Development of ECC Resources

by Carmen Willings
​February 20, 2020
www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
I entered the field of visual impairments in 1999, and although I started out teaching in an inclusive preschool classroom on the campus of the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina, the majority of my time in the vision field has been spent serving students (infants and toddlers through high school) as an itinerant teacher. Over the years, I (like many other TVI's) have worked with students who have had a wide range of unique visual and learning needs.

My caseload has included:
  • students who are blind and autistic
  • students with low vision who need instruction in low vision devices
  • students with CVI
  • students in advanced placement classes but needed support with fragmented concepts, independent living skills, and self determination
  • print readers learning braille and touch typing
  • students with severe and profound disabilities 

The wide diversity of needs on a typical itinerant caseload can make planning for instruction particularly complex. Additionally, working with so many different teams can present challenges, but can also make the job rewarding as I have ongoing opportunities to learn from experts in other areas (e.g. classroom teachers, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, deaf and hard of hearing teachers, etc.). It is for these reasons that I say these resources were developed specifically for itinerant teachers who are on the go and teach students with a wide variety of needs. With that said, these are the activities that I used in a classroom setting as well and are entirely appropriate for classroom instruction.

My goal in creating these resources was to organize these activities I had used over the years for easy reference, both for my own use and to share them with fellow TVI's. It is for that reason that I created the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC along with companion workbooks to support activities outlined in the activities. ​I compiled and adapted many activities from VI resource books as well as books and resources from whole language and phonics & phonemic instruction courses. Additionally I adapted activities that I've picked up from general education resource books, preschool education resource, and activities used by therapists I have worked with.

ECC Instruction

The ecc
teaching strategies
compensatory skills
Concept DevelopmentAlternative CommunicationEmergent Literacy​Access Print
​Pre-Braille ​Braille Code​​​Braille Formatting
​Braillewriter​​Slate & Stylus​​Tactile Graphics​Nemeth Code​Access Classes​Abacus ​Organize​​Study Skills​Time Management​​​​Listening Skills
assistive technology
social skills
Self determination
sensory efficiency
Sensory Input
​​​Sensory Areas & Rooms​​​
​Auditory ReadinessVisual Efficiency Skills​Optical Device Instruction​Tactual Efficiency​Tactile Readiness ​
Independent Living
​ Eating & Table MannersClothing IdentificationTelephoneFood PreparationMoney & BudgetService Agencies​SafetyHygiene & GroomingPersonal HealthHousehold Skills​​Shopping & Consumerism
Orientation & Mobility
Recreation & Leisure
career & vocational