Distance Acuity

By: Carmen Willings   
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com

As part of the Functional Vision Evaluation, it is necessary to assess the student's distance visual acuities (including their intermediate and distance responses). The technique used will vary depending on the students cognitive abilities.

Assess the student's distance vision using a combination of informal and formal devices. Assessment should include classroom activities, such as reading the chalkboard, as well as activities that take place outside the classroom, such as reading a banner in a hallway, catching a ball in a PE class, or identifying the bus after school. A formal distance-screening procedure should be included in the functional vision assessment to act as a comparison with clinical measures provided in the report of the clinical low vision specialist. Functional tasks using distance vision should include familiar an unfamiliar ones under different lighting conditions. ​

• In the classroom, the most common activities for the use of distance vision are reading the chalkboard, dry erase boards, overhead transparencies or smart board. Also note the student's preferred seating arrangement for these activities, including the approximate viewing distance from the material and lighting. Other activities include reading bulletin boards, recognizing pictures and posters, viewing slides and videotapes, locating classmates and one's desk, seeing the teacher's facial expressions, and retrieving dropped objects from the floor. 
• Outdoor playing fields and indoor gymnasiums are difficult environments for some students with low vision because of variations in lighting and the need to respond to moving objects and people at different distances, such as when playing ball. 
• The cafeteria requires the use of distance vision for proceeding through the line, identifying foods, and recognizing the faces of classmates against a busy and colorful background. 
• Hallways necessitate the use of distance vision for recognizing friends, since the inability to recognize others can be misinterpreted as unfriendliness; otherwise, students with low vision may need to greet an approaching student aloud to receive a response and identify the speaker's voice. Also note the students ability to locate exit signs, room signs, locker, restroom, and names on doors. Note if the student can locate cafeteria, office, media center/library, health room, and auditorium. 
• The auditorium requires the use of distance vision for viewing a performance or a speaker during assembly. In this setting, it is important to note how the student responds if he cannot see enough detail to enjoy a performance: Does the student ask a classmate to provide essential information, use a monocular, or select a seat close to the front but away from friends and classmates? 
• Community opportunities to observe use of distance vision include: finding hidden objects, spotting airplanes and oncoming traffic, blowing bubbles, reading street numbers and signs, reading signs in stores, and watching birds. Distance acuity is used for visual tasks such as visual orientation to the environment, physical movements, and activities such as driving, sports and gross motor tasks. It is also needed for viewing the chalk/Smart-board in classroom, fast food menus, scoreboard at ball games and simple activities like seeing the classroom clock. 
  

Depending on the results of the Distance Visual Acuity, the following strategies, recommendations, and accommodations may be necessary to meet the students unique visual needs:

• Teach systematic search of the environment.
• Preferential seating in class as well as in assemblies and movies and all demonstration lessons.
• Verbalize all information presented on the board.
• Instruct student in using low vision devices (if prescribed) for distance viewing.
• May need copy of notes written on board (by peer or teacher)
• May need to learn recording strategies/techniques
• If chalkboard is still used, use white chalk on a clean chalkboard.
• If a dry erase board is used, use bold, high contrast markers on clean board.
• May need verbal descriptions of demonstrations and films/movies.

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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.  


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


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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.

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