.

How can a teacher help a learner with visual impairment?

Try to minimise noise and disturbances in the classroom, as the learner with visual impairment relies on verbal instruction and information. Encourage the learner to take responsibility for reminding his teacher when support is needed. Let different classmates take turns in pairing for assistance if necessary.

How can we help the visually impaired?

Let the person who is blind or have low vision take your arm as described in the sighted guide fact sheet. Do not relocate objects or furniture without telling the person who is blind or has low vision. Do not fill glasses or cups to the brim. Use ordinary language when directing or describing and be specific.

How can blind students learn online?

Layer assistive technology on top of the videoconferencing setup. Students who are blind use the JAWS screen reading software to follow along with Lowell's class. They then use Braille displays (small keyboards with just six keys) to share questions and answers with Lowell, who reads Braille.Apr 29, 2013

What is writing for blind?

Braille is a system of reading and writing by touch used by the blind. It consists of arrangements of dots which make up letters of the alphabet, numbers, and punctuation marks.

How do blind students read?

Braille is not a language. It is a tactile code enabling blind and visually impaired people to read and write by touch, with various combinations of raised dots representing the alphabet, words, punctuation and numbers.

What is Mary's knowledge of music for blind students?

Her knowledge on the topic of resources for blind music students arises out of her own experiences in trying to get Braille music instruction for her blind daughter, Beth. Mary also actively shares her knowledge and provides encouragement to other parents about music education as a volunteer through the NOPBC music network.

What is the purpose of Braille for blind students?

While literary Braille is well-known as a tool that blind students can use to read text, surprisingly few people are aware that Louis Braille, a blind piano teacher, also invented music Braille to help blind students learn to read and play music. The general principles of literary Braille and music Braille are similar.

What is the NLS holding?

The NLS holdings, which include virtually all available printed and hand-produced Braille scores, recordings, and texts, offer instrumental music, vocal and choral music, some popular music, librettos, textbooks, instructional method books, and music periodicals.

What is the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped?

The Music Section of the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is the main source for borrowing Braille music in the United States. Materials in Braille make up the largest portion of the collection. The NLS holdings, which include virtually all available printed and hand-produced Braille scores, recordings, and texts, offer instrumental music, vocal and choral music, some popular music, librettos, textbooks, instructional method books, and music periodicals. Recorded courses for beginning guitar, piano, organ, accordion, recorder, voice, and theory have been purchased or specifically developed for the NLS program. Anyone who is unable to read or use standard printed materials as a result of temporary or permanent visual or physical limitations may receive service. Loaned items are sent to borrowers and returned to NLS by postage free mail. The staff also provides information about purchasing or borrowing music from other sources.

What is lesson 25-30?

Lessons 25-30 cover vocal and instrumental music. Each lesson presents the same information for both sighted and blind users, with Braille characters and signs on the left side of each page and text and music on the right side.

How many dots are there in Braille?

The general principles of literary Braille and music Braille are similar. Both systems use a “cell” containing six dots in varying combinations that blind people read by touching, but music Braille, which is the only internationally unified code, assigns different meanings to the dot combinations. Music educators can help blind Braille readers ...

What is tactile music staff?

A tactile music staff with various textures for notes (sandpaper, cardboard, etc.), along with verbal explanations, can provide the student with some idea of the format of printed music, the shapes of print notes and symbols, and the linear motion of notes.

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How to organize a child's school?

Whether at home or school, your child will be more efficient if she has strong organizational skills. For example, if she can distinguish colors, she may want to: 1 use a different color folder for each subject, 2 file handouts in the appropriate folder, and 3 use the same colors for tabs in a three-ring binder.

Why is it important to focus on your child's academics?

An important focus at this stage for you and the other members of your child’s educational team is to help your child develop strategies to keep up with her sighted classmates. Those skills don’t happen automatically.

What is grade school?

Grade school is where students are given an increasing amount of academic work and also learn the structure of the school day. They need to absorb a lot of information to move on to the next level of academic work. An important focus at this stage for you and the other members of your child’s educational team is to help your child develop strategies to keep up with her sighted classmates. Those skills don’t happen automatically. They need to be developed and practiced so that she can later move on to high school with confidence in her academic abilities.

Why is homework important in school?

Homework is an essential part of school. If you find that your child doesn’t get homework assignments, and discover that her sighted classmates do, speak to her teacher and the rest of the educational team about the importance of having the same expectations for your child as for the other students in her class.

How to teach a blind student?

Examine your own beliefs. Be aware of your own acceptance and your beliefs surrounding what a student who is blind or visually impaired can do both in your classroom and as a professional. Your acceptance of a student who has a visual impairment will serve as an example to all the students in your class. Do you have any tips for teaching blind ...

What is a COMS for blind students?

According to the American Foundation for the Blind, each student’s vision needs are individual to them, and it’s important that these students have access to a Certified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (TVI) and/or a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) for consult and professional input.

What words should be avoided in a blind student's vocabulary?

Don’t avoid words like “see” and “look.” Just like their sighted peers, these words should be part of a blind or visually impaired student’s vocabulary to connote how they see, whether by touch, bringing things close or in normal conversation, like saying “see you later!”

How to write on a board?

When writing on the board, always verbalize what you are writing so the student has access to that information and can follow along. Use positional and directional concepts like above/under, on top, behind/in front of, left/right etc. and use descriptive sentences like, “The ball is next to the door” instead of “The ball is over there.” Avoid words and phrases like “here,” “there,” “over here,” “over there,” and gestures that provide direction, i.e. pointing to a location without verbalizing what is being pointed to because visually impaired students cannot see that.

When addressing a visually impaired student, do you use their first name?

Always use a visually impaired student’s first name when addressing them. This way they will know you are talking to them and not someone else . When passing in hallways instead of saying, “Hi” have people announce their name as students may not be able to recognize faces.

Why is correct seating important?

Correct seating is crucial. Always favor the stronger side of the student’s vision due to visual field deficits. For example, if the student only uses his left eye, he would need to sit on the right side of the classroom away from the windows.

Should you hold a student's hand when they are older?

You are not holding them unless it is for their safety. For older students, they hold just above your elbow with their dominant hand. 9. Safety first. Students need to understand the “rules of the road” and always use the right-hand side of hallways or the right railing.

What are the criteria for special education?

To be eligible for special education services as a student with visual impairment, including blindness, a child must meet the following criteria: The child must have a visual impairment. The visual impairment must adversely affect educational performance.

What is FAPE in education?

These protections require that children with disabilities be identified in all areas of disability and be provided with a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). The process through which these protections arise is commonly called the IEP process. IEP stands for individualized education plan.

What percentage of IEPs have low vision?

This section of the IEP is sometimes overlooked, but it is very important. In children, blindness is a low-incidence disability; about one-tenth of 1 percent of children with IEPs have "visual impairment, including blindness" as their primary disability. The relative rarity of our students means that many regular educators and administrators might have no experience with a student with blindness/low vision. As a result, these individuals often need support in making the regular education curriculum accessible and meaningful to students with visual impairment, including blindness.

What is factor 3 in IEP?

Factor number three requires Braille use and instruction for all students identified as having visual impairment, including blindness, until the IEP team determines that Braille is not appropriate for the child (based upon an evaluation of the child's current and future reading and writing needs).

What is the definition of disability for children?

The definition of the disability relevant to our children, visual impairment, including blindness, is "an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness" (34 C.F.R. section 300.8 (c) (13)).

What does ARD stand for in IEP?

Some states use different terminology to refer to the IEP process. Most notably, Texas uses the term ARD, which stands for admissions, review, and dismissal process, to refer to the team meeting at which a student's education plan is created.

What is the right of a legal guardian?

Federal law recognizes the right of legal guardians to serve as decision makers for children in their care. When the term "parent" is used in this article, it is inclusive of legal guardians of the child. Federal law provides legal protections for students with disabilities.

How to be a good Braille reader?

Another mechanical skill a good braille reader should develop is to use very little pressure when touching the braille dots. A student should touch lightly along the top of the braille as they read it. If a child is observed to place too much pressure on the fingertips, remind the child to use a light finger touch.

How to teach a student to read tactual books?

Encourage the student to "read" tactual books using the correct finger position. Encourage the student to use the pointer finger as lead finger and use a pinky finger to detect the end of a line.

What is the Braille Connection?

The Braille Connection: A Braille Reading and Writing Program, available from APH, is designed for former adult and teenage print readers how to read braille. This is a great program that I have used with teenage academic students who are learning braille as a secondary mode of learning.

How to track a raised solid line?

Alternatively, you may choose to begin by using a row of full braille cells to track .

How to do a dot in Braille?

Dot Position in the Braille Cell 1 Encourage the student to identify the one symbol that is different within a group of three symbols, two of which are identical. 2 Encourage the student to match braille configurations. 3 Encourage the student to identify the spaces on a line of groups of braille symbols with one or more spaces between them. 4 Encourage the student to identify the groups of symbols when given a line of braille symbols and groups of braille symbols.

How to teach spatial position in braille?

One of the most widely used method is using a muffin tin with tennis balls. Half dozen egg cartons can also be used or you can find an egg/shape match game.

What does it mean when a student backtracking?

Backtracking is when the student returns to previously read characters if the text doesn't make sense. Although some backtracking is good and can be a positive strategy, excessive backtracking can be an indication that the student is reading at the frustration level and the reading level should be reevaluated.

How to help visual impairments?

Encourage youngsters with visual impairments to listen for the voice of their teacher or the person who is speaking during activities. Teach them to turn their bodies so that they face the speaker while seated. This will take practice until it becomes natural.

How does listening skills help visual impairments?

Listening skill development will improve awareness and understanding of the environment, increasing security and encouraging curiosity. By providing careful support and deliberate instruction in listening skill development, children with visual impairments will thrive and enjoy their early school experiences.

Why is my son struggling in school?

He may need to have materials prepared in his preferred medium or format, he may need preferential seating, so that he has visual access to the teacher and materials being presented, etc.

Background

• The population of children who receive services under Part B because of blindness or visual impairment is extremely diverse. These children display a wide range of vision difficulties and varying adaptations to vision loss. With regard to degree of vision, the student population includ…

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Least Restrictive Environment and Provision of Services Requirements

Procedural Safeguards

Appendix