IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Revised August 27, 2017

When a visual impairment is present from birth (congenital) it will have a more significant impact on development and learning than if the visual impairment is acquired later in life (adventitious). Loss of vision can affect all areas of development. Social development is affected as children are not able to pick up on non-verbal clues or if they are unable to make eye contact they may appear disinterested and can reduced sustained social interactions. Loss of vision impacts motor development as a child may not be motivated to move toward that which can't be seen or causes inhibition to move for fear of the unknown. ​​Exploration of the environment and materials is critical in cognitive development, therefore movement is important not only for motor development but for development of concepts.

Language acquisition can also be affected by the loss of vision as active interaction with people and the environment is important in language development. Delays in the area of independence in activities of daily living are impacted as incidental learning through observation is not possible for those with significant visual impairments. This impact can be magnified when caregivers, in an effort to help or to rush through activities, complete tasks for the child which creates a learned helplessness in the child.

Berthold Lowenfeld

APH hall of fame

Berthold Lowenfeld, a psychologist, researcher, and advocate for the blind, hypothesized that blindness imposes 3 basic limitations on a person (often referred to as Lowenfeld Losses):

1. Loss of range and variety of experiences
2. Loss of the ability to get around
3. Loss of the control of the environment and the self in relation to it.

Because of these restrictions, the individual relates to and learns about the world through the remaining senses, particularly hearing and touch. Lowenfeld stated that "A great many experiences which are taken for granted with seeing children are either impossible or much more difficult for blind children." Lowenfeld found that students with visual impairments required special experiences to help them make sense of what they were learning. Teachers need to make sure these are minimized through training and skills through active exploration with concrete materials. Read More about Berthold Lowenfeld at APH's Hall of Fame.

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Maslow's Hierarchy

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology. It is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire the secondary or higher level needs. Moslow hierarchy can be used to solve problems presented by the loss of vision.

1. Personal/Physical: 11 Senses, cognitive IQ, Muscular/skeletal reflex. The physical attributes of what's going on; sensorimotor. These are requirements for  human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body cannot  continue to function.
2. Safety:  Real. Sensorimotoric. Things that are physical (ex. not able to cross street the same way as sighted). Perceived. Can come from anyone. Must attack   emotional aspect. With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the  person's safety needs take precedence and dominate behavior.
3. Love/Trust: Have to trust someone. Someone needs to motivate me.
4. Esteem: Love and trust self. Trust own decisions.
5. Cognitive.  Now able to pay attention. Transfer knowledge.
6. Asthetics/Motivation: Moving toward a motivation. Teach kids to be motivated and take risks.
7. Self Actualized. They do it. An accepted standard.

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     If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life."
-Abraham Maslow

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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

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