1. Everything you need to know about Whitney Williams Pamela Peak EDSP 3210.004 April 5, 2006

2. FACT SHEET

3. Interesting FACTS *Visual difficulties and impairments include low vision, color blindness, and blindness *There are approximately 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States *The most commonly found disorders are myopia (near sightedness) or hyperopia (far sightedness). *Legal blindness refers to a diagnosis of 20/200 or a visual field of less than 20 degrees. *Glaucoma is a disease of the eye that is caused by a gradual degeneration of cells in the optic nerve. *There is no known cause for the most common form of glaucoma, primary open angle glaucoma. *Primary open angle glaucoma affects more than 2.2 million people, ages 40 and over in America alone. *Age-related macular degeneration (MD) is caused by the malfunction of photosensitive cells in the macula which results in a loss of the central field of vision. *Dry MD is the most common form of the disease, totaling approximately 85% to 90% of all cases. It is related to the development of drusen, or small yellow fat deposits, under the macula. *Cataracts result from a clouding of the normally slightly yellowish lens of the eye. *Symptoms of cataract include blurred vision, light sensitivity, double vision, and an apparent fading or yellowing of colors. http://www.lowvisionsolutions.com/index.html

4. Organizations and Services Local Organization State Organization National Organizations

5. Local Organization

6. Dallas Lighthouse Located in Dallas, TX, the Dallas Lighthouse provides opportunities for the blind and visually impaired to live as independently as possible. The organization offers employment, training and guidance for an self-governing lifestyle to those in North Texas. http://www.dallaslighthouse.org/

7. State Organization

8. Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired http://www.tsbvi.edu/ The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is located in Austin, TX. The school runs like a public school, and is a great resources for the visually impaired, as well as their families. Students ages six through 21 are eligible, as well as those students who have additional disabilities. There are programs that prepare the students for future employment for a more independent lifestyle when they are older.

9. National Organizations

10. American Council of the Blind The American Council of the Blind tries to improve the well-being of all blind and visually impaired people by serving as a national organization of blind people, elevating the social, economic and cultural levels of blind people, and improving educational and rehabilitation facilities and opportunities. They also work on cooperating with the public and private institutions and organizations concerned with blind services, encouraging and assisting all blind persons to develop their abilities, and conducting a public education program to promote a better understanding of blindness and the capabilities of blind people. The council offers many services including: *Scholarship assistance to blind/visually impaired post-secondary students *Public education and awareness training *Support to consumer advocates and legal assistance on matters relating to blindness *Leadership and legislative training And many, many more! http://www.acb.org/index.html

11. The Lighthouse The Lighthouse is dedicated to preventing the disabling effects of uncorrectable vision loss from conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetes-related eye disease, cataracts and glaucoma. They improve lives of people of all ages with visual disadvantages. The Lighthouse wants all participants to rely on as little help as needed; they want the people to be individualized. They provide visual rehabilitation services, promote the early detection and prevention against vision loss, and many other things. http://www.lighthouse.org/

12. Guide Dogs for the Blind This non-profit organization provides guide dogs for blind people throughout the United States and Canada. There is no cost to have a guide dog as long as you are visually impaired and really need one. These dogs are donated, trained by volunteers, and sponsored throughout their lifetime. Through this particular organization they only raise puppies in some of the western states. http://www.guidedogs.com

13. American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults This organization provides blind people help which may not be readily available to them from government programs or other existing service systems. This agency has offices in Baltimore, Maryland, and Tarzana, California, and volunteer workers throughout the country. It offers educational aspects, such as free Braille calendars, for students to get acquainted with Braille.

14. General Teaching Tips

15.  Speak to the class upon entering and leaving the room or site.  Call the student by name if you want his/her attention.  By verbally spelling out a new or technical word, you will be helping the visually impaired student, as well as for other students.  Describe, in detail, all pertinent visual occurrences or chalkboard writing.  Where needed, have lesson or direction materials Brailled, or use an enlarged activity script ahead of time, for class handouts.  Whenever possible, use actual objects for three dimensional representations.  Allow student to use a tape recorder for recording class presentations.  Make all handouts and assignments available in an appropriate form: e.g., regular print, large print, Braille, or cassette, depending on the students optimal mode of communication.  Always try to keep materials, supplies, and equipment in the same places.  Describe and tactually/spatially familiarize the student to the classroom.  Give verbal notice of room changes, special meetings, or assignments.  Identify yourself by name, don't assume that the student who is visually impaired will recognize you by your voice even though you have met before.  It is not necessary to speak loudly to people with visual impairments. There are many, many more instructions a teacher could follow when teaching a student who is visually impaired. These are just some of the main and important ones you need to real careful about. http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/text/vision_impair.html

16. Assistive Technology

17. Braille Embosser A Braille printer. Braille Translation Software Software used to convert text to Braille using a computer and Braille embosser. CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) A television video camera combination used by people who are visually impaired to magnify the print in books and newspapers. It can also be used to write letters, and checks, and do different types of crafts like needlepoint. Large Print Printers Any ink jet, dot matrix or laser jet printer can produce large print all you need to do is set the font size larger before printing. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Software used to convert scanned text, from books or other documents, into information that the computer can recognize. This software along with a PC and scanner gives blind and visually impaired people access to almost all printed material. Refreshable Braille Display A device used to produce Braille output the way computer monitors produce print output. They are especially useful for deaf blind people that cannot use speech output. Screen Magnification Software Software used by people with poor eyesight to enlarge the text on the computer screen. Screen Reading Software or Text to Speech Software used to convert Text on the computer screen into spoken words. Used by the totally blind and others that have trouble reading even magnified text.

18. Web Resources… *For Teachers *For Parents *For Students

19. Web Resources for Teachers

20. http://www.dpa.org.sg/VH/tips.htm - This website explains how you should approach a blind person and treat them just like you would a student with vision.

21. http://parentpals.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=163 - This website offers a lot of good information. It tells you tips on how to plan your class around a student who is visually impaired. It also gives great instruction on how you should approach the student.

22. http://parentpals.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=162 - This website offers a whole list of questions the teacher should ask the vision teacher. It involves information the teacher needs to know in order to provide an adequate education for the student.

23. http://parentpals.com/gossamer/pages/Detailed/692.html - This website explains exactly what it means to have a visual impairment. It gives the characteristics of a child with visual impairments and implications in the classroom.

24. http://parentpals.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=346 - This website shares many links that have lists of books offered in Braille and audio.

25. Web Resources for Parents

26. http://www.nfb.org/nopbc.htm - This website is a support group for families with visually impaired and blind children can relate to and encourage other families with blind children.

27. http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=36 - This website explains how as a relative to someone who is visually impaired, you play a big role in their life. It gives you some pointers to keep in mind!

28. http://www.growingstrong.org/bvi/index.html - This website explains how a child without vision can live just as a fulfilled life as a child with vision. It also gives more support groups and why it is important to be supportive of the child.

29. http://www.viguide.com/mapvi/index.htm#top - This website provides many services to visually impaired people of all ages. It states that parents and other family members share many similar experiences and goals. It helps explain why you need to be there for your son/daughter.

30. http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=6&TopicI D=97&DocumentID=1252http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=6&TopicI D=97&DocumentID=1252 - This website offers many links to teach Braille. It explains why it is important to know Braille when your child is blind or visually impaired.

31. Web Resources for Students

32. http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=40 - This website gives a few skills you need to accomplish everyday life.

33. http://www.afb.org/section.asp?SectionID=7&TopicI D=209http://www.afb.org/section.asp?SectionID=7&TopicI D=209 - This website tells you how you can get a job even if you are visually impaired.

34. http://www.viguide.com/vsnsocial.htm#BodyLangua gehttp://www.viguide.com/vsnsocial.htm#BodyLangua ge - This website explains how a blind person should ‘read’ body language and express it for their self.