Providing Vision Services

ECC Annual Needs

The Expanded Core Curriculum consists of nine unique areas that address the knowledge and skills needed by students with visual impairments due to their unique needs. The various areas of the expanded core curriculum provide educators with a way of addressing the needs of students with visual impairments. The student's needs in each of the areas should be considered each year and priorities made as to which areas should be focused on. ​

Service Plans

The planning of services, whether for an IFSP, Individualized Education Program (IEP), or Rehabilitation plan includes present level of performance, behavior, need for Assistive Technology, accommodations, and specific goals will be written that address deficits as well as projected needs in some or all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum for students with visual impairments. ​​Each student with a disability will have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or in some cases, a 504 Plan. An IEP is a written statement, based on the student's needs. Although the actual document will look different in each state, and even districts within each state, the components of the IEP will be the same. In assisting the educational team in developing IEP for a student who is blind or has a visual impairment, it is important to embed the areas of the expanded core curriculum into the IEP as well as into educational programming. This will look different for students that are following the Standard Core Curriculum as opposed to a Modified Curriculum. 

Goals & Objectives

The following pages contain goals and objectives that will provide a starting point of possible goals and objectives for the student who is blind or visually impaired. Remember these are just a starting point. It is important to make them "SMART" by individualizing them to each student's unique needs. The pages are accessible as part of the free member pages. Simply click on Log In|Register in the navigation bar at the top of the page and follow the directions to register and create your password. Once you log in, you can click on the Account tab in the navigation bar to see all the free member pages and any paid member pages you have purchased access to. ​

Adaptations

Students who are blind or visually impaired require adaptations to the environment, materials, and instruction. Each student will have his or her own unique visual needs based on the student's visual impairment as well as other disabilities. It is important to understand each student’s visual diagnosis and the implications concerning functional vision to make the appropriate adaptations to maximize the students use of vision and access the same assignments as their sighted peers. ​

Collaboration

​Instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) is a team effort. Effective teams work closely together and in synch to best support students. Other team members may provide intense service in some ECC areas with collaboration from the TVI.

Instruction

​This section provides tips and strategies for putting together instruction in all areas of the ECC. Some of the pages within this section contain advance copies of information available in publications. They are available to those who have purchased the Complete Set as a way of saying thank you.

Complete Set Bonus
History of Visual Impairments
Professional Practice
Vision Professionals
Professionalism
Teacher Resources
Professional Publications
VI Book Resources
Family Resources
VI Referrals
Medical vision exams
visual diagnosis
fvlma
other evaluations