Building Capacity to Serve Children (B-3) with VI Karen E. Blankenship

Requirements differ for Birth to 3 and 3-21 –Part C Does the child have a disability? Is the child at risk for failure due to various factors? Does the child have a 25% delay in some developmental area? –Part B Does the student have a visual impairment based on current (within 12 months) eye report? (review medical/health records) (eligibility) –How do you read an eye report? If the student has a documented visual impairment how does it impact general education (entitled)? –Essential Assessments »FVA »LMA »ECC Eligibility 2

What Do We Know? VI does not have an EDHI EI window of opportunity Sometimes we are not invited to the table Conflict between medical/educational

Preview Top 3 visual impairments and implications How does intervention differ for these students How to implement family centered practices in an outcome-based environment How to assess, plan for, and provide interventions

Families Creates an enormous impact on family life –Loss of money, support, sleep –Siblings get less interaction –Loss of social networks

Grieving Process shockDenialGuiltAngerSadnessAdjustmentReorganization

Early Intervention Typically in the home Requires multiple team members to meet child outcomes Integrated therapy model –PCP and specialized consultants share knowledge and skills with families –All interventions are integrated within naturally occurring opportunities

IFSP Early Childhood Outcomes Family Outcomes –Individualized Family Service Plan rubric.docIndividualized Family Service Plan rubric.doc

Family Outcomes Know their rights Effectively communicate their children’s needs; and Help their child develop and learn –Supports –Resources –Skill set

Early Childhood Outcomes Positive social-emotional skills, including social relationships Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/communication); and Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs –Transactional model, the child’s optimal development results from the successful, reciprocal interactions between a child, caregiver, and the environment

Routine Based Intervention RBA/ RBI RBORBI

ECO mapping Family Concerns & priorities (ongoing conversation) Assessments –5 developmental domains –3 ECO areas –ECC content areas Identify PSP Identify Routines Set IFSP infused goals Infuse interventions into routines –May need to break routines down into easy to follow steps Collect ongoing evaluation data during routines

Infused Goals & Functionality Does it emphasize child’s participation in a routine? Is it measurable? Does it address a skill that is either necessary or useful for participation in home, school or community routines Does the outcomes state an acquisition criterion? Does it have a meaningful acquisition criteria? Does it have a generalization criteria? Does it have a timeframe?

Routines Naturally occurring activities happening with some regularity, including caregiving events and simply hanging out times. Review Appendix 6.2 RBI Implementation Checklist on page 90

Routine Steps Bathing –31 steps (shower an additional 19 steps) and drying off an additional 7 steps Hand washing –20 steps Tooth brushing –32 steps Toileting –Boys (34 steps) –Girls (16 steps) Finger Feeding –12 steps

Review Children with significant disabilities and a visual impairment require a predictable routine-based intervention with increased opportunities for practice and generalization

Closure All services should be Family Centered All assessments are routine-based Assessment data drives infused goals for student outcomes RBI drives family concerns and goals All interventions are routine based The Expanded Core Curriculum is assessed and addressed for ALL children who are blind or visually impaired Collaboration allows for the sharing of expertise and role release Ongoing evaluation data collected every 6 months

Closure Every family is unique Having a child with significant disabilities puts additional strain on family unit Goals must be integrated into routines with naturally occurring events FCP for this population requires collaborative skills