Self Concept

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated June 9, 2019

A person's self-concept is based on their sense of identity and rooted in their sense of self-worth. Families and teams need to encourage the student to develop a good self-concept as a person with a visual impairment. A societies values toward persons with visual impairments will contribute to the student's sense of self-worth and may prevent the student from feeling adequate. It is important to provide the student with opportunities to experience genuine success. Allow the student to make decisions, take responsibility, take risks, and foster independence.

Self Concept

There are a number of things you can do to help the student develop a positive self-concept. Begin by first valuing the student and pointing out the things they are able to do and are good at. This does not mean falsely building them up or giving them false praise, but genuinely pointing out their strengths. Let the student hear you provide praise of other students accomplishments as well. The student needs to understand that everyone has unique gifts and abilities. Emphasize that all people are to be valued without giving them a bloated ego. Let the student hear you rejoice (model self-praise) when you accomplish something so they can understand that it is OK to be happy about accomplishments. You can further help a student develop a positive self-concept by encouraging them to: 

• Recognize, respond to, and state their name.

• State basic information about themselves. This is not only an important goal for social exchanges but is an important safety skill too.

• Indicate awareness of abilities and limitations unrelated to their vision.
• Discuss personal likes and dislikes.
• Provide basic information as to own ethnic origin, religious preference, and family background. Helping a student be aware of and feel confident about who they are and their family heritage and beliefs can help them find others who may share similar backgrounds.
• Evaluate own personality traits, and attempt to modify those that are not functional.
• Demonstrate confidence in own decisions, values, and beliefs.

Problem Solving, Decision Making, & Planning

It is important for students to seek help when needed but learn from experiences in order to become as independent as possible. Students should be encouraged to be diligent and persistent and at the same time realistic and adapt or modify their goals as needed.

To help the student develop problem-solving, decision making, and planning skills, encourage the student to:

• make choices about objects or activities for new or unfamiliar people, objects, or events.

• accept help and request assistance from others as appropriate.

• plan and carry out a routine activity that involves multiple steps.
• negotiate with others to resolve problems.
• identify and evaluate alternative ways of solving problems.
• identify community resources and access those services.

Resources...

Glaser, Edie. All Children Have Different Eyes: Learn to Play and Make Friends...Starring Tommy and Nystagmus (wobbly eyes) and Wendy with Strabismus (crossed eyes). This interactive workbook models for children with visual impairments how to confidently and competently play and make friends while facing difficult social challenges, such as how to answer questions about their condition, enter playgroups, and handle their limitations responsibly.

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Motivational stories

BeYoutiful is a documentary about Sylvia Aponte who has a visual diagnosis of Leber's Congenital Amaurosis. The documentary shares Sylvia's story and her determination to achieve her goals and dreams. 

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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.

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