Common Vocabulary In Eye Reports

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com

The vocabulary found in eye reports is just jargon to those unfamiliar with the terminology. Although not exhaustive, the following is a list of common vocabulary words that can be found in eye reports. Let me know if there are additional words you would like listed for quick reference!

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Accommodation

The ability of the eye to adjust its focus for seeing at different distances by changing the shape of the lens through action of the ciliary muscles. Occurs through a process of ciliary muscle contraction and zonular relaxation that causes the elastic-like lens to "round up" and increase its optical power.

Adventitiously Blind

Term used to describe someone that was sighted prior to becoming blind. It is a loss or impairment of vision that occurs after birth, usually as a result of an accident or disease.

Binocular Vision

The ability to see with both eyes at the same time. Blending of the separate images seen by each eye into one composite image. It results in three-dimensional perception.

Blindness

The inability to see; the absence or severe reduction of vision. **Many people who meet the definition of blind still have some useable vision. **

Color Blindness

Reduced ability to discriminate between colors, especially shades of red and green. Usually hereditary.

Congenital

A word describing any condition present at birth.

​Congenitally Blind

Term used to describe someone who has been blind since birth.

Convergence

The movement, as an object approaches, of both eyes toward each other in an effort to maintain fusion of separate images.

Convex Lens

A lens that bends light rays inward and is used to correct hyperopia. It is also called a plus lens.

Doll's Eye Phenomenon

An automatic reaction that occurs during the first and second weeks of life. Rapid turning of the infant's head in a horizontal or vertical plane elicits a response of the child's eyes rotating to the opposite direction.

Enucleation

The surgical procedure consisting of removal of the entire eyeball.

Esophoria

A tendency of the eye to turn inward.

Esotropia

A form of strabismus in which one or both eyes deviate inward.

Exophoria

A tendency of the eye to turn outward.

Exotropia

A form of strabismus in which one or both eyes deviate outward.

Eye Dominance

Tendency of one eye to assume the major function of seeing, being assisted by the less dominant eye.

Field of Vision

The area of extent of physical space visible to an eye held in a fixed position. Its average extent is approximately 65 degrees upward (superior), 75 degrees downward (inferior), 60 degrees inward (nasal), and 95 degrees outward (temporal) when the eye is in the straight-forward position. ​

Floaters

Particles that float in the vitreous and cast shadows on the retina; seen as spots, cobwebs, spiders, etc. It occurs normally with aging or with vitreous detachment, retinal tears, or inflammation.

Focal Point

The position on the principal axis of a lens system where parallel light rays are brought to a point focus.

Functional Blindness

Condition in which some useful vision may or may not be present but in which the individual uses tactile and auditory channels most effectively for learning.

Fusion

The power of coordinating the images received by the two eyes into a single mental image. ​

Hypertropia

The upward deviation of one eye.

Hypotropia

The downward deviation of one eye. ​

In Focus

An object is in focus when it is being seen most clearly.

-itis

A word ending meaning inflammation.

Legally Blind

For a student to be determined legally blind, the corrected vision in the student's better eye is determined to be worse than 20/200. There are different degrees of blindness. The range is from 20/200 after correction to “no light perception” or “nil”. A visual field no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye is also considered legally blind.

Light Adaptation

Physiologic process that adjusts the eye to bright light levels.

Low Vision

Low vision describes a serious loss of vision that cannot be corrected by medical or surgical procedures, or with conventional eyeglasses.  Eye care specialists describe low vision in terms of acuity and visual field.  The only consistency in low vision is that there are many inconsistencies as conditions effect people in different ways.

Microphthalmia

An abnormally small eyeball.

Monocular Vision

Sight through one eye only, typically caused by injury or enucleation.

Night blindness

A condition in which visual acuity is diminished at night and in dim light.

Occlusion or Patching

Where one eye is covered to develop the sight in the "lazy eye".

Partially Sighted

Limited sight which cannot be corrected by glasses or low vision aids. It is a term used to indicate visual acuity of 20/70 to 20/200 but also used to describe visual impairment in which usable vision is present.

Peripheral vision

The perception of objects, motion, or color outside the direct line of vision or by other than the central retina. ​

Photocoagulation

The use of a laser to burn or destroy selected intraocular structures, such as intraocular tumors or abnormal blood vessels, and to create chorioretinal adhesions in retinal detachment surgery.

Photophobia

Light sensitivity to an uncomfortable degree; usually symptomatic of other ocular disorders or diseases. ​

Pigmentation

The color throughout something.

Presbyopia

A decrease in accommodative power (focusing at near) caused by the increasing inelasticity of the lens-ciliary muscle mechanism that occurs approximately anytime after the age of 40.

Prism lenses

Special triangle-shaped lenses that are incorporated into regular eyeglasses, to redirect the rays of light entering the eye, resulting in a realignment of the eyes or, in some cases, a shifting of image to permit binocular vision. ​

Refraction/Refractive Error

The bending of light rays to focus on the retina. A refractive error is a condition such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, caused by corneal irregularities, in which parallel rays of light are not brought in focus on the retina because of a defect in the shape of the eyeball or the refractive media of the eye.

Spherical lens

A lens that's shape is a segment of a sphere. A convex (plus) lens is thicker in the center and is used to correct hyperopia; a concave (minus) lens is used to correct myopia. Other types of spherical lenses are biconvex (when both surfaces curve outward), plano-convex (a single-sided curve), biconcave (both surfaces curing inward), and plano-concave (when only one surface curves inward).

Strabismus

An extrinsic muscle imbalance that causes misalignment of the eyes; includes exotropia, esotropia, hypertropia, and hypotropia.

Visual acuity

The sharpness of vision with respect to the ability to distinguish detail, often measured as the eye's ability to distinguish the details and shapes of objects at a designated distance; involves central (macular) vision.

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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.  


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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.


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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.


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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


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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.

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