CAMPS FOR BLIND & VI 

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated November 10, 2015

Students can learn about different sports and leisure activities during a summer camp. Summer camps designed specifically for students who are blind or visually impaired can enhance students' recreation and leisure skills and provide them with the opportunity to learn basic skills they may have missed. Summer camps can also help build students' confidence by helping them learn new skills or to play games and sports played at school. These camps will provide students with the opportunity to be participants rather than observers. 

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TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

$50.00

Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book 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.

The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:

• Object Characteristic Activities
• Quantity & Number Concepts
• Time Concept Activities
• Environment & Job Awareness Activities
• Listening Skills Activities
• Reading Foundation Activities
• Reading Fluency Activities
• Braille Basics Activities
• Writing Activities
• Tactual Efficiency Activities
• Developing Skillful Hands Activities
• Visual Efficiency Activities
• Optical Device Instruction Activities
• Recipe Activities

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.

Unique Concepts within the Units include:

• Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
• Social Skills Activities (e.g. Being bullied or teased, giving and receiving compliments, body language, "I" messages when upset and more)
• Recreation & Leisure Activities (e.g. exploring interest areas, getting involved in clubs and sports, playing games, and more)
• O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
• Independent Living Skill Activities (e.g. chores, being responsible, using tools, recipe suggestions, hygiene, staying healthy, labeling foods and products, and more)
• Sensory Efficiency Activities (e.g. unique sensory experiences related to the unit, unique optical device activities, and more)
• Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
• Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)

Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.

Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. 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.

Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.

Product details

Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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Visual Efficiency & Magnifier Fluency Grab & Go ECC Supplements

$20.00

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 supplement 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.  

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:

Digital pdf download: 210 pages

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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Additionally, camps can provide respite to families as well as provide volunteer and contact hours for those who may be interested in working with students with special needs and particularly for those interested in entering the vision field. If your program is considering starting a summer camp or you are interested in locating camps for your students, the following links will be helpful in locating an existing camp or replicating an existing camps model. 

Locating an Existing Camp

Each state's School for the Blind will typically offer summer camps or will know of camps that are available. Lions Clubs support camps so you can check with your local chapter for camps in your area. You will find a variety of camps that are day camps and overnight camps. Many of the programs will combine recreational or leisure activities with learning activities related to the expanded core curriculum. 

​AFB provides a list of many summer and day camps and after school programs that are available in each state. It is based on information supplied by the individual or organization so camps that do not provide AFB with information are not listed. 

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Camp Abilities is a developmental sports camp for children who are blind, visually impaired or deaf-blind started by Lauren Lieberman. The camps focus on teaching children how to access sports and recreation, and empower them to know what modifications to make so that they can do them at home. The camp began in Brockport, NY and has expanded into other states.

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Cheri Larson has researched and completed a list of 101 Top Special Needs Groups. It is a listing of sites dedicated to special needs activities. This is a great list of websites that includes camps, music, dance, sports, special needs vacations, and other topics pertaining to students with special needs.

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National Camps for the Blind and National Camps for Blind Children are affiliated with Christian Record Services. Inc. Camps are held at various locations across the United States and Canada. Staff and counselors are trained to meet the needs of persons who are blind and legally blind campers. Medical personnel are on duty 24 hours a day. Emergency care is available when needed. The camps are free to blind and legally blind persons. They offer both summer camps and winter camps. 

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