Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

WELCOME!

The mission of Teaching Students with Visual Impairments is to provide all persons involved in the student's education with the necessary resources they need to help each student become successful members of their communities and to equip those in the vision field with a readily available resource to meet the wide range of needs of the students they serve.

If you are entering, or currently in the vision field, you will find information related to all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum as well as other resources related to all aspects of instructing students with visual impairments and adapting the environment, materials and method of instruction. You will also find information on teaching strategies, professional development opportunities, and resources to continue your professional growth.

If you are a classroom teacher, therapist or administrator unfamiliar with working with students who are blind or visually impaired, this site will assist you in preparing and creating a learning environment that is adapted to meet the unique needs of the students and to help you confidently teach them.

VI Program

The Program section includes all the information to support your Visual Impairment program. Topics include resources for the VI program, career resources, roles of vision professionals, in-service trainings, history and parent resources.

VI Services

The VI Services section provides information specific to referrals for VI services, components of vision exams, how to interpret the information in the medical eye report, conducting the FVE LMA and other vision specific evaluations and putting the information into the student’s IEP.

Adaptations

Students who are blind or visually impaired, require adaptations to the environment, materials, and instruction in order to have access to the curriculum. Each student with a visual impairment will have his or her own unique visual needs. These needs will depend on the students visual impairment as well as other disabilities.

Expanded Core Curriculum

This section provides information, resources and strategies in teaching all nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum: Compensatory, Sensory Efficiency, Assistive Technology, Independent Living, Social Skills, Orientation & Mobility, Career Education, Recreation & Leisure, and Self Determination.

Free Printables

Become a member for FREE to access the Printable VI Program Templates to support your district's vision program. Simply click on Log In|Register in the navigation bar at the top of the page and follow the directions to register and create your password.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page provides answers to my most frequently asked questions.

About

Hi! I'm Carmen Willings. Welcome to Teaching Students with Visual Impairments! I developed this web resource to support fellow TVI's and to educate those new to the field of visual impairments in how to best support students who are blind or visually impaired.

Site Map

I have included many pages and resources on this site and understand it may be difficult to quickly locate the information you need. Visit the Site Map to quickly locate the articles, resources or sections your looking for.

Contact Me

If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, make suggestions for topics to cover, have a resource to share, or to let me know you have found errors in any articles (yikes!), please feel free to complete the form below to get in touch with me.

Presentations

Members can view PowerPoint presentations from past conferences as well as materials shared and recommended resources. Additionally, you may view calendar of upcoming conferences.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart."
-Helen Keller

Free Membership

Sign up for FREE membership and gain access to FREE forms and templates to support your VI program and access to the Goal Bank. Simply click on Log In|Register in the navigation bar at the top of the page and follow the directions to register and create your password.

TVI's Guide Complete Set Bundle + BONUS Resources

$100.00

Buy together at a reduced price and get BONUS resources!

TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.

In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included:
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist

For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page.

TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details
·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font)
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements
The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.

For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page.

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement
The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency.

For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page

Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement
The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide.

Additional Use:
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code.

For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page

Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

BONUS!
Lotto Cards
The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.

On My Way File Folder Cards
Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

NEW! Access to TVI's Guide Bonus Membership Pages

Note:
All products are digital pdf downloads. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number. If you encounter any difficulty, please let me know and I can assist you.

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