SOCIAL ETIQUETTE

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated July 21, 2018

People who are sighted can often feel apprehensive when encountering, conversing with or teaching a student who is blind or visually impaired. They question what to say or what not to say. As part of an In-Service meeting, help educators and team members understand how to interact with the student who is blind visually impaired.

How does a person respectfully treat people who are blind? The following guidelines will assist you in remembering to emphasize "people" first, before the disability, to avoid negative connotations or patronizing language and tips on interacting with people who are blind.

Use: People with disabilities, instead of: The  disabled or handicapped
Use: People who are blind, instead of: Blind people
Use: Has (specify the disability), instead of: "Afflicted with"
Use: Born with (specify the disability), instead of: Has a birth defect
Use: Uses a wheelchair, instead of: confined to a wheelchair
Use: People who are deaf, instead of: Deaf and dumb, deaf-mute, or    
        hearing impaired people
Use: Products created by people who are blind, instead of: Blind-made
        products.

Interacting with Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

• It is helpful to provide a description when you introduce the student to other people.  You might tell the student something about what the person’s job is or a friend they have in common.

• Always introduce yourself by stating your name when you meet and/or greet the student and encourage other students and staff to do the same.  (ex. “Hi, Karen, this is Mrs. Willings. How are you today?) Avoid asking the student “Who am I?” or “Who is this?” as this guessing game puts the student on the spot and can be embarrassing.
• Calling the student’s name is like making eye contact with a sighted person. Touch his/her arm or shoulder lightly as you do so, to be sure the student knows you are addressing him/her. 
• When the student is with you, and you greet someone in passing, be sure to greet anyone you meet by name so the student knows who it is. Encourage the student to follow your lead and say hello even before the person greets her.
• Speak naturally and don’t feel you need to change your vocabulary when you talk. Don’t be afraid to use words that refer to seeing. Phrases like, “Do you see?” and “Look at that!” are common expressions that everyone uses. Remember that you are trying to help the student who is visually impaired live in a sighted world.
• The words “here” and “there” are too general for descriptive use. Be specific and label objects that give direction and location.
• It is an important skill to teach the student to allow others to take their turn. A student with visual impairments often needs a direct reminder to wait their turn and listen to the other person during a conversation.
• Encourage the student to stay on a topic long enough to let their partner reply. When the student listens, they get feedback on ideas they have expressed and may get additional information. Help a student stay on the topic by adding a little information or by asking a question.
• Model how to change subjects by using phrases such as “that reminds me of…” or “I just noticed that…”
• Try not to disappear during your interactions. Tell the student when you are leaving and encourage the sighted students to do the same.

Jewish Guild for the Blind Guidelines

The following suggestions were developed and published by the Jewish Guild for the Blind for the purpose of helping sighted people know how to interact with people who are blind.

• Introduce yourself. Not everyone recognizes voices or remembers them.
• Don't shout. Visually impaired or blind does not mean hearing impaired.
• Don't leave a person who is blind talking to themselves. Let them know when you are leaving.
• Don't use hand signals. People with severe visual impairments can't see waving or pointing hands.
• Don't omit words like, "See" or "Look". People with visual impairments are not offended by these words and understand that these words are part of normal conversations.
• Do feel free to photograph someone who is blind or visually impaired. Everyone likes to capture special moments to save and show to others.
• Do speak directly to a person who is blind. Don't speak to a family member or friend and ignore the person who is blind. Remember they can speak for themselves.
• Don't push, pull or grab a person who is blind. This can cause accidents and is often embarrassing.
• Do offer your arm for assistance. A person who is blind would rather take your arm than have you take their arm.

     For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise." -Benjamin Franklin

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TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

$50.00

Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book 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.

The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:

• Object Characteristic Activities
• Quantity & Number Concepts
• Time Concept Activities
• Environment & Job Awareness Activities
• Listening Skills Activities
• Reading Foundation Activities
• Reading Fluency Activities
• Braille Basics Activities
• Writing Activities
• Tactual Efficiency Activities
• Developing Skillful Hands Activities
• Visual Efficiency Activities
• Optical Device Instruction Activities
• Recipe Activities

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.

Unique Concepts within the Units include:

• Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
• Social Skills Activities (e.g. Being bullied or teased, giving and receiving compliments, body language, "I" messages when upset and more)
• Recreation & Leisure Activities (e.g. exploring interest areas, getting involved in clubs and sports, playing games, and more)
• O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
• Independent Living Skill Activities (e.g. chores, being responsible, using tools, recipe suggestions, hygiene, staying healthy, labeling foods and products, and more)
• Sensory Efficiency Activities (e.g. unique sensory experiences related to the unit, unique optical device activities, and more)
• Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
• Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)

Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.

Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. 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.

Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.

Product details

Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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Visual Efficiency & Magnifier Fluency Grab & Go ECC Supplements

$20.00

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 supplement 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.  

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:

Digital pdf download: 210 pages

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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