2024 Summer Cohort
When to introduce contracted braille to younger students is quite debatable and has been a concern of many practicing Teachers of the Visually Impaired over the years. The ABC article is inconclusive as to when Teachers of the Visually Impaired should introduce contracted braille to students with visual impairments, as the article suggests this “has remained a source of discussion among educators for many years” (JVIB, 2009, p. 610-624). Furthermore, the article stressed four basic reading skills of phonological awareness in which indicated students either acquired all skills or none. The article also discusses that students did not have difficulty learning basic reading skills but had great difficulty in “applying these… higher-level skills” (JVIB, 2009, p. 610-624) which has a significant impact on reading. Other findings were struggles with vocabulary. The overall finding was students with visual impairments did not meet Lexile levels when compared to their sighted peers.
Integration of this study should include accessible lessons to accompany the general education teacher’s lesson plans and activities on consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC), consonant-vowel-silent e words, long vowels, digraphs, orthographic patterns, conventions, and past tenses. These lessons can be reviewed in the VI resource setting as well as alongside peers in the general education setting. While students learn alphabetic braille, they can also learn contracted braille. The two can be paired together when learning but assessed separately during spelling tests or in application of knowledge.
Collaboration between the general education teacher, the vision teacher and all who work with students with visual impairments will be key to the success of the student reaching overall literacy achievement. Both teachers should share responsibility in the learning process and literacy success of students with visual impairments. In closing it takes a village is a true statement in that all who work with students with visual impairments should be subject to the academic achievement of these students.
Pamela Joyner
Your response is spot on!
This is one of the main reasons Itinerant TVIs need to collaborate with the student’s team as clearly as possible. GenEd teachers often overlook the challenges students who are blind and visually impaired face. I have seen too many instances of this with the students at my school.
@gina.carter
Accessibility is a small word compared to its meaning regarding students with visual impairments, more specifically to students with complete blindness. The district in which I serve has a “printing shop” with the ability to make print pages in bulk with binding. They do not however have the ability to produce braille. I have offered to provide PDs on braille production at the district level, but no one wants to take on that responsibility.
Technology is another issue in the district in which I serve as so many useful applications are blocked from students with visual impairments and/or requested applications must be vetted, which can take up to a month’s time.
In the case of students with low vision, I too am in support of the inclusive design. General education teachers have a full workload with RTI and other assigned duties to complete on a daily basis and it is the TVI’s responsibility to ensure any forms of accessible materials are provided to the student in the general education setting. Teaching students with visual impairments how to modify and/or apply modifications to their environment is also beneficial to the student as they rise to the age of independence.
Pamela Joyner
- What steps could you take to collaborate with colleagues, administrators, and support staff to promote awareness and implementation of best practices for font legibility to support students with low vision in the classroom? Should local school districts adopt inclusive design principles for printed materials? Why or why not?
In order to support staff and provide awareness and implementation of best practices for font legibility for students with low vision in the classroom, I always first and foremost provide an in-service meeting to the staff that will be working with my students. In my in-service meetings I try to let the adults experience what it is like for my students by having them try on low vision goggle simulators and complete a grade level task with them on. I then ask them to use the students desired font type and size, with one of their tools or devices that my student regularly uses to access their work. Then I get their feedback and see how they felt with and without the appropriate font, tools, and devices. Sometimes putting others in the shoes of our students with visual impairments is all it takes to sway a small team of adults into providing best practice. I wholeheartedly think school districts should adopt inclusive principles for printed materials because instructional materials should be accessible for all. Even if its a small percentage of students that require an alternate font, it is best practice to have things be accessible from the start instead of scrambling to fix things when a student with low vision moves in midyear.
Hi nrice, I also agree that more evidence needs to be collected. It would be interesting to see if there is a large consensus among individuals with central and peripheral field loss on what works best for them. I have found some students with peripheral field loss with typical acuity prefer items to be smaller. But then I have also found with other students that doesn’t work for them. You know what they say “if you’ve met one student with a visual impairment then you have met just one student with a visual impairment,” everyone is unique in their needs.
Hi Marion, that is such a good idea to ask the librarian for new standards for digital literacy! I have reached out to librarians for a number of things but this topic has never come to mind. You have inspired me to message my the librarians in my county.
@klthomas7290
Students with visual impairments who are allowed to choose his/her preferred font would more than likely use that font in reading. This has been the case with many of the low vision students on my caseload. Generally, I ask the student to look at my laptop screen and go through fonts and sizes until they determine a preferred font/size. Later I find the student(s) using the font/size independently in class. I agree that the “choice of typeface could make a significant difference in the reading performance” of students with visual impairments. When students have appropriate access, the student is more likely to use it with success.
I too did not know about the APH font to help with large-print materials. Thank you for sharing this part of the article. It is important to include specific information such as characteristics of typeface and/or font because if something happens to the current TVI, the new TVI would be able to continue a seamless work with the student.
Lastly, Helvetica is often chosen by one of my low vision students. He tried Arial but eventually chose the above mentioned. Perhaps this is because Helvetica appears heavier than Arial, which is thin with more open space.
Pamela Joyner
- What steps could you take to collaborate with colleagues, administrators, and support staff to promote awareness and implementation of best practices for font legibility to support students with low vision in the classroom? Should local school districts adopt inclusive design principles for printed materials? Why or why not?
Font sizes and legibility is a rather interesting concept that I would like to take some time to look into further. I had not realized how many individuals have researched this area in order to determine which ones would best support students in the classroom. I believe the biggest step is to discuss this with colleagues, administrators, and support staff. It can be a presentation at a staff meeting and with access to the presentation or a handout, that will allow the staff to have some information about it. One thing I have done is printed out a graphic with the different font sizes of common household items such as a medicine bottle. I also wrote in my cheat sheet for the teachers what font size the student needs and what is the average size. While one of mine’s font size was not included on the sheet, the largest size (66 point font) shows how big the size the student needs is. I believe by working with administration and the leadership team, you can implement more accessible practices for many things, not just font sizes and accessibility. Local school districts should adopt inclusive design principles for both printed and digital materials. While we certainly do not know the numbers, many parents and students have some visual challenges. They may not necessarily be up to legally blind, but certain font sizes and fonts themselves are not as accessible digitally. The programs or apps that people can use on devices to make things accessible may not work with some fonts as it cannot read it. If we want our community to be part of our schools, we need accessibility to give everyone access.
I love the idea of low vision goggle simulators! I actually made some to use with students for them to experience differences in vision. They had to draw a line from one end to the other and they had a blast. I also agree with you in getting everything ready on the front end of the school year, rather than wait until midyear.
I have experience with a student who used a video magnifier. The student had a hard time seeing sentences due to how blown up he had to make it. The type of font made things hard as well, especially the more fancy ones where certain parts got blurry when zoomed in. I typically use Arial, Verdana, or Times New Roman when I write as they are easier on my eyes, but maybe I need to use Arial or Verdana more. I have heard of the APHont, but I’ve not used it. I might need to try it out!
My students will not use a handheld magnifier. Even among their B or VI peers, they are still a little embarrassed.
Katrina Thomas
#LiveInPeace
Support staff , administrators and colleagues with workshops promoting best practices for font legibility for all students but especially students with visual impairments and the unique problems that they may have.
School districts should not have the sole responsibility for adopting inclusive design principles for printed materials. Cannot use a one size fits all approach. Each child is an individual and may need a unique approach to address their needs.
Great ideas on how to make the world our low vision students live in more accessible to teachers and staff. Having insights into our students world helps us to understand how to better help them and improve or increase their ability to engage at school.
I do agree with you that mandated practices are nerve-racking. We all want to use the best practices to help our students to learn and reach their full potential. We as teachers of students with special needs understand that we need to allowed the freedom to customize to meet the needs of our students. When approach does not work, we search and seek out new methods, resources or materials to engage our students.
- In order to collaborate with an educational team, admin and support staff regarding a student’s functional use of their vision, I would collect data through use of an LMA/ FVA. The data collected would need to be shared in a simplified and understandable manner through use of strategies, direct accommodations, environmental accommodations and material modifications.
I always find expressing someones functional vision very nuanced and often times difficult for non- vision professionals to completely comprehend. I try to use visuals or real examples to put numerical data into an understanding easily consumable way.
In the text “The Legibility of Typefaces,” the researches discuss the many font related factors that impact a readers readibility, threshold seeing conditions, reading speed and more. As the personal delivering information regarding a student’s access to print, I would explain some of the font legibility factors that positively or negatively impact the student’s reading access. Differences between a comfortable reading distance and simply being able to discriminate print would be explained.
As I read this article, I thought deeply about the role assistive technology plays in accessing print that doesn’t meet a readers preferences. As a TVI I emphasize the importance of being a person with low vision who has the skills to access ANY type of print through use of technology. With that mindset, I don’t feel it would be realistic for an inclusive design or universal print to exist. Accessibility is so nuanced and dependent upon the student’s visual impairment and the way it presents in ever changing environments. I do think it would be helpful if districts include TVI’s in the discussion when shopping for new materials, curriculums, etc.
I too was amazed by the amount of research that has been put into this small topic. It also was nice to learn complex terminology for what others see as a simple concept. Use of a visual chart for font sizes is a great idea. Sometimes parents and educators have a hard time envisioning font sizes. I often use such visuals paired with visual impairment simulator goggles to express the font needs a child has or the needs they have that make reading print no longer as efficient as reading braille could be.
I love your first steps when working with a team. I do the same thing and watch opinions change. I agree with your inclusive design perspective but fear there may be no such thing as a printed material that is inclusive for everyone. My hope is for corporations to provide editable versions of their materials.
Educators may incorporate the findings of the study into instruction by increasing the rate of introduction of Braille contractions. Keep in mind that this study included students with a visual impairment only; they did not have another disability and were excluded if they were later identified with one. An increased rate of introduction can look different based on the learner. If local or federal policies mandated specific literacy practices for braille reading students based on the study results, it could negatively impact student progress. Especially, for the populations of students not included in the study. We would be able to better meet our students where they are by completing assessments and providing instruction based on that information. The TVI would be able to provide the appropriate instruction based on needs, and response to needs, and not a mandate. As a TVI we need to maintain high expectations for our students and perform our jobs with professional integrity. I would hope that we apply that to braille instruction without the need for mandated literacy practices.
- How do the assessment methods and protocols described in the ABC article align with your current practices for assessing the literacy skills of students who are blind or visually impaired? Are there any adjustments or enhancements you would consider based on the study’s findings?
In my experience I typically have introduced uncontracted braille first and then depending on the students ability will introduce contractions at a pace that works for them. I had one student that was extremely smart and he was able to quickly learn all the contractions by 2nd grade. While, I’ve had other students that struggle with the alphabet that I have not introduced contractions or have kept contractions to a minimum such as alphabetic word contractions.
The study suggests that the students who are instructed with contractions demonstrate a higher level of success with their reading skills. I do think it is important and it is discussed in the research that more information is needed to determine if the students demonstrated success because they had an early aptitude for reading or if the introduction to contractions.
The enhancement I may make with my students is providing earlier opportunities for the students to have contractions introduced. I still feel that the students need to have a strong understanding of uncontracted braille in order to successfully read contracted braille. However, I am open to the idea of introducing contractions sooner than I typically would if this could benefit my students.
I too will be embedding contractions for some of my young readers! As you mentioned, I do think it is important for TVIs to be able to introduce contractions to each student at a different rate. I have had several students that braille didn’t click until a change was made. One student had been learning braille for several years and once I changed from paper braille to sticky braille labels she quickly picked up braille and within a year was able to transition back over to paper braille successfully! Its so important to be in tune with our students needs.