GEORGIA VISION RESOURCES
by Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com This page identifies resources specific to persons who are blind or visually impaired in Georgia. If you know of other Georgia resources specific to blindness and visual impairments, please contact me so I can add them to this page. Angel Eyes FitnessAngel Eyes Fitness and Nutrition, Inc. has a vision to have a world where vision is not required for good health and wellness. Founder and director Dawn Wells has a goal to empower and equip the Blind and visually impaired community with the necessary resources for an active and healthy lifestyle.
Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI)
The Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta is Georgia's largest facility providing rehabilitation services for the blind and visually impaired. They offer:
Georgia Academy for the Blind 
Georgia Academy for the Blind (GAB) provides educational services to students and families throughout Georgia including day and residential programs on campus and outreach services. Students are placed at the GAB through the IEP process. They serve as an extension of the continuum of services offered through local school districts across the state and are available to serve the students who require additional supports and services in order to meet their IEP goals.
Georgia Association of Blind Athletes
The Georgia Association of Blind athletes is a non profit program that provides and advocates sports, recreation and social opportunities for blind and visually impaired. The main program offered is goalball. Recreational and/or competitive opportunities are available to youth and adult members.
Georgia Association of Education & Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired (GaAER)Visit the GaAER site for newsletters and information about upcoming conferences. Join AER, contribute to the field of visual impairments and help make our Georgia chapter strong!
Georgia Blind Sports Association
Georgia Blind Sports Association's mission is to help visually impaired people all over Georgia discover their athletic potential, from recreational fun to the Paralympics.
Georgia Department of Education
Information about visual impairment services in Georgia can be found on the Department of Education's website along with downloads specific to serving students who are visually impaired and contact information for Georgia's Education Program Specialist.
Georgia Instructional Material Center (GIMC)The GIMC is a program of the Georgia Department of Education, Division for Special Education. GIMC provides, or assists in the acquisition of, textbooks and core instructional materials in accessible formats for special education students who are blind or have a physical, or specified print related disability, and are served in Georgia's public schools. GIMC registers legally blind students, in both public and private schools for quota funds through the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) .
Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Service (GLASS)
Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) provides Georgia residents with print impairments access to a free national library program that lends talking books on cassettes, digital cartridges or in braille and lends magazines on digital cartridge or in braille. Once a person is registered with GLASS, they will also be able to access the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. All of Georgia's public libraries are affiliated with one of the nine member facilities of the GLASS network.
Georgia PINES 
Georgia PINES is funded by the Department of Education and provides early intervention services in natural environments with an emphasis on training families of newly diagnosed children ages birth to five years with vision and/or hearing loss using a coaching model and parent education.
Georgia Radio Reading Service (GaRRS)
The Georgia Radio Reading Service (GaRRS), the State’s only radio reading service. GaRRS’ mission is to improve the quality of life for every Georgian who is blind, visually-impaired or has difficulty with the printed word. They deliver approximately 200 different radio shows each month including: cover-to-cover readings of magazines, newspapers, and books; population-specific programming (for seniors, veterans and Hispanics/Latinos); and public service announcements about community; and support programs and activities.
Georgia Sensory Assistance Project
The Georgia Sensory Assistance Project, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, offers technical assistance to school personnel, service personnel and families of children and youth with deaf-blindness from birth through 21. It is housed on the campus of the University of Georgia. GSAP conducts an annual deaf-blind census which is reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Georgia Vision Educators Statewide Training (GVEST) 
GVEST provides an opportunity for Georgia's educators who serve students with visual impairments to have specialized training and to share effective practices and strategies specific to the needs of students with visual impairments. The annual GVEST conference takes place at the Georgia Academy of the Blind and provides workshops led by experts in the field of blindness.
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Division provides a variety of individual services to persons with disabilities in preparation for their employment in the competitive labor market and to employers seeking to retain valuable employees with disabilities or hire qualified individuals for their workforce.
iCanConnect/GA
iCanConnect is a national deaf-blind equipment distribution program whose goal is to ensure that every person with a combined hearing and vision loss has access to modern telecommunication tools and that training necessary to use them, granting every individual the opportunity to interact with the world as an involved, contributing member of society.
Smokey Powell Center for Assistive Technology
The Smokey Powell Center is funded through the James E. "Smokey" Powell Foundation and located at the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon, GA. It offers the following services at no charge to Georgia local school districts:
https://vifga.org/
vifGA is a nonprofit organization that serves as a central resource for visually impaired Georgians. The organization includes:
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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 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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