1.

Introduction The population of children who are vision impaired

Our learning objectives for today comes to include: those who are ‘legally’ blind and
those with low vision (partial sight). (Westwood,
● ​Focus specifically on the topic of Vision
2015).
Impairment
● Discuss types of accommodations potentially
A person with a visual impairment (after correction) is
required by the classroom teacher to ensure
often referred to as:
students with vision impairments can access
● Low Vision
the curriculum effectively​
● Blindness
● Identify strategies to assist students in a
The degree of loss may vary significantly, which
regular classroom setting
means that each student with low vision or blindness
● Share teaching strategies that might be
needs individual adjustments to learn most
useful when we begin teaching
effectively. There is no ‘typical’ vision impaired
student.

Born vs Acquired

● Congenital – vision loss which is present at

birth or
● Adventitious – vision loss later in life as a
result of a degenerative condition, illness or
accident

Themes Statistics
● Inclusion
● Perception & Empathy
● Vision impairment affects more than 1 in
● ‘On the same basis’
2500 children in Australia.
● Consultation
● Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
● Reasonable adjustment
Australians experience higher rates of
● Relating to the legislation & AITSL
certain vision and hearing disorders than
● Creating options & Accessibility
non-Indigenous Australians.
● Personalised learning
● Independance
Signs and Symptoms
● Universal Design for Learning
● Role of the teacher
● Red or watery eyes
● Squinting (even in indirect light)
2. Specifics ● Irritation of the eyelids
Vision impairment has (in some countries) replaced ● Crossed eyes (or other obvious muscle
the older term visually impaired. When a child is problems)
described as vision impaired it does not necessarily ● Lack of attention (to visual stimuli)
mean they are blind, it means the child has a serious ● Holding text close to or far from eyes
defect of vision that cannot be correct with glasses. ● Inability to see blackboard or object
 3. Learning
Teacher Expectations.
Often, teachers will underestimate the academic
abilities of students who experience visual
impairment, and as a result will task them with work
that is below their actual ability levels.
Social Interaction
People with visual impairment may have difficulty
reading 'visual' social signals (i.e. facial expressions,
eye contact, gestures etc.), and thus are more prone
to experiencing difficulties in socialising with their
classmates.
Movement Around the Class
Traversing the classroom can be difficult for those
with visual impairments; difficulties arise from
multiple areas, ranging from having underdeveloped
depth perception and body awareness, to having a
total lack of sight.
Perceiving and Producing Text
People with visual impairment can experience a
number of difficulties when perceiving and producing
text, specifically in regards to actually being able to
see the text, whether the font is big enough, and
whether it stands out enough from its background
4. Strategies
Strategies to ensure full and meaningful participation
for students with a vision impairment in a regular
classroom setting.
● Universal Design for Learning
○ Minimise barriers, maximise learning
○ Multiple means of representation,
engagement and action + expression
● Having a ‘process’ as a teacher
● Optimising the learning environment
● Assistive tech, adaptions and modifications
5. Case Studies
Questions for discussion
● Identify what the particular needs of this child
are and what adaptations or modifications
they would benefit from are.
● What strategies would you implement to
assist this child? Consider: assistive
technology, classroom environment,
instruction, social aspects, etc.
● What strengths does this child have that
would you build on?
6. Resources
● Visability
● Vision Australia
● SEN Sensory
● Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
● Visual Impairment Family Network
https://cateringtostudentswithavisionimpairment.
weebly.com
Please treat our presentation website as a resource.
Included are web resources that we did not have
time to discuss today. We feel they are worthwhile!
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2016). ​Australia’s
health 2016. R​ etrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/48ee92a8-d373-4
354-8df2-d664a974034f/ah16-3-15-vision-hearing-di
sorders.pdf.aspx
Hyde, M., Carpenter, L., & Conway, R. (2010). ​Diversity and
inclusion in Australian schools​. South Melbourne,
Vic.: Oxford University Press.
VisAbility. (2018) Empathy Library. Retrieved from
https://www.visability.com.au/empathy-library/
Westwood, P. (2015). ​Commonsense methods for children with
special educational needs ​(7th ed.). London:
Routledge Falmer.
School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory. (2018).
Services. Retrieved from
http://www.ssens.wa.edu.au/services.html
​*Please note: We made an (as best researched/as best
within the A4 double sided parameters) effort to make this
handout vision impaired accessible. Consideration was
given to colour, contrast, spacing and font.