21st Century Learning & Development
PHYSICAL EXCEPTIONALITIES:
BLIND OR LOW VISION
What is a Physical Exceptionality?
The Ontario Ministry of Education definition of a physical disability exceptionality as a condition of such severe physical limitation or deficiency as to require special assistance in learning situations to provide the opportunity for educational achievement equivalent to that of pupils without exceptionalities who are of the same age or developmental level. (Teachers’ Gateway to Special Education, 2016). A student with a physical exceptionality is identified by the Identification, Placement Review Committee (IPRC). The student is referred to the IPRC before they are formally identified. During the process, it is imperative that parents of the students be kept up to date and well-informed before proceeding with any formal referral. This allows for
open communication between the parents of the student and the school, which has the ability to help the student with the transition of being identified with an exceptionality.
What It Is
Blind and low vision exceptionality is an physical exceptionality that is a condition of partial or total impairment of sight or vision that even with correction affects educational performance adversely (The Ministry of Education, p. 92, 2002). There are 3 categories that students with this exceptionality may identify with:
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1. Low vision – students use their vision as their primary sensory channel
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2. Functionally blind – students can use limited vision for functional tasks but need their tactile and auditory channels for learning
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3. Totally blind – students use tactile and auditory channels for learning and functional tasks
The
Characteristics
The reasoning for why a student identifies with the blind or low vision exceptionality may stem from a birth complication or a medical condition. In addition to the student's decreased visual acuity, a number of other problems associated with vision may also impede the student's visual functioning abilities (Project IDEAL, 2013). As teachers we should never assume the visual capabilities of one of our students who identify with blind or low exceptionality. Students with the blind or low vision exceptionality may experience a sensitivity to certain lighting o
or glare, they may have specific blind spots in their visual fields, or may have difficulty deciphering between certain colours or contrast (Project IDEAL, 2013). The blind or low vision exceptionality gets taken out of context often and ends up leaving the students who identifies with the exceptionality being seen as completely blind, which is rarely the case. There are many factors that may have an impact on a student's visual functioning, some of which include; lighting, fatigue and a student’s emotional status (Project IDEAL, 2013). These factors may also impact the student differently throughout the day, i.e. if the student was experiencing a decrease in their vision during the morning hours, they may experience an improvement in their vision in the afternoon. It is important to
understand the degree of the exceptionality in which you are dealing with in order to be able to assist the student in the best way possible.
As teachers, we need to be adaptable and flexible when coming up with ways that we can fairly assess our students learning if they identify as having a blind or low vision exceptionality. Some assessment measures that could utilize when working with a student who identifies with the blind or low vision exceptionality are as followed:
Assessment
Measures
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Allow the student to use assistive technology/computers (will be further discussed) in order to enlarge what it is they are working on
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If this is an acceptable accommodation for the student, provide enlarged copies of tests, worksheets, rubrics, assignment breakdowns, etc.
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Allow the student extra time to complete tests, worksheets, or any in class work that may be assigned
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Allow oral testing to take the place of written test or, allow for scribing to take place​
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Allow for frequent breaks to give the student the chance to rest/refocus their eyes. Doing this may allow the student to continue to complete tests, worksheets or any other in class work on their own, without the assistance of a scribe
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If the student is totally blind, provide the student with the material the rest of the class is working on in Braille material
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Provide the student with choices when assigning projects or assignments. Be flexible for the student so they may feel as if they can complete an assignment independently, with a few adjustments if needed.
Difficulties
Social Difficulties Students with a blind or low vision exceptionality may find that their exceptionality interferes with their ability to observe appropriate social behaviors and to learn basic life skills (Saskatchewan, 2003). Social skills that other students learn naturally through observation may need to be verbally taught to the student with this exceptionality. Depending on the severity of this exceptionality, students may feel retracted from the rest of their peers in terms of not participating in the same activities as them such as soccer, baseball, etc. They may feel isolated from their classmates and too nervous or afraid to go up and ask to join in on a game or activity with the fear of being mocked or shunned.
Behavioral Difficulties Students with a category of blind or low vision exceptionality make act out in various ways such as pushing, throwing, grabbing or yelling out of frustration (American Foundation for the Blind, 2016). A student may exhibit frustration after trying to complete a task individually, but end up needing the assistance of a support personnel or scribe for example. This may cause them to completely shut down and become upset with themselves. As teachers we need to encourage our students to communicate with us and to share with us when they need assistance or something needs to be altered.
Academic Difficulties Students who have this exceptionality may need their tests, worksheets, assignments, etc. altered from what the rest of the class is using. This may make them feel different and therefore embarrassed that they need certain accommodations to succeed. The student could feel the only way to not feel the sense of embarrassment is by not attending class, which would lead to a decline in their grades. In addition, the school may not have access to the assistive technology a student with this exceptionality needs in order to be successful, making the student frustrated and therefore not putting in as much effort to their academics.
Effective
Teaching
Strategies
As stated above, those students who identify with this exceptionality and who are considered functionally blind, may have the ability to see the difference between light and dark (Teachers’ Gateway to Special Education, 2016). For this reason, we cannot have a “one size fits all mind-set” when it comes to planning for a student with this exceptionality. All classroom accommodations, modifications and strategies must be designed with the student's specific strengths, weaknesses and needs in mind (Project IDEAL, 2013). For many students with this exceptionality, the content in which they are learning will be the same for all students, but the methodology will be quite different (The Ministry of Education, p. 94, 2002). In order to make the student feel safe and included,
the teacher must create an environment that offers equality of opportunity for learning to every student, while recognizing these students have unique learning needs (The Ministry of Education, p. 94, 2002). The following are some effective teaching strategies that a teacher may use in order to assist a student on the path to success:
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Keep the physical layout of the classroom the same throughout the year, as to allow the student to get used to where all of the furniture and any other obstacles are within the room
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Keep materials, textbooks, etc. in the same location so the student is able to find them on their own at all times
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Use physical and/or concrete models whenever possible to help the student understand the concepts that are being taught
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Get in the habit of reading out loud what is written on the board​
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Establish an auditory signal the gets the classes attention and that signals a change in the activity or task at hand​
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As you teacher you may expect the same standard of work but the quantity required should be reduced and extra time should be allocated
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Practice emergency procedures and where the student will need to move to in the case one occurs
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(Teachers’ Gateway to Special Education, 2016) and (The Ministry of Education, 2002)
There are many adaptive devices, methods and equipment that a student with a blind or low vision exceptionality can utilize in the classroom that will assist them in the learning process. As stated above, in many cases these students will learn the same material as the rest of the class, but will need the delivery of the material to be altered. Students may need letter and numbers on
Assistive
Technologies
printed materials or found on computer screen enlarged, or they may have difficulty deciphering between colours. Below are some methods or devices/equipment that you may use in your classroom.
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Adjusting the color of the monitor or changing the foreground and background colors, through special software like reversing the screen from black on white to white on black for individuals who are light sensitive, can help improve access and readability
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For students who are unable to see the print in books (enlarged or not), the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information SYstem) Reader is a great device that allows students to join in on the experience of reading the same material that the rest of the class is reading *explained more in video tutorial below*
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The use of magnifiers to enlarge images, text, etc.
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Anti -glare screens may make it easier for the student to read material that is uploaded onto a device
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Electronic Braillewriter is a device that produces braille or translates braille into text or synthetic speech
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Talking calculators that calculate with voice input so the student is aware of what buttons they are hitting
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Screen Readers that convert text found on a computer screen to audible speech
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(Project IDEAL, 2013) and (Ahmad, Fouzia Khursheed, p. 69, 2015)
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Computer hardware and software are continuously advancing, allowing students with a blind or low vision exceptionality to fit seamlessly into the classroom than ever before (Project IDEAL, 2013).