Swenson’s rate of students learning braille and remaining on grade level IS alarming. To shift to all students identified as visually impaired, there are often students who have suspected learning disabilities. This is suspected during initial assessments but not accepted when suggested to other team members because of how articulate etc. the student may be. Swenson also mentions that in these instances, we continue to advocate for the student to get the proper resources to meet their goal of successful lifelong readers.
Eligibility Determinations for Children Suspected of Having a Visual Impairment Including Blindness Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (OSERS, 2017)
The OSERS 2017 memo helps providers evaluate and recommend who should get help for vision issues, including blindness. By making sure eligibility rules are clear and consistent, the memo helps assure that students with visual impairments get the support and help they need. When states work in line with and have consistent definitions of visual impairment, including blindness, it makes it easier for students to qualify for support in a more consistent way instead of each state having different interpretations of the same law. In my opinion and in what I have seen this can lead to fairer outcomes for students, making they get the right educational support and accommodations. Working in different states, I have seen that, unfortunately, this has not always been the case.
Having looked at the information as well as some other resources we have used in our department in the past, I felt the joint statement titled
Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision - Reaffirmed 2014
AAP, AAPOS, AACO and AAO Hoskins Center for Quality Eye Care was relevant (Joint Statement: Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision - Reaffirmed 2014 - American Academy of Ophthalmology).
The study found that learning disabilities, especially reading issues, are common in children. It’s common for children to be diagnosed with these challenges, and they can come from a mix of reasons, like genetics and how the brain functions. Dealing with learning disabilities can be complex, but it’s crucial to recognize them early and refer kids to experts who use proven methods for evaluations and treatments.
Dyslexia, which many experts see as a language-related problem, is a learning disability that all of us in the school system seem often. While vision problems can impact learning, they aren’t the root cause of dyslexia or other learning issues according to the report. Some treatments like eye exercises, vision therapy, or special glasses may not have strong scientific support for improving long-term educational performance in these conditions. It’s important to rely on treatments that have solid evidence behind them and avoid recommending approaches without scientific backing.
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I agree that the shift towards a collective approach involving not just the reading teacher but all individuals working with the student is crucial in promoting reading skills effectively.I am not familiar with the reading program, UFLI Foundations, but it sounds like the collaborative effort between you, the teacher, and other support staff to create hands-on materials for the student to engage with the content should have good results.The integration of braille instruction in real-time activities sounds like it should work to make sure the student can actively participate alongside their peers, which has always been our goal.
The importance of overlapping roles between the TVI and the Reading Teacher, as highlighted in your experience, is a significant because you are able to incorporate UFI words and blends into Braille lessons preparing the student to access reading materials but to also emphasizing the value of reading in everyday activities.
The emphasis on extra practice, both in the classroom and at home, should help overcome one the obstacles I have seen where students need to develop a love for reading and comprehension among students with visual impairments.
Question 4
I think it’s great that all students with any kind of visual impairment can be eligible for services if it is affecting their education. However, not all vision disabilities can be addressed by the current staff members in most school systems. For example, TVI’s are not trained or licensed in vision therapy, and vision therapy needs to be designed by an optometrist. So a student with convergence insufficiency can have consultation to their staff by a TVI to address how to compensate, but cannot carry out specialized therapy to address the disability. OTs can provide some services to address some issues such as tracking, but once again cannot do vision therapy unless trained and instructed by an optometrist for convergence insufficiency. I think it would be great for schools to provide these services, but to provide them without the staff that is trained to do so would be impossible and inappropriate. There is also not enough places in our area that provide vision therapy for convergence issues, and it is not always covered by insurance, making it difficult for many to access these services outside of school. So having the OSERS state that all students should get these services is wonderful, however I think the underlying issues with providing these services to students in need will need to be addressed.
I agree completely that the concept of inclusion is a great goal since it promotes diversity and a sense of belonging among many of our students. Personally, my challenge, not always met, is that our students do not always have the skills to make sure that they need to ensure that they receive the support and instruction they need to function academically and socially.
I agree with many of your points about the potential downside of inclusion, where students may miss out on essential instruction for the sake of inclusivity, it has been a challenge to find the right balance between inclusive practices and individualized support. Inclusion should never come at the expense of a student’s learning progress or well-being.
A one size fits all approach does not work, and a tailored approach is necessary to meet the diverse needs of learners. By identifying when inclusion may not be serving the best interests of students, educators can make informed decisions to provide interventions and additional support when needed.
Your commitment to maximizing the potential of every student while honoring I believe the best way to meet the the individual needs of students and ensuring that inclusion enhances their educational experience relies on good documentation, informal observation, student input, and ability to function in the classroom.
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I have also been able to adapt reading programs the classroom is using to work with braille, which I was able to do in the first grade this past year. I did feel that my student missed out on so many visuals thought, so needs more explicit learning of sight words. The student also was new at braille this school year, so has a lot of braille code learning to catch up on.
I also had a situation where a student had higher braille skills than reading skills due to a reading disability. The program being used by her special ed teacher, who was a long term sub, was not increasing her skill level. So during braille instruction, I took the Wilson Reading program materials, and did the skill levels in the order of that program. The student took off, and made steady progress from then on, and after a few years went from a non-reader in 4th grade, to reading at grade level in 8th grade. So sometimes, just as a sped teacher and OT myself, identifying the problem and changing up the presentation of instruction can make a huge difference in a student’s abilities.
I took an online vision course for OTs that was about the vision deficits that we can work on, which included what you mentioned about saccades and fixation. They went over convergence insufficiency, and how we can not work on using the eyes together unless it is under an optomoetrist’s direction as vision therapy. TVIs also do not have the training to do vision therapy either. I do feel this is a need of many students, and wish there was a plan to help these students.
- How did The Eye’s Role in Learning to Read shape or alter your opinion of serving students with Convergence Insufficiency?
“The Eye’s Role in Learning to Read” helped me to understand how convergence insufficiency, can significantly impact a student’s ability to learn. Convergence insufficiency has been controversial with many vision teachers weather this is considered a visual impairment that warrants vision services. I have struggled understanding what vision therapy is and the benefits of it. There seems to be more and more students being referred for vision therapy which leads parents and teachers feeling that vision services are needed from the TVI. The findings of this research has shaped my perspective on serving students with convergence insufficiency in several ways especially: 1. Educational Interventions: The findings influenced my views on the types of interventions and accommodations that may benefit students with convergence insufficiency. For example, providing appropriate visual aids or modifying reading materials could support their learning. 2. Collaboration with Specialists: This has helped me to recognize the specialized nature of vision therapy for convergence insufficiency, the research highlights the importance of collaboration with optometrists and vision therapists to create a support plan for affected students. I feel that it is necessary to work together to better assist the student within the educational setting.
Virginia, I have emailed the readings for Week 1, and I will send the rest of the readings as attachments later today.
Hello,
You make good points in both of your discussion post responses. I agree that reading is a team effort for the student’s IEP team. I also agree that the most difficult part of this is getting the buy-in from team members such as the classroom teacher or families at home. I was wondering if you have found any successful strategies when it is a matter of “releasing the role of TVI” as you phrased it? I have also found that classroom teachers being overworked is a big obstacle for our students in the general education setting. Sometimes you can give all of the in-services in the world but teachers do not necessarily follow through in the classroom because of high class numbers.
You also make good points regarding the OSERS 2017 Memorandum. I agree that on one hand, it qualifies a lot of students who may not necessarily need vision services, it also covers students who are on the brink of eligibility but need the services. I think that is why, although it is not consistent with other eligibilities (as mentioned in the text), it is important that TVIs can determine a student’s eligibility based on visual functioning. I understand the debate as to whether it is right that TVIs be the ones to determine eligibility even if there is a diagnosis there, but it also falls under the least restrictive environment.
Thank you for your thoughtful response!
I do touch on reading skills when teaching Braille code, but it does not feel to the extent that a student would need to become a proficient reader. One method I have found helpful is getting readers or curriculum from the reading interventionist at the school to use for student practice readings. But unfortunately, if that is all that is being done with the student to target literacy and fluency it is never enough.
I agree that there needs to be a better understanding between the differences of vision therapy and services from a TVI. It has always been my understanding that vision therapy is addressed by a licensed provider. Usually these eye conditions can be improved with therapy so these students would not qualify for vision services from a TVI. Many accommodations recommended by the vision therapist are seen as accommodations that can only be made or provided by a TVI, Ot, or special education teacher. That leads to unanswered questions for parents and teachers on how to help these children in the educational setting.
@kthiseth @eyebrielleross @ann.nix As educators we are responsible for giving access to the curriculum. What made me think about the video module detailing the eye’s role in reading was realizing that if the eyes aren’t moving, then the student doesn’t have access to reading. If they don’t have access to reading, then we play a role in figuring out next steps. The OSEP 2017 letter places a wider range of students to be considered eligible under VI, including blindness. I evaluated a student with Convergence Insufficiency a few years ago. The IEP team ended up making him eligible in the VI category, because he needed training (specially designed instruction–SDI) on how to use accessibility software and refine listening skills. When the team made him eligible I assumed he would receive the SDI for a year or so before a re-evaluation would be triggered to see if he still required services. I do not know the outcome.
I have been a TVI since 1992 - obviously a lot has changed. I am dually certified with a regular education elementary ed degree and a special education degree specific to Visual Impairments. I had to do a full year of student teaching - one semester in a regular education elementary classroom and one semester in a special education placement for students with visual impairments. I had reading instruction in my college preparation classes but reading instruction has evolved a million times since then and there wasn’t much crossover for us as TVI’s. I have been asking the question about best practices for reading instruction for my students - both print readers and braille readers - my whole career. My role has always been team player and I am a big believer in the village approach because I know my limitations with new and current reading instruction - especially when I have had years without students who needed beginning reading instruction. I always say TVIs have to know a lot about a lot of things - and it depends on the caseload you have what you are really able to focus on. I feel like for my teaching, more actual reading instruction specific to the mechanics of reading and how that applies to students who have visual impairments is crucial - and you need to know what you don’t know so you aren’t working against current and best reading practices that are being taught in the classroom. I love a good team approach - if I have a good working relationship with the classroom teacher I can reinforce what is being taught in class and then go on to incorporate that in my student’s reading instruction. I liked the part about best practices in this article - I think we as TVIs have to make critical determinations about service delivery and how that affects reading instruction. That is something that again, relates to a strong team that will work together directly with the student, with each other and as supports to help during individual instruction or group instruction.
Hello,
I am very much in agreement with all of the points you’ve made in your post. In a perfect world, the itinerant model would be more successful for these students because you would have the full team collaborating and creating universal design lessons that include our students. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
I have not taken into account the effect learning in isolation can have but, when I do now, it does make sense. I know the difference in motivation my student has when they get to participate with their classmates versus when they are just working with me. Unfortunately for my student, if I am not there to help facilitate the lesson, the student ends up getting left behind.
I also find that time is the biggest constraint. I agree that it may take us to move away from the itinerant model to produce more successful students. I think once a student is at grade level the expectation they keep up is not obscene. But when we are placing students who are already playing catch up in the general education setting, there is no way we can expect them to catch up and keep up with their peers. What do we do as TVIs when there are no other appropriate options for our students?
@cduvnjak @eyebrielleross In regards to the OSEP 2017 memorandum, I want to clarify an important detail. The memorandum doesn’t make students eligible, but rather indicates that student’s can’t be prevented from being evaluated for the VI, Including Blindness disabilities due to a lack of modifiers. The evaluation drives the decision made by the IEP team. Does the evaluation point to the need for Specially Designed Instruction? Some accommodations that students need might require access to Specially Designed Instruction (even if just for the duration of one IEP cycle). It’s the IEP team that will determine if the child is eligible based on evaluation information. Unfortunately, when the memorandum was released in 2017, educators didn’t have access to enough guidance. It’s a tricky predicament for sure!!
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I have struggled also with services for students with convergence insufficiency - I feel like there are reading strategies that will help these students that may not be in my wheelhouse so I often think - yes I can help with any adapted equipment but they probably also need OT or help from the reading specialist as well. Where I work, these are the questions we are asking and get asked - and there is still a lot of uncertainty.
I do many of these same things! My post on this article was similar to yours - so much has changed since I had classes regarding reading instruction in college and even then they were geared toward typically developing readers. I have had to OJT a lot! I am a believer in a team approach - we just can’t know it all - and I love what you said about preparing your student to be able to access the instruction and the materials provided by the reading specialist or the classroom teacher. We all have our super powers - you have absolutely defined what at least one of ours should be!
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I agree that it is essential for the teachers, therapists and specialists to work together to address reading instruction. Braille instruction can be aligned with the in class reading instruction to ensure learning is in line with their peers. By working with the classroom teachers materials can be accessed so accommodations can be made for the individual learner in all classes. As TVI it is difficult to deliver the reading instruction if services are limited and can not be delivered on a daily basis.
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- What has your involvement with literacy instruction looked like in your role? What factors have limited your involvement in literacy instruction? Are those factors things that can and should be changed? Why or why not?
Before I became a TVI I was a classroom teacher for 11years. I spent the last 6 years in the classroom teaching Kindergarten. As you can imagine teaching Kindergarten gave me an in depth understanding of the acquisition of reading skills, the role of phonics, sight words, reading fluency, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension. As a TVI I have worked with students who are fluent print readers who are beginning to learn braille, readers who are and have always been braille readers, and a mix of students in-between.
- How did The Eye’s Role in Learning to Read shape or alter your opinion of serving students with Convergence Insufficiency?
This topic interests me as I am encountering it more and more. I am wanting to learn more how I can support students who struggle with convergence insufficiency in the classroom.