Annotated Bibliography: The American Foundation For The Blind
American Foundation for the Blind. (2016). Retrieved June 03, 2016, from http://www.afb.org/
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to expanding possibilities to Americans who are blind and visually impaired. Since 1921, AFB has been working to help individuals who are blind and visually impaired throughout all stages of life: infancy, education, career, and retirement. The website offers many resources for both families of blind and visually impaired individuals and professionals working in the field. These resources and articles range from information on living with vision loss to professional development programs and services.
Ball, E. M., & Nicolle, C. A. (2015). Changing what it …show more content…
means to be 'normal': A grounded theory study of the mobility choices of people who are blind or have low vision. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 109(4), 291-301.
This study focuses on the fact that travel outside of the home is very important to social inclusion and quality of life for those who are visually impaired or blind. It was found that the main mobility-related concern for independent travel faced by those who are visually impaired, is to see themselves and be seen by others as “normal”. Four distinct patterns of mobility-related behaviors, or strategies, were found during this study: “patientising”, passing, adapting, and representing. The choice of mobility strategy adopted was based on a comparison of self-identity and what is perceived the most “normal”. Ball and Nicolle argue that it is important for rehabilitation services to change people’s perception of what “normal” in order to encourage those that are visually impaired and blind to autonomously travel.
Bowen, S. K., & Ferrell, K. A. (2003). Assessment in low-incidence disabilities: The day-to-day realities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 22(4), 10-19.
This article focuses on the challenges associated with assessing students with low incidence disabilities, in particular those who are blind, deaf, visually impaired and hard of hearing.
According to the article, there are very few tests that are valid to use with students with sensory disabilities which can result in both over- and under- estimates of the students’ progress and potential. Students who have a hearing or visual impairment develop differently than their peers throughout the school years and thus experience learning in a different manner than the rest of the student population. The difference in learning these students experience and the difficulties it causes creates an issue in assessing student progress and potential. In addition to this, few teachers receive proper training in assessing students with low-incidence disabilities including how to choose which accommodations and modifications are …show more content…
appropriate.
Educating students with visual impairments for inclusion in society. (n.d.). Retrieved June 03,
2016, from http://www.afb.org/info/programs-and-services/professional-development/teachers/inclusive-education/1235
This article discusses the fact that there is little evidence to prove that all it is possible to better prepare students with visual impairments in a fully inclusive setting as opposed to being provided with a range of program options. Inclusion is defined as all students with disabilities receiving their total education in the regular education environment. Three position statements are addressed in regards to providing an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment for students who are visually impaired or blind. The first of these statements is that students with visual impairments have unique educational needs which requires a team approach of professionals, as well as access to specialized materials. This is followed by the fact that a full range of program options must be offered in order to select the least restrictive environment for the student. Finally, staff working with these students must be adequately trained.
Farrenkopf, C. (2008). Reading instruction: Best practices and realities in Canada's largest school district. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 102(4), 200-203.
This article compares the best practices of literary instruction to students with visual impairments or blindness with the realities seen in the field. According to Farrenkopf, literacy instruction should vary in intensity depending on what skills are being learned and that this instruction is best achieved by working as a collaborative group of teachers, specialists and families. It is unrealistic to expect that the general education teacher is able to provide adequate literacy instruction alone. In reality, there are many issues to overcome in order for these best practices to be achieved with the greatest of these challenges being budget constraints and a shortage of qualified teachers of students with visual impairments.
Lartec, J. K., & Espique, F. P. (2012). Communication strategies of teachers educating students who are legally blind in the general education setting. Insight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment & Blindness, 5(2), 70-82.
This study looked at different strategies used by teachers to communicate with students who are blind in the public school general education setting. Through observation and interview, five distinct themes of communication strategies were discovered: language, time, space, manipulation and peer assistance. Each of these communication strategies is described in detail. It was found that using both nonverbal and verbal communication strategies was most beneficial to teachers and that teachers could use each strategy to convey subject messages or concepts regardless of subject area.
Lohmeier, K. L. (2005). Implementing the expanded core curriculum in specialized schools for the blind. Re:View, 37(3), 126-133.
The expanded core curriculum consists of eight specialized skill areas: compensatory academics, social development, recreation and leisure, independent living skills, orientation and mobility, technology, career development and visual efficiency. This expanded core curriculum is designed to teach core academic components as well as specialized skill areas. This combination is becoming difficult to incorporate into the school day with the increased pressure of meeting state and federal mandates in state testing and academic skills. This study looks more deeply into whether the expanded core curriculum is being taught in specialized schools for students who are blind or visually impaired.
McMaster, C. (2014). Elements of inclusion: Findings from the field. Kairaranga, 15(1), 42-49.
Based on the fact that the Ministry of Education had a goal of making 100% of New Zealand schools “mostly” inclusive by 2014, McMaster set out to examine the essential elements of inclusion.
He found that these elements are: relationships, shared experiences, advocacy and a sense of identity. Running through each of these is the idea of transparency. Through this idea of transparency, it is possible to see what is included and what is not which increases awareness of inclusion in the school environment. With this information, schools will be able to build and strengthen inclusion in the general education setting.
Mushoriwa, T. (2001). A study of the attitudes of primary school teachers in Harare towards the inclusion of blind children in regular classes. British Journal of Special Education, 28(3), 142.
This study focused on how teachers in Harare, Zimbabwe felt in regards to including blind students in the general education classroom. It was found that a majority of the teachers had a negative attitude toward this inclusion. Much of this negativity was due to the fact that teachers felt that blind children would not be socially accepted in regular classes which would affect their academic achievement. They also felt that they would not be able to appropriately accommodate these children due to lack of resources, equipment and support staff. Because of this, many of the teachers felt that blind children should be in special
schools.
National Federation of the Blind. (2016). Retrieved June 05, 2016, from https://nfb.org/
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the largest organization of the blind in America. The organization is working to improve and increase opportunities for the blind while also increasing the general public’s understanding of blindness. The resources for blind individuals on the website are divided into four categories: for living, for working, for learning, and for recreation. There is also a separate section with information about vision loss for those working with blind individuals. Resources for parents and teachers of blind children can be found in the “I want to learn about...” section. These can be found in the form of journal articles and are conveniently organized by subject category.
Perkins Scout Information Clearinghouse on Blindness and Visual Impairment. (n.d.). Retrieved
June 05, 2016, from http://www.perkinselearning.org/scout
Perkins Scout is an online database of resources relating to all aspects of visual impairment and blindness which is maintained by the Perkins School for the Blind. These resources include a wide range of topics including information on blindness, resources for families of individuals who are visually impaired or blind, and resources for professionals in the field. For teachers, there is a section of the website relating to the education of students who are blind or visually impaired. This section links to many web based resources as well as articles relating to different aspects of educating these students. Each section is broken down into subcategories which makes searching for a particular topic much more efficient.
Recchia, S. (1997). Play and concept development in infants and young children. Journal of
Visual Impairment & Blindness, 91(4), 401.
Children who are visually impaired or blind from birth show significant delays in concept development as opposed to their typically developing peers. For young children, play is very important in early social interactions as well as early concept development. The differences in play between children with visual impairments and their peers shows that the delays in active exploration blind children experience will affect the rate at which intellectual capacity develops. Suggestions to enhance play with children who are visually impaired are listed as: intrinsic motivation, spontaneity, active engagement, positive affect, nonliterality and flexibility. Each of these suggestions is explained in detail.
Rozalski, M., Stewart, A., & Miller, J. (2010). How to determine the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities. Exceptionality, 18(3), 151-163.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required that schools provide free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities, which means that these students should be educated with peers in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Members of individualized education program (IEP) teams are challenged with the task of determining the least restrictive environments for students with disabilities. To ease this process, this article offers various resources and information that can be used to make these decisions. These resources include: the continuum of alternative placements (CAP), questions to consider when making the LRE placement decision and an LRE decision tree.
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://www.tsbvi.edu/ Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) is a public school located in Austin, TX, for students age 6 through 21 who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired. Their website it also a great resource for parents and professionals working with these students. While researching my topic, I found that many articles referenced this website. On TSBVI’s website, resources can be found on many different topics ranging from birth through transition from school. Articles in the subject area can be found organized by category or publication.
Wheeler, L. C., & And, O. (1997). Spatial organization in blind children. RE:View, 28(4), 177-
81.
Blind children develop spatial organization slowly due to limited interaction in movement and exploration. With the inability to use their major sense of sight, blind children rely much more heavily on touch and motor skills to develop spatial organization. Because of this, they have a much more difficult time developing a relationship between themselves and the outside world. It is important for others to verbally and physically reinforce spatial development for blind children and encourage their desire to explore the environment. Seven specific suggested interventions to improve spatial organization in blind children are listed and explained in detail.
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to expanding possibilities to Americans who are blind and visually impaired. Since 1921, AFB has been working to help individuals who are blind and visually impaired throughout all stages of life: infancy, education, career, and retirement. The website offers many resources for both families of blind and visually impaired individuals and professionals working in the field. These resources and articles range from information on living with vision loss to professional development programs and services.
Ball, E. M., & Nicolle, C. A. (2015). Changing what it …show more content…
means to be 'normal': A grounded theory study of the mobility choices of people who are blind or have low vision. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 109(4), 291-301.
This study focuses on the fact that travel outside of the home is very important to social inclusion and quality of life for those who are visually impaired or blind. It was found that the main mobility-related concern for independent travel faced by those who are visually impaired, is to see themselves and be seen by others as “normal”. Four distinct patterns of mobility-related behaviors, or strategies, were found during this study: “patientising”, passing, adapting, and representing. The choice of mobility strategy adopted was based on a comparison of self-identity and what is perceived the most “normal”. Ball and Nicolle argue that it is important for rehabilitation services to change people’s perception of what “normal” in order to encourage those that are visually impaired and blind to autonomously travel.
Bowen, S. K., & Ferrell, K. A. (2003). Assessment in low-incidence disabilities: The day-to-day realities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 22(4), 10-19.
This article focuses on the challenges associated with assessing students with low incidence disabilities, in particular those who are blind, deaf, visually impaired and hard of hearing.
According to the article, there are very few tests that are valid to use with students with sensory disabilities which can result in both over- and under- estimates of the students’ progress and potential. Students who have a hearing or visual impairment develop differently than their peers throughout the school years and thus experience learning in a different manner than the rest of the student population. The difference in learning these students experience and the difficulties it causes creates an issue in assessing student progress and potential. In addition to this, few teachers receive proper training in assessing students with low-incidence disabilities including how to choose which accommodations and modifications are …show more content…
appropriate.
Educating students with visual impairments for inclusion in society. (n.d.). Retrieved June 03,
2016, from http://www.afb.org/info/programs-and-services/professional-development/teachers/inclusive-education/1235
This article discusses the fact that there is little evidence to prove that all it is possible to better prepare students with visual impairments in a fully inclusive setting as opposed to being provided with a range of program options. Inclusion is defined as all students with disabilities receiving their total education in the regular education environment. Three position statements are addressed in regards to providing an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment for students who are visually impaired or blind. The first of these statements is that students with visual impairments have unique educational needs which requires a team approach of professionals, as well as access to specialized materials. This is followed by the fact that a full range of program options must be offered in order to select the least restrictive environment for the student. Finally, staff working with these students must be adequately trained.
Farrenkopf, C. (2008). Reading instruction: Best practices and realities in Canada's largest school district. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 102(4), 200-203.
This article compares the best practices of literary instruction to students with visual impairments or blindness with the realities seen in the field. According to Farrenkopf, literacy instruction should vary in intensity depending on what skills are being learned and that this instruction is best achieved by working as a collaborative group of teachers, specialists and families. It is unrealistic to expect that the general education teacher is able to provide adequate literacy instruction alone. In reality, there are many issues to overcome in order for these best practices to be achieved with the greatest of these challenges being budget constraints and a shortage of qualified teachers of students with visual impairments.
Lartec, J. K., & Espique, F. P. (2012). Communication strategies of teachers educating students who are legally blind in the general education setting. Insight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment & Blindness, 5(2), 70-82.
This study looked at different strategies used by teachers to communicate with students who are blind in the public school general education setting. Through observation and interview, five distinct themes of communication strategies were discovered: language, time, space, manipulation and peer assistance. Each of these communication strategies is described in detail. It was found that using both nonverbal and verbal communication strategies was most beneficial to teachers and that teachers could use each strategy to convey subject messages or concepts regardless of subject area.
Lohmeier, K. L. (2005). Implementing the expanded core curriculum in specialized schools for the blind. Re:View, 37(3), 126-133.
The expanded core curriculum consists of eight specialized skill areas: compensatory academics, social development, recreation and leisure, independent living skills, orientation and mobility, technology, career development and visual efficiency. This expanded core curriculum is designed to teach core academic components as well as specialized skill areas. This combination is becoming difficult to incorporate into the school day with the increased pressure of meeting state and federal mandates in state testing and academic skills. This study looks more deeply into whether the expanded core curriculum is being taught in specialized schools for students who are blind or visually impaired.
McMaster, C. (2014). Elements of inclusion: Findings from the field. Kairaranga, 15(1), 42-49.
Based on the fact that the Ministry of Education had a goal of making 100% of New Zealand schools “mostly” inclusive by 2014, McMaster set out to examine the essential elements of inclusion.
He found that these elements are: relationships, shared experiences, advocacy and a sense of identity. Running through each of these is the idea of transparency. Through this idea of transparency, it is possible to see what is included and what is not which increases awareness of inclusion in the school environment. With this information, schools will be able to build and strengthen inclusion in the general education setting.
Mushoriwa, T. (2001). A study of the attitudes of primary school teachers in Harare towards the inclusion of blind children in regular classes. British Journal of Special Education, 28(3), 142.
This study focused on how teachers in Harare, Zimbabwe felt in regards to including blind students in the general education classroom. It was found that a majority of the teachers had a negative attitude toward this inclusion. Much of this negativity was due to the fact that teachers felt that blind children would not be socially accepted in regular classes which would affect their academic achievement. They also felt that they would not be able to appropriately accommodate these children due to lack of resources, equipment and support staff. Because of this, many of the teachers felt that blind children should be in special
schools.
National Federation of the Blind. (2016). Retrieved June 05, 2016, from https://nfb.org/
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the largest organization of the blind in America. The organization is working to improve and increase opportunities for the blind while also increasing the general public’s understanding of blindness. The resources for blind individuals on the website are divided into four categories: for living, for working, for learning, and for recreation. There is also a separate section with information about vision loss for those working with blind individuals. Resources for parents and teachers of blind children can be found in the “I want to learn about...” section. These can be found in the form of journal articles and are conveniently organized by subject category.
Perkins Scout Information Clearinghouse on Blindness and Visual Impairment. (n.d.). Retrieved
June 05, 2016, from http://www.perkinselearning.org/scout
Perkins Scout is an online database of resources relating to all aspects of visual impairment and blindness which is maintained by the Perkins School for the Blind. These resources include a wide range of topics including information on blindness, resources for families of individuals who are visually impaired or blind, and resources for professionals in the field. For teachers, there is a section of the website relating to the education of students who are blind or visually impaired. This section links to many web based resources as well as articles relating to different aspects of educating these students. Each section is broken down into subcategories which makes searching for a particular topic much more efficient.
Recchia, S. (1997). Play and concept development in infants and young children. Journal of
Visual Impairment & Blindness, 91(4), 401.
Children who are visually impaired or blind from birth show significant delays in concept development as opposed to their typically developing peers. For young children, play is very important in early social interactions as well as early concept development. The differences in play between children with visual impairments and their peers shows that the delays in active exploration blind children experience will affect the rate at which intellectual capacity develops. Suggestions to enhance play with children who are visually impaired are listed as: intrinsic motivation, spontaneity, active engagement, positive affect, nonliterality and flexibility. Each of these suggestions is explained in detail.
Rozalski, M., Stewart, A., & Miller, J. (2010). How to determine the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities. Exceptionality, 18(3), 151-163.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required that schools provide free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities, which means that these students should be educated with peers in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Members of individualized education program (IEP) teams are challenged with the task of determining the least restrictive environments for students with disabilities. To ease this process, this article offers various resources and information that can be used to make these decisions. These resources include: the continuum of alternative placements (CAP), questions to consider when making the LRE placement decision and an LRE decision tree.
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. (n.d.). Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://www.tsbvi.edu/ Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) is a public school located in Austin, TX, for students age 6 through 21 who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired. Their website it also a great resource for parents and professionals working with these students. While researching my topic, I found that many articles referenced this website. On TSBVI’s website, resources can be found on many different topics ranging from birth through transition from school. Articles in the subject area can be found organized by category or publication.
Wheeler, L. C., & And, O. (1997). Spatial organization in blind children. RE:View, 28(4), 177-
81.
Blind children develop spatial organization slowly due to limited interaction in movement and exploration. With the inability to use their major sense of sight, blind children rely much more heavily on touch and motor skills to develop spatial organization. Because of this, they have a much more difficult time developing a relationship between themselves and the outside world. It is important for others to verbally and physically reinforce spatial development for blind children and encourage their desire to explore the environment. Seven specific suggested interventions to improve spatial organization in blind children are listed and explained in detail.