Your story about the 7 year old student fascinates me. Sometimes we individual professions complete our assessments in isolation and may not observe habits or strategies an individual has learned to use to cope in his/her world. Often times these individuals do not have the words to explain what is going on or what they’re seeing. When I have the opportunity to work with another profession and see how the individual responds to them I have the opportunity to observe how the person is using their vision to function in their environment.
I’m working with several veterans that have vision issues and now have dementia and cannot really explain what they’re seeing, especially to an optometrist or ophthalmologist when getting an exam. Spectacles are prescribed and are not used because the person does not understand how to use them or the spectacles do not help make their vision better.
Very refreshing to hear how that student was able to thrive once the issue was identified.
Thank you @brutvanj and @theresa.craig I had not heard of Beginning with Braille before now, but definitely will be investing in it. I have a background in gen ed as a teacher, so my training has served me well in my role. However, I want to grow and give my students the best I can. This book sounds like a good start to that!
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?
My involvement in literacy instruction has been teaching braille using the curriculum Building with Patterns. I work with students with multiple disabilibites, so there is alot of modifications that go in with teaching this. However, the curriculum reminds me of the structure of the Wilsons Reading Program (interventions for students with dyslexia) because it has a phonics section, writing, decoding and listening comprehension section.
What factors have limited your involvement in literacy instruction?
Considering that my students are functioning far below peers their age, a factor that limits my involvement in this instruction is simply collaboration with the classroom teacher. As stated in the reading, collaboration is critical. A factor that may limit other TVIs is their experience with reading, where this is not an issue with me because I was previously an AIS reading teacher who majored in speech pathology. Therefore, I am able to help bridge language and understanding of reading development, something that others may not be able to do.
Are those factors things that can and should be changed? Why or why not
A course in teaching braille literacy would help TVIs atleast have an understanding of reading development and making surei it is one of the content courses that all TVIs have to complete. I know in NY that in my school we only had a intro to braille literacy, which was teaching us how to decode braille, however in another school I believe it was more geared with teaching braille. As for collaboration, unless schools force a prep period with content teachers, I do not see this getting better. This is because schools and teachers already are looking for time in their schedule between lessons, prepping and grading, that it is difficult scheduling zoom calls even as a consult.
Which author’s (Blankenship, Swenson, Farrenkopf, or Holbrook) response is most influential to you? Why?
A response that was influential to me was that we should revamp the itinerant model of delivering services. We find this to ultimately be an issue in my department and tend to be left out of alot of meetings. Again, even when we have students that are supposed to have consults. I didn’t know that conferences could or would incorporate studies like this one in their conferences. I think that would be something that would eb beneficial if they had more studies and therefore it would be more predominant in conferences.
I love how you mention about parental involvement. This reminds me of one of my students whose mom didn’t think her daughter would ever be able to read. Her grandfather had faith and watched some sessions (at the time she was my colleagues student as she was being homeschooled) and he found it amazing on how she picked up on it and she was in fact able to read. This led to her mom believing and actually caring a little more about her education and even more faith in her daughter.
I struggled with the CI needs at first as well and had a hard time with all the screening requests I was getting 5 years ago or so. I then realized these students are really struggling and require accommodations. I don’t work on any vision therapy components with them and make it clear that is a medical intervention. You are correct that it’s costly, not covered by most insurances and in the area I am in, there is no one so families have to travel.
In addition to accommodations for text, I am starting to look at learning media and in many cases introduce to Bookshare and other apps that allow for alternative modes of access.
For vision services in NYS, they also have to have the low vision range in eye vision but to be honest I am not fully sure the rest of the qualifications because I have students that have pretty “regular vision” but since they have a comorbid disability- they usually qualify for services. I know that I have a kindergarten student that has “other health impairments” but he doesn’t seem to really need vision services but it is helpful as the student develops fine motor skills and in a few years we can discontinue him. It is so hard to discontinue usually because if parents fight it and the schools don’t mind, we keep the services and this causes a problem because with the few amount of TVIs in the area- less students who are more in need are able to be served.
I don’t have much experience with dementia but the little bit I do have there almost seems to be a CVI component to the vision.
Time is definitely a factor and caseloads are increasing more than ever!
Though I agree students with CI don’t fit the typical mold of our students, their vision is definitely interfering with learning. Many can’t get the medical interventions and some who do don’t always have the success that was hoped. Accommodations often include increased font size and spacing. I have a para who floats our district under me who is highly trained in visual impairments. One of her roles is adapting these materials. With the increasing needs in this area as well, it’s a challenge to keep up.
- 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 impairments, including blindness.
The OSERS, 2017 memorandum further confirms my understanding and basis of eligibility of students with a visual impairment.This is also based upon my TCVI experience of 19 years in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Education updated the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) with Related IDEA Federal Regulations in determining eligibility of a student having a visual impairment prior to 2021.
Prior to 2021 MARSE more or less stated anyone with either a diminished vision field or 20/70 visual acuity or less (both eyes) qualifies as visually impaired. Unfortunately, this created a burden of over inflated caseloads for TCVI’s. Back in the day, medical diagnosis of CVI or even DeMorsiers were somewhat overlooked as we were honing in on ROP, Albinism, Anophthalmia, partial blindness/blindness. Having OSERS 2017 updated allowed MI to redefine who qualifies as visually impaired providing the TCVI with flexibility.
For instance, after assessing a student and finding they qualify as visually impaired due to the medical report however, the student can assess the general education curriculum with a larger assistive technology device having particular software enabled leading to a 504. Students having 20/200 or less do not necessarily need or want to learn braille. This conversation happens more frequently than not with students and parents. TCVI’s creative flexibility is in part due to a combination of the Ophthalmologist/Optometrist report, Functional Visual Assessment including questionnaires for parent/teacher, Learning Media Assessment and most importantly input from the student. TCVI’s then present their findings to the team to better determine the desired outcome.
Lastly, I have yet to come across a “one-size fits all” with the students provided to assess. This is further evidence of the benefits of modifiers removed at the state level allowing TCVI’s to determine the best needs for students in the overall educational picture.
William: You hit the nail on the head about dyslexia or other learning issues. I have received emails from Teacher Consultants asking about the visual needs of a student who is dyslexic more often than not. My number one question: Do you have an updated eye report? This is 50-50 at best as am finding parents/guardians tend to have the health of the eyes out of the equation.
For those that do not have an eye report I have a favorite university I refer the parent to. This clinic also offers vision therapy which is difficult to come by.
Have you been asked to provide vision therapy for students? This happens frequently. If you are a TCVI, you can call the doctor’s office and obtain the vision therapy information and provide to the student. No!
Eye glasses and contacts are becoming increasingly advantageous to those with reading disorders. Science is catching up.
Thanks for your insightful posting.
Your reply made me think of the number of times, years ago I would not have an eye report with the promise of having one while the clock is ticking with an evaluation. This would be a follow up to the school based vision screening which results in not passing.
MI requires an updated eye report to qualify according to the MET. If after assessing the student qualifies as VI and we still do not have the report all of the assessment work is literally filed. I now require a full, updated vision report before assessments.
Having the TC and key team members pushing the parents is ideal as they have the rapport. Nothing worse than to have completed the FVA/LMA knowing the student qualifies but the TCVI cannot qualify due to parents not taking their child to the eye doctor.
I always request that the para be present during my lessons so that they can help to reinforce concepts that the student is learning with me.
I agree. Students should have the skills to read/write in braille. I find that most of my middle/high school students use a laptop equipped with JAWS and a braille display so that they always have the choice as to what method they use. A well-rounded student has a healthy combination of input methods to complete their work. For example, some of my students will use their laptop coupled with JAWS and a braille display when reading material and needing to find text evidence, but use audiobooks when listening to a book for leisure.
I have also struggled with finding the time to focus on specific skills and incorporating enough repetitive practice to aid mastery. It takes many conversations and a willing partner to change the classroom expectations to find the time. Balancing different classroom and building schedules and travel time seems to getting more difficult. I have found success with showing how replacing assignments/activities leads to the same outcome to be most successful. Asking the teacher to prioritize activities/assignments/ expectations in a classroom has have varying outcomes, I tend to wait until I have spent some time in the classroom before I request or implement changes to squeeze the time out.
I have found the document from PatTan outlining the differences to be helpful with talking with administrators, teams and families. I could not find my link, but this Pathways to Literacy post has some excerpts. [Vision Therapy and Educational Visual Impairment Services: What’s the Difference? – Paths to Literacy]
Reading Instruction for Students with Visual Impairments: Whose Job is it? (JVIB, 2008, p. 197-209)
1. 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 has varied with the student. With most of my LV students, my role has been mainly focused on access to the materials and instruction provided by the classroom or reading teacher while with my Braille students it has varied. With pre-readers and beginning readers I have, at times, been the primary source of instruction incorporating braille and other reading skills while students with more advanced reading skills the focus returned to access and the instruction returned to the reading/classroom teacher.
With one of my current students I am expected to squeeze all of my instruction around the classroom (100% inclusion). I have found it to be very frustrating as there is not enough time in the day, especially when trying to balance an itinerant caseload that includes traveling between multiple buildings in multiple districts. Convincing teachers to change their expectations for some assignments and both of us being flexible have been key.
2. Which author’s (Blankenship, Swenson, Farrenkopf, or Holbrook) response is most influential to you? Why? While all of the authors made points I agreed with, M. Kay Holbrook had what I needed to hear today. Her article reaffirmed my personal beliefs including reading is complex and everyone must bring their best tools to the table to give the student the best foundation. I like to think the “many hands make light work” idiom comes into play when supporting a student. While I may be good at some things, others are great and the student can benefit from us all. It really takes a village!
Allowing for flexibility in curriculum is my dream-- most of the districts I work with have required me to use the same reading curriculum with my students with VI as the rest of the district. It has proven to be difficult to incorporate braille skills into the scope and sequence of the print lessons, especially at the beginning stages when they are image heavy. I feel that had I been allowed to pull my student from the traditional curriculum we would have better outcomes at this point.
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?
I have been a TVI for the past 6 years, I was a Itinerant Early Childhood Intervention Specialist for 19 years before recieving this licensure. My role in literacy instruction as a TVI has been that of making sure the students have access to materials either through enlarged print, magnification devices, or Braille. My background in education started with an undergraduate degree in education of the handicapped moderate to severe, a masters degress in early childhood education, and then the TVI licensure. I have never taken a methods class on how to teach reading. I did have to take 3 language arts class to add the TVI component to my current liscensure, where I learned more about phonemic awareness and phonics, but I still did not take a teaching reading class. So to say I feel comfortable being “responsible” to teach reading or “highly qualified” is a no. I feel as a TVI I have left that up to others to actually teach the reading and I take a more supportive roll building on what the general education teacher and intervention specialist are doing. When reading the articles, I did have a moment of clarity, when it stated “Whose Job is it.” Is it really just one person’s job? I then found this quote in the reading “For a student who is blind or visually impaired to receive a high-quality education in literacy, a number of professionals need to collaborate in meeting this goal.” Collaboration can be time consuming! I have found that collaboration between the TVI, General Educators, Special Educators, and/or Administrators has not been encouraged, but it has been discussed. I often hear from the other educators that there is limited time for TVI support in the areas of instruction of the tools that are being prescribed. I have struggled with getting educators in the 3 counties and 9 school districts that I serve to “buy in” to the importance of the instruction and information that I offer to the students, we serve together. I want to take a more active roll to support the student and the educators in the area of literacy. I am hopeful that the information and learing that I gain from this cohort will help me be more supportive
I believe that being flexible in the itinerant role is key. We need to work around the students schedule for academic instruction, specials, lunch, and recess. Balancing all of this in different schools grade levels, and making sure that the time is enough can be incredibly tough.
I have been a TVI for 6 years. I do not feel that is a short time, but I still feel like I struggle with whether or not a student qualifies for VI services. I look at the doctors information, do a FVA, do a LMA, do interviews, and at times I still wonder if I should qualify a student for sevices. Then, if they do qualify, how do I decide how much time. I am trained. I learn more every day, but do I have enough training? Do I have access to the correct supports and resources? It is a daily struggle!
I have worked with 2-3 students with convergence issues or apraxia. From my experience, these students needed accomodations and benefit from a 504, if they don’t qualify for other services. Only one of these students went to vision therapy. It seems that TVIs have a role is assessment and providing recommendations for accomodations in the school setting. However, providing vision therapy is outside the scope of my training and current abilities. I was able to help train students in use of tools and then facilitate the move to a 504 plan.