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Book part
Publication date: 11 August 2021

Stacy M. Kelly

Assessment techniques for students with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) are designed to meet their unique learning needs. Considerations for…

Abstract

Assessment techniques for students with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) are designed to meet their unique learning needs. Considerations for assessment both within the general curriculum and expanded core curriculum (ECC) for students with visual impairments are presented. The roles of educational team members are discussed, especially as related to special education service providers trained to teach students with visual impairments. The heterogeneous nature of the population of students with visual impairments and the importance of assessment as a collaborative process are additional discussion points presented within this chapter for specific consideration.

Details

Traditional and Innovative Assessment Techniques for Students with Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-890-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2016

Stacy M. Kelly

This chapter outlines the progression in the development of educational settings and services for students with visual impairments over the past several hundred years. Information…

Abstract

This chapter outlines the progression in the development of educational settings and services for students with visual impairments over the past several hundred years. Information is provided that explains how the education systems have advanced to the present state for students who are blind or have low vision. An explanation of the professionals who support the unique disability-specific needs of students with visual impairments in inclusive settings is also presented. This chapter concludes with a discussion of current issues related to the inclusion of students with visual impairments including personnel shortages, technological developments, and unemployment rates.

Details

General and Special Education Inclusion in an Age of Change: Impact on Students with Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-541-6

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Book part
Publication date: 28 January 2011

Stacy M. Kelly and Christine Clark-Bischke

Defined functionally, having low vision can mean the inability to read newsprint even with best correction (when wearing conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses) (Maino, 1993)…

Abstract

Defined functionally, having low vision can mean the inability to read newsprint even with best correction (when wearing conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses) (Maino, 1993). Other functional definitions of low vision refer to a loss of vision that may be severe enough to hinder an individual's ability to complete daily activities such as reading, cooking, or walking outside safely, while still retaining some degree of useable vision. Low vision is decreased visual performance that prevents performance to full capacity compared with a typically sighted person of the same age and gender. It may be a consequence of reduced acuity, abnormal visual field, reduced contrast sensitivity, or other ocular dysfunction (Faye, 1984). This definition includes people who are legally blind and those who have a more significant amount of remaining vision.

Details

History of Special Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-629-5

Book part
Publication date: 7 January 2019

Stacy M. Kelly

This chapter outlines the role of vision-specific service providers for young children with visual impairments. The responsibilities of teachers of students with visual impairments

Abstract

This chapter outlines the role of vision-specific service providers for young children with visual impairments. The responsibilities of teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) and orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists in special education programming for young children with visual impairments are overviewed. Basic information about the signs and symptoms of eye conditions that commonly occur during the early childhood years are presented. Commonly used assessments and instructional methods for working with young children who are visually impaired are discussed. Additionally, there is an emphasis on the critical aspect of family involvement during these early childhood years and suggested resources are provided.

Details

Special Education for Young Learners with Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-041-3

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Book part
Publication date: 10 June 2015

Frances Mary D’Andrea and Yue-Ting Siu

For students who are blind or visually impaired, technology enables greater access to the educational curriculum, immediate and independent access to information, and full…

Abstract

For students who are blind or visually impaired, technology enables greater access to the educational curriculum, immediate and independent access to information, and full participation in community and citizenship. This chapter reviews research on technology use by students with visual impairments, and highlights effective practices, promising developments, and ongoing challenges. The authors discuss the implications of these advancements on policy, instruction, professional development, and future research.

Details

Efficacy of Assistive Technology Interventions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-641-6

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Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2019

Stacy M. Kelly

Students who are visually impaired (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) need information and advice specific to their needs when they are in the process of making the…

Abstract

Students who are visually impaired (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) need information and advice specific to their needs when they are in the process of making the transition from the school years to their adult lives. This chapter outlines disability-specific needs, instructional strategies, school professionals involved in teaching children who are visually impaired, and recommended resources for this population of students who are visually impaired with and without additional disabilities. Instructional supports for learners who are visually impaired during the transition years and many years in advance of the transition years are explicitly explored. The heterogeneous nature of the population of students with visual impairments and the long-standing, high unemployment rate are additional discussion points presented within this chapter for specific consideration.

Details

Special Education Transition Services for Students with Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-977-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 June 2018

Stacy M. Kelly

This chapter discusses the elements of interventions provided to students who are visually impaired within the context of past instructional advancements still in effect today and…

Abstract

This chapter discusses the elements of interventions provided to students who are visually impaired within the context of past instructional advancements still in effect today and current instructional advancements preparing the field for tomorrow. Disability-specific interventions and the theoretical framework that encompasses the unique areas of instruction for students with visual impairments are described. Important additional considerations of interventions for students with visual impairments are presented. Needs of students who are visually impaired, alignment with state standards, management of limited instructional time, and shortage of qualified specialists who teach students with visual impairments are examples of significant matters to be considered for effective instructional practice in present-day classrooms.

Book part
Publication date: 2 February 2023

Stacy M. Kelly

Technology is present in classrooms today in many ways that it never has been before. Technology, and more specifically assistive technology, can be used to provide students with…

Abstract

Technology is present in classrooms today in many ways that it never has been before. Technology, and more specifically assistive technology, can be used to provide students with visual impairments with equal access and engagement in learning. Best practices for using technology to enhance learning for students with visual impairments includes, but is not limited to, collaboration among all stakeholders involved, individualized instruction, and specialized training on behalf of students with visual impairments and their teachers. The heterogeneity of the population of learners with visual impairments must be explicitly addressed by educational teams taking into account the high prevalence of additional disabilities among students with visual impairments and other unique characteristics of this population. Stakeholders (i.e., students, families, caregivers, educators, administrators, and policymakers) need to work together and continue working together as education evolves to make this access and engagement a reality for all learners including those who are blind or have low vision.

Details

Using Technology to Enhance Special Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-651-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2014

Jirí Tomáš Stodola

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the functionality of the particular epistemological schools with regard to the issues of users with visual impairment, to offer a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the functionality of the particular epistemological schools with regard to the issues of users with visual impairment, to offer a theoretical answer to the question why these issues are not in the center of the interest of information science, and to try to find an epistemological approach that has ambitions to create the theoretical basis for the analysis of the relationship between information and visually impaired users.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodological basis of the paper is determined by the selection of the epistemological approach. In order to think about the concept of information and to put it in relation to issues associated with users with visual impairment, a conceptual analysis is applied.

Findings

Most of information science theories are based on empiricism and rationalism; this is the reason for their low interest in the questions of visually impaired users. Users with visual disabilities are out of the interest of rationalistic epistemology because it underestimates sensory perception; empiricism is not interested in them paradoxically because it overestimates sensory perception. Realism which fairly reflects such issues is an approach which allows the providing of information to persons with visual disabilities to be dealt with properly.

Research limitations/implications

The paper has a speculative character. Its findings should be supported by empirical research in the future.

Practical implications

Theoretical questions solved in the paper come from the practice of providing information to visually impaired users. Because practice has an influence on theory and vice versa, the author hopes that the findings included in the paper can serve to improve practice in the field.

Social implications

The paper provides theoretical anchoring of the issues which are related to the inclusion of people with disabilities into society and its findings have a potential to support such efforts.

Originality/value

This is first study linking questions of users with visual disabilities to highly abstract issues connected to the concept of information.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 70 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Article
Publication date: 30 November 2012

Abbas Riazi, Mei Ying Boon, Catherine Bridge and Stephen J. Dain

The purpose of this paper is to provide an evidence‐base for home modification guidelines for people with visual impairment due to age‐related macular degeneration (AMD), from the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an evidence‐base for home modification guidelines for people with visual impairment due to age‐related macular degeneration (AMD), from the perspective of people with AMD, by exploring the home modifications they find useful and would recommend to other people with visual impairment due to AMD as being effective.

Design/methodology/approach

People with impairments may not be aware of their own coping with inability strategies until they are asked to express their strategies. A qualitative approach using semi‐structured individual interviews was used to elicit the perspectives of people with AMD with regards to their preferred home modification interventions. Interviews were recorded and then transcribed verbatim into text for thematical analysis using Nvivo 8.

Findings

In total, 31 individuals (aged 79.1±5.6 years) with AMD and no other ocular diseases were recruited from a low vision clinic or the Macular Degeneration Foundation database in a metropolitan city. Interviewees had not received any formal home modification assessment from a government provider. Nevertheless, 70 per cent of participants stated that they undertook home modifications themselves or with the assistance of family and friends. The most important functional modifications as perceived by the participants concerned the installation of hand rails, non‐slip matting, colour contrasting safety stair nosing, single lever taps, slip resistant flooring, lift chairs and motion sensors that activated pathway lighting. Kitchens, steps and bathrooms were perceived as hazardous locations. Most participants had difficulties with reading fine‐print material on kitchen appliances, washing machines, microwave ovens and remote controls for electronic devices in the home.

Originality/value

An evidence‐base for useful home modifications as suggested by people with visual impairment was perceived to be a valuable resource for other people with visual impairment who may not yet have developed adaptive strategies. Industrial and interior designers and low vision rehabilitation services who aim to improve functionality of the home environment will also find these suggestions useful.

Details

Journal of Assistive Technologies, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-9450

Keywords

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