@sarab When you say “referrals for vision therapy services” do you mean there is an IEP evaluation triggered for a suspect disability? In the evaluation requests, are teams requesting a Functional Vision and Learning Media assessments?
Our conversation particularly about the OSEP 2017 memorandum is very interesting! I do want to take a quick opportunity to clarify and 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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Discussion Board Week 1:
Reading Instruction for Students with Visual Impairments: Whose Job is it? (JVIB, 2008, p. 197-209)
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?
In my 10 years of teaching, my primary literacy instruction has been with my braille readers. I also have had the opportunity to work with some young students in phase 3 of CVI. In that role I’m primarily helping the team determine how we can best modify the materials to reduce clutter and help maximize the amount of reading the student can do. With my braille readers, I’ve had the role of both teaching the code and developing their literacy skills, but as some of the articles this week mentioned, I was not taught how to teach reading nor how to teach braille. I think those two pieces are key to my student’s being successful. I’ve taken courses on the science of reading and done my own research, but it was not part of my master’s curriculum. I also find of teaching literacy in addition to the other areas of the ECC challenging with my case load being over 20.
Which author’s (Blankenship, Swenson, Farrenkopf, or Holbrook) response is most influential to you? Why?
This is a hard question. I found all of the articles meaningful and poignant. I feel like we need updates to these articles because they’re dated, but I can speak to my own master’s instruction which was 10 years ago. I wasn’t taught how to teach braille or how to teach reading. I believe that Dr. Blankenship is correct that we likely haven’t seen any changes to literacy outcomes in almost 20 years because our preparation programs stilll don’t require us to be duel certified and teachers I’ve mentored report that they’re still not learning how to teach braille or how to teach reading. I also worry that many of our general education preparation programs are not likely teaching the science of reading to their students. That need is now required in the state of Washington, but many teachers are relearning how to teach reading effectively. I also appreciated the perspective of Dr. Swenson. I have always treated my braille instruction as literacy instruction and have avoided braille curriclulums and instead used motivating reading options or aligned with my classroom teachers. I find that students do better when they learn the code in context and its much more fun.
Eligibility Determinations for Children Suspected of Having a Visual Impairment Including Blindness Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (OSERS, 2017)
How did The Eye’s Role in Learning to Read shape or alter your opinion of serving students with Convergence Insufficiency?
This article was new to me which is concerning considering that its been 10 years since it came out. I also struggle with this definition. In my role as a TVI I’ve been using the position from AER to help teams understand that I’m not a vision therapist. I also struggle with this rule because the efficacy of vision therapy is so poor and its not covered by insurance which means its only available to families who can afford it. I also feel like I don’t know how to support students with these conditions because most of what I’ve seen in vision therapy reports are ways to accommodate the student not how to help them overcome these challenges.
How does the OSERS 2017 memorandum contribute to your understanding of eligibility for students with visual impairments, including blindness? Evaluate the implications of removing modifiers from state level definitions of visual impairment, including blindness.
I feel like this will make our jobs even harder. We are not taught how to work with students who have disorders like convergence insufficiency and I feel like most of what I can provide are accommodation and assistive technology supports. I feel like we’re just adding a whole group of students to over stacked caseloads and making TVI’s work with students who they are not prepared to support. I also worry that it sends the message to schools and teams that we can fix vision problems which is not our job.
Reading Instruction for Students with Visual Impairments: Whose Job is it? (JVIB, 2008, p. 197-209)
- 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?
My involvement with literacy instruction has been more to a technology side of literacy. I have had the role of braillest, large printing, and for a brief bit co-teaching. I have collaborated with classroom teacher for modifications and accommodations related to the IEP and what was being taught in the classroom. One student I was teaching Braille to was not open to the use of Braille in the classroom because she felt it made her different. I have worked closely with the classroom teacher to be part of the literacy instruction, but to be honest my have been limited braille readers and finding the time to teach them in coalition to the curriculum has been minimal. A lot o needs to be changed in relation to the involvement of the TVI in literacy. Time is the factor, preparation of materials, better understanding of ECC, and involvement.
Throughout week 1 discussion thread there has been some mention about providing vision therapy services (as it relates to students with Convergence Insufficiency). Please be sure and check out an AER position paper called The Role and Training of Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVIs) as a Special Educator and Why TSVIs Do Not Provide Vision Therapy Services. It’s a valuable resource. https://www.aerbvi.org/position-papers
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I have had similar challenges with school psychologists my entire career. So often they want to point to the visual impairment instead of recognizing that our students can have more than 1 disability and in many cases they do. If we aren’t addressing those challenges, we aren’t serving them effectively. I’m not a reading specialist, but I’m happy to collaborate with them, but both those specialists and school psychs need to acknowledge that our students come with a variety of needs and its not always their vision impairment.
- Which author’s (Blankenship, Swenson, Farrenkopf, or Holbrook) response is most influential to you? Why?
Farrenkopf response was the more influential to me, but they all had valid points.
It is hard enough for teachers of students with visual
impairments to find the time to teach all of the
unique skills that students who are visually impaired
must learn. But, when faced with budgetary
constraints and personnel issues, we sometimes
have to make do with what we have. Part
of my role as the coordinator of the Vision Program
is to advocate for more resources in general
(because it is the right thing to do), as well
as to continue to find creative ways to meet students
literacy needs while keeping best practices
in mind and dealing with the day-to-day reality of working within a larger system.
Hello. My name is Jeff and I’m a TVI in Michigan. I agree that literacy is the responsibility of all stakeholders in a child’s education. Too often, I have seen gen ed teachers at the secondary level look to pass off the “teaching” of their content area to the TVIs if a student with visual impairments can’t get by with the “sit & get” method. There needs to be a willingness to collaborate which is difficult given time constraints, but if a gen ed teacher is proactive and organized, the partnership between the TVI and the teacher can be a successful one. Unfortunately, all too often, teachers send out their materials at the last minute, making it difficult to prep braille materials in a timely manner, not to mention the pre-teaching of new symbols. However, as you mentioned, we must remember that the classroom teacher is already under a lot of stress, so it’s a delicate process to advocate for your students without burning bridges.
Great question Amy! Actually, the referrals are coming from certain optometrist recommending vision therapy for the same students they give the initial diagnosis of CI to. Parents bring the referral to school asking us to give these services (so they don’t have to pay for them since they aren’t covered by insurance), but in their reports it also states only they can provide these services (which seems like a conflict of interest to me but hat’s another post). Because the parents make a request for services and have a diagnosis, we have to go through our whole referral process which means an FVA/LMA are requested at the meetings to see if educational services are warranted.
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Thanks for posting this study. I think that my primary challenge with referrals for students that receive vision therapy is that the science just isn’t there and the efficacy of their treatment is also not there. I’m glad they were able to say that reading disabilities are not tied to the vision if they have dyslexia or other challenges. I believe we need a broad definition for our students since educational impact is our primary concern, but we need to have guidelines and effective preparation if I’m supposed to be working with students with conditions like convergence insufficiency.
Seedlings has a great selection of books. Another resource is your state library for the blind. In New Jersey, our students are eligible to order an E-Reader which allows them to download books and read from a refreshable braille display. My students love this because they do not have to wait for books to arrive. They are also able to download books on their own once they learn how to use the braille display. This is a game changer for sure.
- Which author’s (Blankenship, Swenson, Farrenkopf, or Holbrook) response is most influential to you? Why?
After reading all of the author’s views on the issue of who is responsible for teaching reading to student’s with visual impairments, I would have to say that Anna Swenson’s response was most influential to me. As I look to the upcoming year and my return to the role of TVI, I am already starting to worry about one of the children on my caseload (a first grader learning braille in a general education setting) and how I will be able to provide the instruction she will need. Although I plan to provide daily services to the child and will be at the school every day, I will also be itinerant and will have other schools and students that I serve. Swenson’s reference to Phil Hatlen’s statement “We cannot continue to sacrifice literacy for inclusion” hit home. I agree that inclusion is appropriate for most children, but in considering the amount of one-on-one time that this child will need to be proficient in learning to read, it seems like a challenge for the TVI to be the only one providing the reading instruction. Early in my teaching career, our district provided services for students with visual impairments at specific schools. The children were still in the general education setting, but there was a TVI based full time at the school to provide the instruction and accommodations these children needed. If a child had a question or needed assistance with braille or curriculum access, the teacher was available at all times to provide it. Now, my district serves these children in the general education setting at their home zone school with an itinerant TVI. I can’t help but wonder what the data would show of the reading skills of the children who had access to the TVI at all times, versus the children who do not. Swenson feels that for young braille learners, more of the responsibility for teaching reading should fall on the TVI. As the children become more efficient in reading and braille, then the general education teacher would assume more of the role of teaching the reading. Swenson also states that there is no one way to teach braille and that flexibility and individualized instruction is the key. All of the authors in the readings seem to feel that the TVI should have more preparation in the fundamentals of reading instruction and that braille instruction and reading instruction for young children first learning to read should not be separated and should be a team approach (including parents), of which I would agree.
I am also an itinerant teacher in a rural state. It has been my experience, perhaps more so post pandemic, that my low vision students who are not reading at grade level are not taken seriously as having potential learning disabilities. The schools and teams so often appear to want to blame low vision as the culprit. This is not my experience. My experience is many students seem to have concurrent learning disabilities that are not addressed because ‘vision’. I find this very frustrating; it absolves the teachers and interventionists and places too much on the TVI and the impaired access. Yes, low vision can most assuredly impact a students’ access to their world and education curriculum, but no, I do not believe it to the source of reading delay. Much of what you wrote resonated with me. I have several low vision young boy students who really need more interventions, but because they are below 3rd grade, it seems they need to fail before their issues are taken seriously.
I am not a vision therapist–I am not qualified to provide vision therapy–I say that a lot to my schools!
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I totally agree with everything you have stated and referenced some of the same concerns in my response to the readings. This year I will be returning to the TVI role after serving my district in other capacities the last 20 years (inclusion teacher and educational diagnostician). I also am a believer in inclusion for student with special needs, but only if they can be provided the services they need in that setting. My district used to have a few schools where students who were going to be braille readers were sent. They were still provided instruction in the general education setting, but a TVI was based full time at the school and could provide intensive braille/reading instruction and help them as needed throughout the day. We not only provide itinerant services for students in their home zone schools. I will have a young braille learner this year who will receive 75 minutes of instruction from me daily. But, as an itinerant teacher, I fear for what will happen when I am not at the school. I do feel fortunate in that I am also certified in learning disabilities and elementary education, so have some background in teaching reading. If I did not have these other certification areas, I fear that I would not be equipped to provide braille and reading instruction together. I think that the certification path for TVIs should include extensive instruction in how to teach reading.
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I live in a rural state, and without the itinerant model, my students would have no teacher. In densely populated places, having district TVIs makes sense, but not in many areas of this county. I also agree that a TVI already is expected to know more than they realistically can–low vision, braille, CVI, communication, it’s not realistic. I am tri-certified, and though it works very well for the rural environment in which I live, it’s an awful lot to keep up with.
I have found also that many gen ed teachers feel overwhelmed by the rising needs of their students, and are leaving the teaching field. Placing another area of curriculum on to TVIs doesn’t feel like a way forward.
Both convergence insufficiency and ocular motor apraxia have been diagnoses that I am seeing more often and have also wondered what the role of the vision teacher would be in these cases. I enjoyed the video in the modules about how to make accommodations and modifications to support reading. A lot of these strategies would be beneficial for those students above. And yes, we did not go to school to be vision therapists, so I feel that in addition to the optometrists that provide therapy, we can also look to the OTs at our schools for some input and suggestions. A lot of these children may not need an IEP for instruction from a TVI, but would benefit from a 504 plan. But, I would imagine there are also some that would benefit from instruction in sensory efficiency, even if only for a little while, to help them use their vision while learning to read.
Reading Instruction for Students with Visual Impairments: Whose Job is it?(JVIB, 2008, p. 197-209)
- 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?
As an itinerant teacher of students with all levels of visual impairment, I have had a variety of experiences relating to literacy instruction. The most successful team I was ever on was for a completely blind student in second grade. The student had been receiving services consistently since birth. They were in the same elementary school that they had been in since kindergarten and had a very collaborative teacher, para, and school staff. The classroom teacher and I would meet weekly to discuss the instruction coming up. She would provide materials that needed to be brailled. I would push in during literacy instruction as well as pull the student out for direct instruction. Overall, in this situation, the literacy instruction was coming from the classroom teacher and the braille instruction came from me, but we worked as a team to blend the two things together. In my opinion, this is the ideal way for literacy instruction to happen.
Unfortunately, as I am sure many on this thread already know, things don’t typically line up so well. I have been involved in many situations where they did not. The biggest barriers I have had were when staff frequently change, making it difficult to get materials ahead of time. It’s hard to know how to incorporate the classroom material into the pull out sessions when you are not “in the loop”. Additionally, I do not receive trainings when schools adopt new literacy curriculum. I find myself catching on to one curriculum, but then it is switched.
I absolutely think these issues can be corrected. TVIs in a district should receive instruction on the literacy curriculum if we are going to be responsible for providing instruction or reinforcement in the curriculum. I agree with K. Blankenship that we should be receiving a more formal literacy background during our studies to benefit our students in the long run.
I absolutely agree that the lessons needs to be carried out by the TVI, however, I do like to have the para sit in when possible. If they are willing and can be given some instruction as well, they are very helpful in reinforcing skills in the classroom when the TVI is not present.
We have seen a huge jump in these referrals in my area as well! I have found during my evaluations that many of these students did need support in the classroom. We have been adding the accommodations in, but they typically do not receive direct service. I really love your idea of observing and working with the eye doctor. I have been wanting to try that, but I never know how receptive they will be.