How to work with visually impaired children

Children who have visual impairments may be legally blind or have low vision and may, therefore, require assistance with their classroom learning 2. The level of support needed varies depending on the nature and degree of vision loss. While most children with visual impairments are able to function in the mainstream classroom, there are steps teachers can take to make learning easier 2. The American Council of the Blind points out that, with the proper teaching tools and access to an effective learning environment, a visually impaired child can receive a rewarding education.

Build a rapport with the child from the start. Understand the extent of the child’s vision loss. A student may possess low vision or perhaps be partially blind and, therefore, may require different learning aids than his seeing counterparts. Knowing at what age a student began to have problems with his vision can give a teacher a better idea of how much visual memory a child might have.

Visual Perception Problems in Children

Describe the classroom to the child and help her gain a sense of spatial position. Give her time to orient herself in the classroom. Use tactile means to familiarize her with the layout of the room and teaching equipment, as well as where to find supplies. Do not move furnishings, equipment or materials from their normal positions unless you inform the child of any changes.

Seat the child near the front of the classroom and away from windows and other sources of glaring light. Teachers should not stand with their backs to a window as this can create a silhouette that is difficult for a visually impaired child to see. Make use of contrast and color to denote different areas in the classroom.

Activities for the Elderly and Blind

Call the student by name to get her attention in the classroom. Always speak to the class in general whenever entering or exiting the room.

Ask children to wear their eyeglasses in the classroom. Younger children in particular may need help when first developing the habit of wearing eyeglasses.

Provide textbooks, handouts and other printed assignments in large, bold print or Braille. Order instructional equipment and other low vision aids, such as electronic white boards, audible screen readers and books with tactile illustrations, which the student can use for learning.

Read written instructions and other information aloud when necessary. Give all assignments orally. Pay close attention to details when describing anything associated with the lesson. Inform the student in advance if you plan to use a video in a lesson. Ask one of the other students to watch the video with the visually impaired student in order to describe any visual aspects.

Explain in detail any visual learning activities. Refrain from using gestures and avoid the use of vague terms when speaking. Use descriptive words in any explanations. Spell out new words or technical terms. Try to give the student a first-hand tactile example whenever possible.

Experts weigh in with tips for teachers working with a blind or visually impaired student.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

As fully sighted individuals, it’s hard to really understand what a school day is like for a significantly visually impaired or blind student. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, each student’s vision needs are individual to them, and it’s important that these students have access to a Certified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (TVI) and/or a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) for consult and professional input. But what practical tips can you implement now for teaching blind students?

Charlene Laferrera, MEd is a Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired. She’s spent 30 years working in various school systems including the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA with students ranging in age from birth to 22 years of age. Magali Gueths, MEd, has been a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist for 15 years working in various locations and school districts. Magali has a fully blind son so innately understands the needs of blind and visually impaired students. They provide the following tips for teachers:

1. Always use names

Always use a visually impaired student’s first name when addressing them. This way they will know you are talking to them and not someone else. When passing in hallways instead of saying, “Hi” have people announce their name as students may not be able to recognize faces. An example, “Hi Sara, it’s Mrs. Murphy, how are you today?” Prompt fellow students to do the same because this fosters connection in the school community.

2. It’s okay to use words that reference sight

Don’t avoid words like “see” and “look.” Just like their sighted peers, these words should be part of a blind or visually impaired student’s vocabulary to connote how they see, whether by touch, bringing things close or in normal conversation, like saying “see you later!”

3. Don’t gesture, always verbalize

When writing on the board, always verbalize what you are writing so the student has access to that information and can follow along. Use positional and directional concepts like above/under, on top, behind/in front of, left/right etc. and use descriptive sentences like, “The ball is next to the door” instead of “The ball is over there.” Avoid words and phrases like “here,” “there,” “over here,” “over there,” and gestures that provide direction, i.e. pointing to a location without verbalizing what is being pointed to because visually impaired students cannot see that.

4. Avoid asking if a student can see something

Don’t ask a student, “Can you see this?” They often can see it, but that does not mean that they can access it or read it. Instead ask: “Can you find X?” or “Can you identify all the words and numbers without guessing?” or “Can you see some parts of the board better than others?”

5. Correct seating is crucial

Always favor the stronger side of the student’s vision due to visual field deficits. For example, if the student only uses his left eye, he would need to sit on the right side of the classroom away from the windows. Seating facing a light source (sun, windows) should ideally be at their back.

6. Contrast, contrast, contrast!

Use contrast for everything. Think, “bold, big, and simple!” Use bright balls in contrast with the floor at gym. Stairs should have at least the first and last steps taped with a contrasting color (typically yellow) at the edge of the step.

7. Follow the leader

When in line, direct their attention to the child in front of them using color of clothing or hair and have them model/follow what that child is doing (stopping, walking straight, turning, etc.), always moving slowly for safety.

8. Be a confident sighted guide

If you need to be a sighted guide for a preschooler, offer two fingers or your wrist for them to hold. You are not holding them unless it is for their safety. For older students, they hold just above your elbow with their dominant hand.

9. Safety first

Students need to understand the “rules of the road” and always use the right-hand side of hallways or the right railing. Use boundaries like cones in the gym, lines on the pavement to follow from school to the playground, etc. If there are changes to the classroom, walk the student through alone so they know where things are.

10. Examine your own beliefs

Be aware of your own acceptance and your beliefs surrounding what a student who is blind or visually impaired can do both in your classroom and as a professional. Your acceptance of a student who has a visual impairment will serve as an example to all the students in your class.

Do you have any tips for teaching blind students or those with visual impairments? Please share in the comments.

Supporting learning for blind and visually-impaired children in schools is the goal of a system that offers collaboration, data exploration, communication and creativity based on a common software architecture. Already interfaces and application prototypes are being tested.

Partners in the IST programme-funded MICOLE project, the teams responsible are working in close contact with national and local associations and organisations of visually-disabled persons, as well as schools. Their main task is to design the system itself. However, project coordinator Roope Raisamo, University of Tampere, Finland, describes several supporting activities emphasising users and their real needs.

“We are experimenting with how to use different senses to partially replace missing visual capabilities, especially in tasks that are central in the construction of the system,” he says. “Empirical research of collaborative and cross-modal haptic interfaces for visually-impaired children is one of the most important research activities.”

Haptic technology interfaces with the user through the sense of touch. This emerging technology adds the sense of touch to previously visual-only solutions. MICOLE’s software architecture and applications are multimodal, that is, they use hearing and touch to complement different levels of visual disability.

Their work extends beyond developing an assistive tool. “In addition to MICOLE’s immediate value as a tool, the system will have societal implications by improving the inclusion of the visually disabled in education, work and society in general,” explains Raisamo.

Collaborative learning brings benefits
Initial field studies involved interviews with teachers, children and related user organisations as well as observations of actual group work in schools. The objective was to determine how visually-impaired children collaborate in school with peers and teachers, and to understand to what extent they engage in group work.

“The interaction among the pupils, with teachers and with their peers is very important for learning,” says Raisamo. “We know that collaborative learning has benefits because the pupils learn through a dialogue with their peers and construct their own knowledge by doing tasks together with others.”

Field study results from Austria, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Sweden and the UK showed major differences in the education of visually-impaired children, however, they revealed many similarities regarding aspects of collaboration. Based on these results, a prototyping workshop was held in Stockholm where the school situation for such pupils was addressed. Various hapitc and auditory applications developed within MICOLE were assessed and new designs formulated.

He notes there are no specific requirements for the users of the system. “The system adapts to the users. It is aimed at visually-impaired children, but because it facilitates collaboration among sighted and visually-impaired children, it also supports sighted children.”

A multimodal system with visual, audio and haptic feedback can support many kinds of users with disabilities because missing one of the modalities does not make the system unusable, Raisamo adds.

Prototypes being tested
Project partners have developed or tested 16 different interfaces and application prototypes, such as explorative learning of the earth’s internal layers, rhythm reproduction, a tactile maze game, virtual maracas (percussion instruments), post-its with a haptic barcode, an electric circuit browser, a haptic simon game, memory games, a haptic turtle and a haptic game of the classic first video game, pong.

For example, to better teach natural phenomenon, such as seasons, gravity and the solar system, project partners constructed a system using proactive agents that offer the pupil help when necessary. The user decides whether to accept help comprised of visual, auditory and haptic feedback to present content.

King Pong is a fully accessible remake of pong, supporting a spatially localised 3D audio environment, force feedback (translating sound into haptic feedback), recording and playback. It also offers a high level of configurability concerning the auditory grid.

Their MAWEN prototype software demonstrates how blind and visually-impaired children can be helped in mathematical exercises. Geometry is a difficult subject to teach to visually-impaired pupils, yet one of the most useful as it is necessary for the construction of their mental space representation. It is also essential for general education as well as for everyday tasks. Classic geometry teaching is based on visual modality: drawings, graphs, lines and curves – all unavailable to visually impaired students.

Each element has an audio description (voice synthesiser) that enhances the perception of the element. This sequential audio-haptic scheme shapes a spatial representation of the figure.

Building on Europe’s strengths
Project partners include European and world leaders in the area of haptics and multimodal-human-computer interaction. For example, Reachin Technologies AB is a world leader in haptic technology; France Telecom has experience in developing applications for the blind.

“MICOLE offers an outstanding opportunity and the critical mass for the consortium to integrate and realise results of their earlier work and to test the most novel ideas to meet the needs of the visually impaired,” says Raisamo. “The results are expected to make a valuable European contribution to the development of the information society and real-world equality for visually-disabled children, empowering them as future citizens.”

The multimodal software architecture to create new applications is under construction. Scientific results from multimodal navigation and cross-modal presentation of information are being fed in to the team’s work. The three-year project is scheduled to end in August 2007.

While it can be hard to find mainstream books that offer meaningful content for children who are blind or partially sighted, the following list suggests a few ideas.

The titles listed include tried and tested examples of books with tactile elements, embossing, die-cut holes, braille and audio.

Here are also some useful specialist services and suppliers:

Living Paintings: a free library of tactile books with audio description
Clear Vision Project: a postal lending library of mainstream children’s books with added braille (or Moon), print and pictures
RNIB Library: a free library of digital, audio, braille and giant print books
Listening Books: a postal and internet audio book service
Access2Books: a community interest project supplying giant print and braille books
Bag Books: supply multisensory books

The Very Busy Spider

Author: Eric Carle
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 7+

One morning in a farmyard a spider begins to spin a web. All the animals try to persuade her to stop but she doesn’t answer any of them; she is too busy spinning her web.

That’s Not My Kitten.

Author: Fiona Watt Illustrator: Rachel Wells
Publisher: Usborne Books
Interest age: 0+
Reading age: 0+

One of a growing series of touch and feel board books with interesting textures and shapes for inquisitive fingers to explore.

That’s Not My Bear.

Author: Fiona Watt Illustrator: Rachel Wells
Publisher: Usborne
Interest age: 0-4
Reading age: 4+

A different bear is introduced on each page of this colourful board book, but there is something not quite right about most of them.

Getting Ready

Author: Illustrator: Cocoretto
Publisher: Child’s Play
Interest age: 4 months+
Reading age: 1+

Time to get up! Pull back the covers and choose your clothes. Getting ready for the day is made both fun and interactive in this touch-and-feel book. An irresistible tactile treat.

Nursery Rhymes

Author: Roger Priddy
Publisher: Priddy Books
Interest age: 0+
Reading age: 4+

A large board book of over 20 nursery rhymes.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Author: Pam Adams
Publisher: Child’s Play

One of the Classic Books-with-Holes that have been around for 30 years. This new edition is perfect for small hands and the holes in the page really draw the child through the book.

Off to the Park!

Author: Stephen Cheetham
Publisher: Child’s Play
Interest age: 1+
Reading age: 4+

We’re off to the park – what will we find? Which way shall we go? The swings or the slide? Take a look inside!

Off to the Beach!

Author: Child’s Play Illustrator: Cocoretto
Publisher: Child’s Play International
Interest age: 4 months+
Reading age: 2+

Child’s Play continue to build on their range of truly inclusive and accessible books with this sensory gem. Off to the Beach! takes us on a tactile trip to the seaside.

On The Move

Author: DK Braille
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Interest age: 7+
Reading age: Young braille readers

One of a new series of books developed in consultation with the RNIB, this particular title focuses on transport. The board book features everything from trains and cars to cranes and unicycles, supported by a range of interesting facts.

Students with visual impairments face tremendous challenges in school, both academically and socially. With struggles to keep up in inclusive classes, these students may not put forth the time and effort to learn how to develop social skills. Even if children with visual impairments attend specialized schools, you may need to assist students in socializing in typical environments where the majority of individuals are not visually impaired.

Teaching social skills to blind and visually impaired students differs, however, from teaching students with autism or other developmental disabilities. Social difficulties in children with visual impairments are typically caused by a lack of information about the visual aspects of interacting with others. These difficulties are often reinforced by others’ hesitancy to establish relationships with and communicate appropriate expectations to individuals with visual impairments.

Tips for Teaching Social Skills to the Visually Impaired

First of all, model appropriate social behavior and arrange opportunities for students to learn and practice skills. Make cooperative learning a regular part of the classroom experience. Assign group work, and have students help each other and take responsibility for completing the work as a group. Other classroom activities for reinforcing social skills of visual impaired students include:

Have a few students act as peer mentors to a student with a visual impairment. Mentors should model appropriate behavior and should be trained to assist the student in changing specific behaviors. These relationships should be based on cooperation, not on required help which can lead to dependence. Different mentors will lead to learning from different models. To provide balance to these relationships, the student with the visual impairment might provide a service to mentors, such as help with homework.
Ask students to listen to conversations between friends and those between adults. Hold a class discussion about when and how to enter conservations. Have students act out scenarios and ask the student with the visual impairment to play different roles.
Have students practice nonverbal communication skills by participating in games like charades and pantomimes, or sing songs that involve gesturing. Older students with visual impairments should join the drama club or chorus. Have peer mentors guide the student with appropriate gestures and facial expressions with auditory cues.
Ask students to make a list of five activities they do in their free time. Have the visually impaired student make the list, too. Lead a class discussion comparing activities. Have the visually impaired student choose an activity he/she is interested in learning about, discuss how they could acquire the skills, and approach the other student with the common interest to find ways of participating in the activity.

Parents should also help in teaching social skills to blind and visually impaired children by:

Encouraging a child with visual impairment to explore the home, school and community with supervision. The child should participate in all activities and be encouraged to interact with typical children in a variety of settings.
Building a child’s vocabulary to help him express himself clearly to others. A child with visual impairment must rely on words alone to communicate.
Teaching a child how to be polite and respect others. Parents should talk about the importance of sharing and cooperating with others, although it may be difficult for a child to understand these concepts without visual cues. Practice social scenarios to help a child understand these situations before he encounters them.
Letting a child feel different types of expressions on their face and describe the feelings behind them, since facial expressions are important in social situations. Guide the child in using these emotional expressions and discuss how they help convey his emotions to others.

Students with visual impairments are like other students in that they want to be accepted, fit in with peers, and have friends. Remember to respect an individual’s learning characteristics, lead lessons in natural settings, and involve typical children who are interested in peer mentoring.

The American Foundation for the Blind estimates that 21.2 million Americans are visually impaired, which means they have trouble seeing or are blind. Visually impaired infants are likely to reach milestones later than children with normal vision 1. Head control, communication, interaction, body awareness and object identification are some of the skills likely to be affected. If your child is visually impaired, you can take steps to help her reach milestones 1.

Head Control

According to BabyCenter, a baby typically gains full head control around the age of 4 months. Visually impaired infants often have delayed motor skills. Help your baby develop head control by placing him on his back on your lap while supporting him with both hands behind his shoulders so his head does not fall back, then raising him slowly into a sitting position. When he is able to bring his own head forward, hold his hands to ease him into a sitting position. Shaking a rattle or playing a musical toy at the side of his head will also encourage him to turn his head.

Interaction and Communication

Early Intervention Support recommends simple strategies to develop interaction and communication 1. Keep your hairstyle and makeup the same to encourage visual interaction. While you are feeding your baby, whether by breast or bottle, humming will encourage her to look up at your face. Alternate sides when feeding, even if bottle feeding. Keeping your face no more than 10 inches away from her face and forming lots of different facial expressions will make communication productive. Black and white toys stimulate a newborn baby’s retina development, but beware of causing sensory overload 1. Introduce bright colors with lots of contrasting shapes for toys, nursery bedding and wall decorations as your baby gets older.

Body Awareness

Encouraging a visually impaired child to touch his legs and feet each time he is dressed helps him accept them as part of his body and learn to move them intentionally. Pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Lea recommends helping him bring his toes up to his mouth and clap his cheeks with his feet. Dangling a large ball or similar object directly above him will trigger his desire to grab it with his hands and feet, developing his concept of space.

Object Identification

A visually impaired infant finds it harder to identify objects than a child with normal vision, who can look at an object from different angles and process the visual information alongside his sense of touch, says Dr. Lea. Help your child touch the entire surface of an object with her hands. If she drops an object, help her to pick it up again. If you pick it up yourself and hand it back to her, she will think of the object as an extension of your body and not a separate entity.

[Editor’s Note: The following post is excerpted from When You Have a Visually Impaired Student in Your Classroom: A Guide for Teachers, edited by Susan J. Spungin and available via AFB Press. Further details available at the end of this post.]

Will you have a child with a visual impairment in your classroom this year? Individuals working with children with visual impairments, whether or not they have other disabilities, will find the following basic guidelines helpful in interacting with students:

Consider the child as more like other children than different from them. Talk with the child about his or her interests and experiences and expect the child to follow rules that are appropriate to his or her developmental level.
Always let a visually impaired child know when you are approaching or leaving. Identify yourself by name, especially if the child doesn’t know you well. Never make a game of having a child guess who you are. To do so can be confusing, frightening, or frustrating to a child.
Briefly describe aspects of the environment that might be of importance or interest to the child that he or she cannot see.
Always ask before providing physical assistance. If the child cannot understand words, offer your hand or arm for assistance. If the child does not know you well, touch him or her only on the hands or forearms, as you might touch another person in a social situation. Reserve hugging and close physical contact for children who know you well, especially if the child is older than preschool age.
Use words like “blind” or “visually impaired” in normal conversation with the child, but only when they are important to the topic being discussed. Feel free to use words like “look” and “see,” just as you would with any other child.
When walking with a child, encourage him or her to hold your arm near or above the elbow and to use a cane, if he or she has one. A young child might hold your wrist or forefinger. Discourage hand holding as a means of providing travel assistance; help the child understand that it is a way of expressing affection and is different from travel assistance.

Communication and being able to express yourself in conversation, is an important area of development for all children. Those with a visual impairment will need a little extra support but they’re just as capable.

All children are natural communicators from the moment they make a face, smile and utter their first cry. Children with sight loss will need extra support to develop communication and learn about cues to support them in this.

It’s never too early to begin exploring ways in which you can support your child’s development of the ability to communicate.

Communication is not only about learning to talk, there are nonverbal, physical means, such as body language and touch.

In order to allow a child with a visual impairment to understand and communicate appropriately, you need to give consideration to the following:

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

1. Make sure the child knows of your presence. If the child does not recognise your voice, tell them who you are.

2. Always use the child’s name. This will reassure the child that you are speaking to him/her.

3. Tell the child when you are leaving. This will allow the child to keep track of who is in the room and give him/her the same information as the other children.

4. Touch for attention if necessary. This will allow the child to understand without verbal language when it is appropriate to join in.

5. Speak clearly. Some children with a visual impairment may not see body language and facial expressions to help them to understand a situation.

6. Give verbal warnings. Inform the child before an event as they may not pick up on visual cues, ie,tidy up time, parents arriving etc.

7. Offer clear descriptions. When walking into a strange room, food on a plate, a new toy etc.

8. Explaining situations. By explaining the surroundings and events taking place, it allows the child to have a better understanding of the subject, i.e. a group of chatty children, noisy machinery in the road etc.

9. Let your child initiate conversation. Giving options is important so they get to choose and think. If they initiate something, for example, reaching out for an object, praise them and talk about it. This will encourage them to be active in their discovery.

The wider the range of communication options your child has an opportunity to try, the more likely they will be to find systems that allow them to share their thoughts with others.

We can support you and your family in all of this. For more information on how please get in touch with our team here or call 0300 222 5555. This blog is also available as a leaflet – if you would like a copy, get in touch at [email protected] or by ringing 0300 222 5555.

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When a child’s vision is impaired, she must learn how to rely upon her other senses to collect and process information about her environment. Teach your visually-impaired child how to “see” and learn through other sensory experiences and activities that promote listening and touch.

Promoting Vision

Children with low vision can engage in activities that allow them to control their environment. Encourage your child to hold objects at different distances or angles to determine how she can see the items best. Read picture books with big, colorful, simple pictures to encourage her ability to distinguish and discriminate images. Telescope and microscope play can enable children to examine things from a closer perspective.

Tactile Activities

Promote your child’s ability to discriminate objects and textures with tactile activities that encourage kids to explore with their hands. Arts and crafts activities with finger paint and clay enable visually-impaired children to experience and create art with their fingers. Read textured books to a young child and encourage him to run his hands across the fabrics and materials to promote comprehension. Stack blocks and complete simple jigsaw puzzles with your child to promote his understanding of concepts such as dimension and spatial relationships through touch.

Learning to Listen

Auditory cues from the environment enable visually-impaired children to “see” what’s going on around them, says the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired 1. Help your child develop her ability to listen for, identify and localize auditory cues by playing games such as “I Hear with My Little Ear.” The game is similar to the classic “I Spy with My Little Eye” children’s game, but this one uses sounds instead of sights. Tell your child, “I hear with my little ear, a sound that’s far away.” Your child must then listen for the sound you might’ve heard and identify it. Provide your child with auditory toys to promote her ability to perceive, infer and process meanings from sound.

Discovery Activities

Since children with poor or no vision can’t learn by watching others, the best learning lessons are ones that provide visually-impaired children with opportunities for discovering concepts through direct interaction and active involvement. Take your child to a museum, zoo or other place of learning where she can explore and interact with the environment through her other senses. Encourage her to listen for the sounds the monkeys make, or to reach out and stroke an animal’s fur at the petting section of the zoo. Provide her with real objects to help facilitate her understanding of concepts. Give her a toy car to play with and explore with her hands while encouraging her to envision the shape of the wheels or to describe what happens when she rolls the car across a table.

ANNE PYBURN CRAIG

CLASS

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

For children with normal vision, it’s been estimated that 80 percent of learning is visual. Blind students and their teachers need to adapt, compensate and find other methods that connect the learner to the curriculum. Blind students also need to master additional skills, such as those involved in orientation and mobility. Whether a blind child is educated in a special school or a mainstream classroom, he or she should have access to teachers with special training in educating children with visual impairments.

Explore this article

1 The Preschool Years

First, find out whether your area has specialized early-intervention assessments and services for the visually impaired; experts can be invaluable allies. But even without formal early intervention, parents and caregivers of blind children can get them ready for formal education by keeping some key points in mind.

Your child relies on her senses of hearing and touch, so keep the auditory environment simple by minimizing background noise and talk; sing or read to your child a lot. Provide toys with a variety of textures, weights and temperatures — and toys that make sounds. Encourage your child to explore in safe situations. When describing an object or an action to your child, guide his hand so he can feel what you are talking about or doing.

2 Educational Options

Unless a district has a large enough population of visually impaired children to create a separate class for them, blind students in public school are usually taught in a standard classroom or in a class that includes children with other impairments. Specialized teachers of the visually impaired and orientation and mobility specialists often travel from school to school and may be available only some of the time. At specialized schools for the visually impaired, full-time and in-depth services are available, but there may be a trade-off — lower academic standards and less experience in adapting to the sighted world..

3 Tips for Educating Blind Children

Adaptive equipment such as Braille tools and materials, magnifiers and lighting for those with low vision — as well as tactile and auditory aids — should be made readily available. Leaning Braille has been shown to be a key factor in the education of visually impaired children, improving literacy levels and the ability to master higher-level courses such as algebra. Classroom teachers should receive extra training as needed and work closely with specialists in educating the visually impaired so that they’ll know what adaptive techniques the child is learning.

4 Pitfalls to Avoid

Be wary of over-protectiveness. Blind children should be encouraged to participate in extracurricular and social activities alongside their sighted peers; if possible, they should also spend some social time among other visually impaired children and adults. And be wary of low expectations. A blind child may not meet every developmental milestone according to the standard timetable, but this may not have anything to do with her cognitive abilities. Given the right educational techniques and mentoring, many blind students are fully capable of excellence and high achievement.

Visually impaired children can thrive in mainstream education, but they must get more support, says Anne-Marie Fleming

Anne-Marie Fleming

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

One in 50 children and young people in Scotland with no additional support needs (ASN) leaves school without a single qualification at National 4 level and above. Alarmingly, this number rises to one in five for children and young people with a visual impairment.

Sight loss does not limit a child’s capacity to learn. But inaccessible learning, restricted support with habilitation – the teaching and learning of daily living skills with increasing independence – and exclusion from non-academic subjects and extracurricular activities can.

Many parents and pupils have told us that visual impairment puts barriers in the way of the things that children and young people want to do with their lives.

Any pupil looking to enter a graduate-level career needs support to access subjects and achieve qualifications to at least Higher level in their chosen areas. But only four in 10 pupils with sight loss achieve at least one Higher, compared with seven in 10 of their peers with no additional support needs – a significant attainment gap.

National special schools: The battle to fill places

Like any university applicant, they would also benefit from taking part in extracurricular activities and work experience. But these are often unnecessarily inaccessible, putting them at a disadvantage. Pupils with a visual impairment also have to work harder to pick up independent living skills in order to leave home. This also applies to college, apprenticeships and moving straight into work.

Support for visually impaired pupils

Qualified teachers of children and young people with a vision impairment (QTVIs) provide vital support. Without them, pupils would not have the opportunity to learn Braille; they wouldn’t have someone who can understand their needs and suggest ways to meet them; and class teachers would not get advice on how to adapt their lessons to fully include pupils with sight loss.

However, although the number of pupils with sight loss is increasing, the number of QTVIs is not rising to meet it. In some areas, this means less contact time per pupil and less support for these students to get as much out of learning as their sighted peers.

As well as support to access the curriculum, it is important that pupils receive adequate habilitation support in order to develop independent living and socialisation skills and, in turn, confidence. We know of young people with the grades to get into university and college who have had to defer a year in order to catch-up on basic habilitation like learning how to live independently. These skills are much harder to develop with sight loss, but just as important as academic learning.

Visually impaired children and young people can – and do – thrive in mainstream education. But it is vital that every child receives the support they need.

We are asking the Scottish government to put in place a 10-year strategy to close the sensory impairment attainment gap. It must address why a blind or partially sighted child is 10 times more likely not to achieve a single National 4 or Higher than their sighted peers.

Anne-Marie Fleming works for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland. She is education, CYPF (children, young people and families) and transitions lead, and a QTVI (qualified teacher of children and young people with a vision impairment)

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How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

Mr. Eric Kwabla Ofori, Director of the New Horizon Foundation of the Blind (NHFB), has said visually impaired children, “are naturally problem solvers” and must be helped to sharpen their creative and analytical capabilities.

He said though bad sight was a weakness, such children had capabilities that needed to be strengthened to propel their future.

Mr. Ofori said this at a day’s workshop to train and increase the capacity of parents and visually impaired children on Inclusive Education (IE) policy, supported by the Deutsches Blindenhilfswerk Partnership.

“Visually impaired children are people created by God with capabilities and we all have to help them achieve whatever they wanted to achieve,” he said.

Mr Ofori asked the children not be ashamed of their visual impairment but accept it and seek guidance from people around them.

He appealed to parents to desist from abusing such children physically and verbally, instead empower them to strengthen their weaknesses and capabilities, saying, “they are not disabled but rather impaired”.

Mr. Ofori also encouraged the parents to empower themselves with the knowledge on what their wards were attaining, to help them learn at home during the pandemic.

The Director called on parents to form solidarity groups to be able to advocate more for their children.

Mr. Richard Ametefe, Project Team-Lead for the Foundation, entreated the children not be passive learners at school but be assertive to enable them excel in life and academically.

“Assertiveness is a skill every visually impaired or persons with disability needs to have, to be able to achieve whatever they want to achieve,” he said.

Mrs. Nyuieme Adiepena, E.P Church National Women Fellowship Project Officer said visual challenges were not barriers to higher education, therefore parents should encourage their wards to excel in academics.

The children were given visually impaired user friendly mobile phones and trained on how to use them to communicate with their teachers and facilitators and learn at home in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Send your news stories to [email protected] and via WhatsApp on +233 234-972-832

Ho, June 24, GNA – Mr. Eric Kwabla Ofori, Director of the New Horizon Foundation of the Blind (NHFB), has said visually impaired children, “are naturally problem solvers” and must be helped to sharpen their creative and analytical capabilities.

He said though bad sight was a weakness, such children had capabilities that needed to be strengthened to propel their future.

“Visually impaired children are people created by God with capabilities and we all have to help them achieve whatever they wanted to achieve,” he said.

Mr Ofori asked the children not be ashamed of their visual impairment but accept it and seek guidance from people around them.

Mr. Ofori also encouraged the parents to empower themselves with the knowledge on what their wards were attaining, to help them learn at home during the pandemic.

The Director called on parents to form solidarity groups to be able to advocate more for their children.

Mr. Richard Ametefe, Project Team-Lead for the Foundation, entreated the children not be passive learners at school but be assertive to enable them excel in life and academically.

“Assertiveness is a skill every visually impaired or persons with disability needs to have, to be able to achieve whatever they want to achieve,” he said.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

Teaching Those with Visual Impairments

Many children with disabilities can be challenging to teach. Students with visual impairments, in particular, can be especially difficult to

accommodate because much of learning is a visual process. Everything from classroom arrangement to access to learning materials must be considered when educating students with partial or no sight. Educators should think about involving and improving a student’s other senses when planning lessons.

Whether you have previously taught a child with visual impairments or are welcoming such a student into your classroom for the first time, having plenty of information about educating these students is necessary. From general information on visual impairments to instructional strategies and assistive devices, the following articles will provide what you need to know.

General Information on Visual Impairments

Visual difficulties can range from having partial sight to being totally blind. Early identification of children with sight problems can either lead to possible therapeutic or surgical correction or early intervention services to develop socially and academically. Depending on the degree of vision impairment, children can gain access to educational materials with assistive devices and technology or by learning Braille. Although inclusion of these students is ideal, placement should be based on an individual’s needs.

Teaching Strategies

From the beginning of a child’s education, teachers make the difference in making learning accessible to a student with vision loss. Educators should maintain high expectations for these students. Teachers, parents, and students should remain in close contact with one another to ensure student success.

Educators should maintain the same classroom arrangement to help students with visual impairments to familiarize themselves with the environment. Instruction should be adapted to include more oral information and tactile experiences. Tape recorders should be used regularly. Printed information should be enlarged or transcribed into Braille. In fact, teachers have many options in Braille curriculum for early readers.

Aids and Assistive Technology

Many aids and technologies can assist students with visual impairments in getting around independently, from seeing-eye dogs to specialized canes. For the classroom, page magnifiers come in different shapes and sizes to enlarge words and diagrams on a page. Standard computer software comes with settings to adjust text size, font, colors, brightness, and contrast to make words and images on the monitor easier to see. Finally, voice recognition software and screen magnification software enable users to input information into a computer and see the output.

Making Art Accessible

Students with visual impairment can enjoy creating art with the proper lighting, brightly colored equipment, and supplies. Clay activities especially allow children to be creative through the sense of touch. Other classes in the arts, such as theater arts, can be adapted to enable participation and develop social skills.

Adapted Games and Toys

Games and toys become much more important than play as they teach a variety of skills, including social interaction. Braille can be used on dice and cards to include those who are blind. While playing, oral instructions should be reviewed as children will not be able to rely on sight to learn the rules. Likewise, toys that talk, produce sounds, and move provide auditory reinforcement and teach about movement.

Social Skills and Other Issues

As with many students with disabilities, those who have visual impairments need additional instruction in developing social skills. Peers can help these students tremendously by acting as mentors and modeling positive communication and social interaction. Parents, teachers, and community members should work together to teach daily living skills.

When high school students with visual disabilities near graduation, transition planning becomes particularly important to prepare students for postsecondary education and employment. Orientation and mobility skills and transportation options should be considered as students work to achieve greater independence. Community resources and mentoring opportunities should also be explored.

A Final Word

Teaching students with visual impairments requires collaboration among general classroom teachers, inclusion specialists, parents, and students. Inclusion in the general classroom not only benefits students with visual impairments, but also offers classmates opportunities to learn in different ways.

Have you had a unique experience in educating a student that is visually impaired? Leave a comment and share your story of seeing new educational possibilities. By sharing our experiences, we can strengthen our skills.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

🦈 This is a sponsored post. For more information, please visit this page.

The LEGO Foundation announced the launch of a new line of LEGO Braille Bricks, a pioneering project specially designed to help visually impaired children.

LEGO partnered with the American Printing House for the Blind to manufacture bright-colored bricks with studs to allow all kinds of children, those with perfect vision and those who are blind, to have a play together. The blocks have letters and numbers marked on them so that they can also be used by children who can see.

The toy giant launched this project to inspire kids with eye impairment as it gives them opportunities to develop many life skills. They also added that they want to ensure these kids experience “intellectual freedom, independence, and equal access to education and work.”

APH President Dr. Craig Meador is happy to be partnering with LEGO in the creation of this incredible tool to help introduce braille to students. Learning to read braille is a form of literacy that “connects students to lifelong learning and opportunity,” Dr. Meador added.

According to a press release from the APH, the braille bricks and toolkits are slated to be distributed to school districts in the United States for free. The LEGO Foundation and APH designed and created this tool kit to be used in educational instruction in schools guided by a teacher.

For school districts who won’t be reopening this school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LEGO Foundation plans to send the braille bricks to these areas where visually impaired children are registered. LEGO hopes that school administrators and teachers can send them to students’ homes.

Using braille offers students much more than just a way to learn. Listening to lectures or educational materials does not efficiently teach children how to spell or write well. These skills are better absorbed by actually reading. LEGO’s braille bricks are meant to be a fun and simple way to teach visually impaired children how to read and write.

The braille bricks kit is the newest offering from LEGO this year. In July, the toy giant announced that it would be launching a classic Nintendo Entertainment System out of Legos. The company also set in motion a new line of “Lego Art” featuring famous personalities, including The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Iron Man, and Star Wars characters.

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How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

viena

Viena is a reporter for Future Sharks covering news around the globe.

To avoid stress and burnout, be sure to make time for yourself, and for the friendships and activities you enjoy.

Reviewed by Whitney Seltman on February 7, 2020

SOURCES: Centers for Disease Control web site: “Vision Impairment.” American Academy of Ophthalmology web site, “Children’s Eye Health and Safety” and “How Often Should I Have My Child’s Eyes Screened?” National Information Center on Children and Youth With Disabilities web site, “Vision Impairments.” American Foundation for the Blind web site, “Your Rights as Parents.” American Federation for the Blind web site, “How Babies Learn,” “Setting Limits and Building Confidence,” “Education: What Families Need to Know,” and “Living With Vision Loss.” Prevent Blindness America web site, “Signs of Possible Eye Problems in Children,” and “Guidelines for Children’s Vision Health.” Nemours Foundation web site, “Your Child’s Vision.” Blind Babies Foundation web site, “Unique Needs of Children With Visual Impairments” and “Pediatric Visual Diagnosis Fact Sheet.”

If you’ve just learned that your child is visually impaired, you are probably trying to sort out how serious the problem is, where to get help, and what this means for your child’s future. In many cases, visual impairments can be corrected.

If your child’s visual impairment is serious, give yourself time to adjust. Learn more about your child’s condition and treatment options. After all, you will be your child’s best advocate in the years to come.

Reviewed by Whitney Seltman on February 7, 2020

Children with visual impairments must receive adequate knowledge essential for independent living at home, school and in the community. Educational programs must seek to prepare the students for developing the necessary skills to live an independent life.

Teaching Daily Independent Living Skills

Visually impaired children should be taught about essential day-to-day activities and should be adequately prepared by a team of teaching experts in daily living skills such as personal hygiene, self feeding, grooming, cooking, shopping etc. These special needs children should be provided with eating techniques, money identification, and clothing identification techniques to live their life independently.

On the dining table where a visually impaired child has to sit and take their meals keep a ‘Dicem mat’ so that the plate does not slip over. Plate or bowls should have raised ends so that spilling is minimal. Guide the child by taking their hand from plate to mouth. When teaching about feeding use the hand on hand technique. Every time after finishing the meal give a suitable reward to encourage the child to repeat the expected living skill.

Dressing independently is every child’s dream. It is a difficult task for visually impaired children. But by using certain techniques children with visual impairments can obtain independence in dressing and grooming. Try with easy clothing first like tracksuits. Start working from behind so that the child uses their hands in the same way as you are using them. Parents should keep the clothes on the chair in the order they are to be worn. Put the shoes and socks under the chair. Mark the back part of the clothing with some button so that it is easily identifiable.

Social Skills

Every individual needs to interact with other people in society because human beings are sociable. Children with visual impairments also want to interact with their peers and other members of society. Teachers should make groups in order to nurture the habit of sharing and cooperation and engage students to teach and learn skills about positive interaction with their peers, such as in the playground, while eating together, while working etc. Parents should take visually impaired students to social parties, to the market, banks and other places to help them feel comfortable in social and everyday situations with people.

Mobility, Technology and Careers

Learning orientation and mobility skills is very important for visually impaired children. To make independent movement, children with visual impairments should be taught to make use of their residual vision along with other senses. Proper guidance about the different means available should be provided to their parents. Children with visual impairments should be taught about the techniques for using canes, dog guides, human guides and other resources for effective and safe movement.

Children with visual impairments should be made aware of the latest computer technology and taught to use the Internet. Voice terminal service (VTS) is available for visually impaired children to access the Internet. Children with a visual disability should be made aware of this service so that they can make use of it to access the different educational options available via the Internet.

Career education is also very important for independent living. Visually impaired children need to experience job skills and should be engaged in occupational skills like sewing, caning of chairs, making pots and other things that will allow them to make an independent living. They should also be provided with additional educational opportunities and internships for career and advanced education options.

Thus the combined efforts of parents, teachers, and communities will provide skills and opportunities for visually impaired children to build their future with independent living skills so they can have true independence.

Do you have any other tips for teaching visually impaired children to cope independently? Please post a comment.

In this webinar, hosted by Education Specialist John Milligan from the Norfolk Virtual School and featuring an expert panel made up of John Turnbull – Specialist Education Officer, Jemma Kegan, Advice Team Manager and Andrea Davies – Special Education Officer from the Guide Dogs UK Education Team, we shared advice on home-schooling, support, resources and much more, now available as a downloadable document at the end of this article.

John heads up the Norfolk Virtual Sensory Support team and has 30 years of experience supporting visually impaired students. The Guide Dogs UK Education Team have a wealth of knowledge and resources that they want to share with our VI community, as well as offering support to all families.

The Coronavirus has disrupted all of our lives in so many ways. With many schools across the UK closing, or offering a partial service for certain year groups, life’s routine has been interrupted and many of you will now be at home with your child for the foreseeable future, potentially juggling your own work and their learning needs.

We realise that this could be a stressful time for many thinking of you, and naturally, there’s more to consider for children with VI and other needs.
We want to help all parents and guardians of visually impaired children during this difficult time. Look is here for you – we know you’ve got this!

This Q&A session was Look’s first in a series of informative discussions about how to support VI young people’s home learning.

How this crisis is affecting you.
How to manage your child’s learning and future exams.
Accessibility of home learning.
And much more!

Click below to access the resource document created from this webinar.

Considerations for Visually Impaired Learners

A math lesson for visually impaired preschoolers does not have to be difficult to prepare. Preschoolers learn with all their senses, and since concrete, 3 dimensional, brightly colored objects are the norm anyway, math manipulatives are already conducive to learning for these children. Children with low vision benefit from high contrast objects, which are easier to see. When teaching young children with visual impairments, use tactile objects like blocks, beads, an abacus, or checkers to teach math skills. Foam numbers work well also, since the child can feel the shape of the number. Games and toys that count out loud as objects are placed inside work well too. Cubes that snap together work well for grouping.

About the Lesson

This lesson makes use of high contrast, brightly colored foam letters – as well as tactile objects like beads, checkers, and the abacus. The abacus is a great counting aid for children with visual challenges because the beads are stable, and can’t be dropped and lost. This lesson, which is good for developing emerging math skills, introduces numerals and gives 3 different ways to practice counting out the correct number of objects. The same activity can be used at a higher level for adding or subtracting numbers.

This lesson can be used over and over. Start with lower numbers, and move up as the student gains an understanding of the previously taught numbers. Repetition should regularly be used to reinforce math concepts, so don’t forget to practice numbers that have been previously learned.

A Three Way Counting Activity

Objective: This activity will reinforce the relationship between numerals 1-10 and the corresponding number of objects in 3 ways.

You will need:

large foam numbers

large wooden beads

long piece of thin rope

table top abacus

Procedure:

The first step of this lesson is to familiarize the child with numerals. Let the child use their hands to explore foam numbers. As they handle each foam numeral, have them try to remember which one they are holding. For children with low vision who can see them, use brightly colored foam numerals instead of pastels, since these colors are easier to see. Use a contrasting colored background, such as a black piece of paper under light colored numerals, and a white piece of paper under dark colored numerals. This is really helpful for children with low vision.

The next portion of the lesson will show the student the relationship between the foam numerals and the amount of objects each numeral stands for. Choose a foam numeral. Have the student identify the numeral. Then complete the following:

1. Have the student string the correct number of large wooden beads onto a thin rope.

2. Use an abacus to count the correct number out, while saying each number aloud as the student counts.

3. Count out the correct number of checkers and place them beside the foam numeral.

Evaluation: Teacher will observe the student to determine whether a relationship between the numeral and the correct amount of objects is understood.

A math lesson for visually impaired preschoolers doesn’t need to be complicated. With a little extra support, many of the same materials you already use in the classroom can be adapted and used to meet these students’ needs.

Accommodating Visually Impaired Workers

Communication

When a worker with a visual impairment starts a new position, co-workers should identify themselves by name whenever they start a conversation. Co-workers should always introduce themselves until that person tells you not to do so. As well, the co-worker should alert the person if they are leaving the room. Many blind and partially sighted people learn to recognize people by their voices so that self-identification eventually becomes unnecessary.

Moving safely around the workplace

People with varying degrees of sight have orientation and mobility training to navigate their surroundings. From the boardroom to the kitchen, and the washroom to their workstations, blind and partially sighted workers need to memorize routes from one workplace location to another. Some people might invite an orientation and mobility specialist to show them around the workplace, while others may request that a co-worker does so. Once workers with visual impairments have memorized these routes, they will walk around the workplace without help.

Devices and assistance etiquette

A person who is blind or partially sighted may use a white cane to locate or avoid obstacles, such as furniture and stairs. You should not touch a white cane without its owner’s permission.

As well, people with visual impairments may sometimes ask workers to act as sighted guides. The use of sighted guides is a technique in which a person with a visual impairment grasps the guide’s arm near the elbow to feel and follow where the guide is going. Whether co-workers act as a sighted guide or provide verbal directions, verbal direction should include “left” and “right”, rather than “over here”. Direction can be provided by audibly tapping the object or region the person is trying to find and by describing important elements of your surroundings.

People with visual impairments may also use guide dogs. Owners receive special training to work with their guide dogs. Guide dogs are trained to follow prompts on:

Where to go
What obstacles to look out for
When to sit, lay down, and stay

Co-workers should never touch a person’s guide dog without its owner’s permission. If the owner has taken off the dog’s harness, it is a sign that the dog is not currently working.

Accessing written information

Workers with a visual impairment will be accustomed to accessing written information in specialized ways. People who have enough vision to read print may read in a large font. They may also use technology that magnifies the text on a page or computer screen. People who do not read print often read Braille. They may use computer technology that displays electronic Braille, or programs called screen readers which vocalize text-based information. Funding for these assistive devices in the workplace is available through provincial or federal government programs.

Workers with visual impairments are able to read the textual information they receive in emails and most websites. You can make other information accessible by creating text-only versions of PowerPoint. Co-workers should give detailed descriptions of important pictures in image-heavy presentations. Handwritten information should be delivered to the worker in person, by phone, or by email.

Accommodation Can be Easy

Employers may be surprised to know how easily accommodating visually impaired workers can be achieved. Those who take the time to learn a little about different kinds of accommodations will feel more comfortable when workers disclose that they have disabilities.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

Being a parent in the 21st century is no minor undertaking. There are so many books and blogs and articles out there that you can read, and they all claim to provide unique information, but what happens when your entire situation is unique? What now? Where are the parenting-help books for your situation? The situation we are talking about is discovering that your child will face some form of vision

Now, we know there are probably books out there somewhere in the expanse of Amazon, but you need reliable resources. Your child was diagnosed with a vision disorder and you are tired of reading books written by people who are not in your shoes. This is where we will provide a break down of the resources available to you and specifically how they can help you.

The first suggestion we can give to you is find a support network. This is where you will find parents who are facing similar situations. Online support groups can be a space where parents find comfort in knowing they are not alone, answers to questions beyond the knowledge of their immediate peers, and encouragement to live life beyond a diagnosis. Here are just some of the many groups you can join.

This is a private Facebook group that we have set up for parents to feel safe in asking questions to a community that understands what they are going through. We keep it closed so that nothing is shared outside of that forum. Parents can share encouraging highlights they have had throughout the process of raising a child with a vision disorder and provide insider knowledge of resources they know of.

This website is for both the parents and children facing visual impairments. According to their website, they encourage friendship between children with vision disorders, and they provide educational resources for them. They have a blog on the website where they share informative articles for parents.

This is the support group that seems to pop up the most frequently. Like other support groups, parents can post and air questions, concerns, and updates on their children with vision impairments. A unique aspect of this group is that professionals are allowed to join and become part of the discussions.

This is an actual school that is centered around aiding children with visual impairments. They provide audio books and braille books for the visually impaired, reach out to educators to provide insight on students with visual impairments, and provide assistive technology to students that will help them in their education efforts.

Similar to Perkins, they are an actual school. Your student can attend in-person classes here as well as online ones. Their website offers an entire list of resources for a range of education topics that covers potty training to driving skills. They also give an option to request more educational resources from them.

NBP got its start in 1927. The founder, a blind Italian immigrant, believed that blind people should be able to read a newspaper. Finding books that have been converted to braille can be challenging. The NBF has taken it a step further by converting their newest books into E-braille. This allows the reader to download books that have been converted into braille onto an electronic braille reader.

The Vision of Children Foundation, as many of you know, has their own list of resources on their website. This is a place where parents can go to find information of assistive technology, education assistance, and support information.

Sometimes life comes at you all at once. Sometimes life cannot be summed up in one parenting help book. The resources selected for this are just a handful of all the resources at your fingertips. There is not a pause button on parenting, but sometimes you only need the proper resources to never feel like using one.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

By Carol Castellano

This article was adapted by the author, Carol Castellano, from her book Making it Work: Educating the Blind/Visually Impaired Student in the Regular School, copyright 2005, Information Age Publishing, Inc. The article first appeard in Future Reflections Winter/Spring 2006.

A “blindness awareness” presentation is a good way to foster understanding, acceptance, and respect for the blind student in the classroom. A blindness awareness presentation can help sighted students become familiar with the tools and techniques of blindness and learn ways to interact with and include the blind student in activities.

The session can help students realize that their blind classmate is a student just like them who will be learning the same subjects and doing the same assignments but who might be using different tools to get the work done. A blindness awareness presentation can be made by the teacher of the visually impaired, a skilled blind adult, the student himself along with a parent, or a volunteer from an organization such as the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.

Beware of Simulation

Teachers are often tempted to use simulation exercises to raise awareness and “to show students what it is like to be blind.” In these exercises, sighted students don a blindfold and then attempt to perform various tasks or walk around the school building being guided by a classmate to “build trust.”

What are the goals of such exercises? Sighted students will probably have trouble performing tasks under blindfold that they are accustomed to doing with their eyesight. Is the goal to show them how hard it is to be blind? Sighted students will probably be nervous giving over their safety to a guide who is walking them around. Is the goal to show that blind people are helpless and dependent and must put their trust in good-hearted sighted people in order to get anywhere or to keep from falling down a flight of stairs?

Before you embark on such an activity, think about what you want the students to learn. Wearing a blindfold for a little while might show what it would be like to suddenly lose vision, but it certainly does not show what it is like to be blind. Real blind people learn a series of skills that enable them to perform tasks without or with very little eyesight. Likewise, real blind people learn mobility skills so that they can trust themselves and get where they need to go.

If children are blindfolded but are not taught any of the skills that real blind people use, they are likely to emerge from a simulation experience feeling that blindness is scary, sad, and difficult. Is this what you want them to think blindness is like?

Instead of fostering acceptance, understanding, and respect, these exercises engender sadness, fear, and pity. Instead of thinking of their blind classmate as a potential friend, students can end up feeling more distant from their blind classmate and feeling sorry for him or her.

A better way to foster understanding and promote friendships is through a presentation that will promote respect for the blind student and the skills and tools she will be using.

Discussion Topics

Read the stories of Erik Weihenmayer, the blind man who successfully climbed Mt. Everest, Abraham Nemeth, the blind mathematician who created the Braille code for mathematics, and Geerat Vermeij, a blind biologist. Your students might enjoy learning how to read and write a few simple words in Braille. You can purchase the program Braille Is Beautiful for your class or school. This curriculum program provides an educational video, a history of Braille, biographies of famous blind people, Braille games and activities, tools for writing Braille, a Braille service project, and other materials for learning about blindness and Braille. These stories and materials will provide background and factual information for the following possible discussion topics:

How do blind people accomplish tasks?
What jobs do blind people do?
How might blind people use their other senses?
What skills and tools do blind people learn in order to do their schoolwork, get to the supermarket, cook a meal, do their jobs?
How does Braille work?
How can we get our blind classmate into games?

Special Items

Ask your presenter to show students items such as print-Braille and large print books, Braille and large print rulers and tape measures, a Braillewriter or slate and stylus, a talking and large print calculator, a talking dictionary, a coloring screen, Braille and large print playing cards, a bell ball, etc.

Cane Travel Discussion and Demonstration

A cane travel discussion and demonstration is effective in helping students understand that their blind classmate will be learning travel techniques that will enable him to move about safely and independently. Discussion topics can include the following:

How do blind people move about independently?
How can a person get information without eyesight?
How does the cane work?

In addition to demonstrating basic cane use, your presenter can show students how a blind person gets information through the cane, identifies different surfaces, gets around obstacles, and goes up and down stairs.

Trying It Out

Give students some hands-on experiences with the tools and techniques of blindness. Here are some examples:

Have the blind student or adult presenter write each child’s name in Braille on a piece of paper that the children can take home.
Point out that the number five on a phone pad usually has a tactile marking that blind people use as a reference point when dialing; let students try to find the marking using their sense of touch. Some might then want to locate the other numbers.
Children often wonder how a blind person can eat without being able to see. Put several plastic forks and spoons in a bag; have the students reach in the bag and retrieve either the spoons or the forks. They will see how easily they were able to discern which was which. Then have them close their eyes and see if they can get a spoon to their mouths. Point out that they probably brush their teeth without looking.
Brainstorm with the class about how people could accomplish various tasks without eyesight.
Set up role play situations in which one child closes her eyes and a partner tries to show her an object. Students will soon see that using words and putting the object into the blind child’s hands will be effective.
Brainstorm ways to get the blind child into games. For example, in a game of kickball, instead of rolling the ball to the blind student, the ball could be placed in front of him or her.

Activities like these teach skills and broaden awareness. The blind child will probably enjoy the attention given to his methods; the sighted children will enjoy the success they experienced and the understanding they gained and will feel empowered to interact with their blind classmate. These experiences will foster the idea that their blind classmate can be a friend and an equal, and friendship and equality beat charity and pity any day.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

You don’t realize how geared toward sighted people the modern world is unless you’ve tried walking around in a blindfold for extended periods of time. It can be just as frustrating for people with impaired vision. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, we don’t even have accurate numbers for how many kids in the U.S. have vision impairments of varying degrees. Kids with impaired vision can feel left out at school if the activities are all about sight. Here are a few that aren’t.

The nose knows: Gather an even number of small containers with lids (you’re going to want two jars for each scent) — baby food jars work well. When you pick out your scents, anything distinctive will work: pickles, syrup, vanilla extract, lemon juice, rosemary. Line up your jars and put a bit of each substance into two jars. You can mix them up and have your match the scents and identify them.

Get a green thumb: Gardening isn’t just for people with 20/20 vision. Raised flower beds can help someone navigate around a garden, and plastic kids’ gardening tools aren’t too difficult to find. Labels for plants on large printed cards (or in Braille) and an organized layout make it easier to identify what’s growing. You can teach your child how to identify weeds by the way they feel or smell (although you’ll want to watch out for plants like poison ivy first). If you plants seeds evenly (using a piece of notched wood or seed tape), it will be easier to tell what’s a weed and what’s a plant.

Play in the dirt: At first when your child plays with clay, let him or her just enjoy the feel of it — What happens when you roll it up into a ball? When you squish it? When you add water to it? When you pound it flat? When the feel of the clay has been explored, you can encourage your child to make things with it with no guidance from you. What did he or she make? The model can be turned into a story. For example, if your daughter sculpted a fish, you could ask where the fish is going or what the fish is feeling or what it’s been doing all day. This can be a good way to let your child be creative and also lead into discussions about emotions.

Autism in the Visually Impaired Child

AER/DENVER, July 18, 2000

Explanations for “Autistic-like” Behaviors in Blind Children

Their behaviors (e.g., stereotypes, rituals; restrictions in play) seen as:

indicative of emotional disturbance
associated with sensory deprivation (e.g., turn inward for stimulation)
related to mother-child attachment (e.g., in incubators longer; lack of eye contact so hard to read cues; maternal depression further limiting her involvement with child)

Non-Autistic and Autistic Rubella –
Distinctions noted by Chess et al.

Non-autistic rubella children with sensory defects:

Are very alert to their surroundings through their other senses
Exhibit appropriate responsiveness – “Some are shy, some slow to warm up, some perhaps wary; but one is impressed by their readiness to respond to appropriately selected and carefully timed overtures.”

Rubella children with autism and sensory defects

Do not explore with alternative senses
Maintain distance from people that is not explained by the sensory deficits nor by degree of retardation
Their affective behaviors do not resemble those of the same mental age.

Caveats in Diagnosing

Autism is a developmental disability, not parent induced, not induced by blindness
It is a syndrome; no one symptom yields a diagnosis.
Autism is a spectrum disorder, with a wide range of functional levels, and behavioral presentations.
While symptoms show improvement over time, the individual remains autistic. Autism is a lifelong disorder and for most individuals some level of support may be required.

Note: the following sections were depicted as “icebergs.” They detail the key diagnostic features of autism using an iceberg approach – the behaviors one might observe on the surface, and the processing difficulties that might account for them.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

Helpful Hints for Parents of Blind Infants and Toddlers

by Christine Faltz

When a blind or visually impaired child is only a few months old, most parents are still trying to cope with the fears and uncertainties of having a disabled child. Conflicting information and advice is especially overwhelming at this time. This is often compounded by the unfortunate attitudes of many in the medical profession and, worse yet, by those who work with the blind. We have come a long way but, even today, an alarming number of professionals working with blind children and adults have low expectations for their clients and such negative attitudes that they act surprised when confronted with successful, self-sufficient visually impaired men and women.

Despite these attitudes we must remember that our attitudes are the ones which will affect our children the most. Even in the face of deeply entrenched stereotypes and professional misinformation and biases, we must hold fast to the idea that if we pay our dues now, our children will reap priceless benefits in self-esteem, self-advocacy, and the knowledge that we believe in their individual potential.

Positive attitudes and matter-of-fact adaptation of the world for our blind and visually impaired children starts at birth. As far as basic needs�holding, feeding, dressing (assuming no medical complications)�there is nothing extra or special that must be done for the blind infant. There are, however, very simple techniques that can be employed to give your baby as much information as possible about his or her environment.

When a baby is only a few months old, her ability to hear you does not necessarily mean your location is known, and she has no way of knowing that you are, perhaps, about to pick him up or fix her blanket. Before you pick up the child or move something nearby, state what you are going to do, or at the very least say the child�s name before touching her. There is no need to handle a blind child more carefully than you would a sighted child; she is not more fragile and is not predisposed to being extra anxious or fussy. Keep in mind that for the first few weeks of life, sighted babies are only able to see people and objects very close to their faces anyway.

When you take your child from room to room, outside to the car, or into the store, to the extent that you are able to do so under the circumstances (time, who�s with you, etc.), you should state simply where you are going and what you are doing. Hearing everyday speech is good for all babies� language development, but the blind child will be able to use your verbal cues to begin distinguishing, with her other senses, a change in location. For example, my 20-month-old daughter was able, at about one year, to go to the kitchen or the bathroom when told to do so. I spent a lot of time telling her: �We�re going to go into the kitchen so Mommy can clean up. We�re going out of your room,� (putting her hands on the door) �and we�re going straight. Mommy and Daddy�s bedroom, where we sleep in the bed at night, is on the right. The bathroom, where you have your bath, is on the left. After the bedroom are the steps going downstairs to outside. Now here�s the living room, with the television and the stereo. We turn left, and here�s the kitchen.�

I tried to use the same descriptions as often as possible. When I had the time, I showed her the furniture in the room, spoke its name and its purpose. Even when very young, Samantha was very attentive when I spoke, and though she obviously didn�t understand most of what I was saying in the beginning, repetition eventually led to absorption and understanding.

An older infant and toddler will often attempt to do what Mommy and Daddy are doing: fold laundry, clean the table, wash the dishes. When it is safe to do so, I show Samantha what I am doing and explain: �Mommy is giving the dirty dishes a bath. They have food on them. Then we�ll dry them with a towel, just like you after your bath.�

Don�t take anything for granted. If your child is curious, show whatever it is safe to show him. Then, when your attention is desired at an inopportune moment, �One minute, sweetheart; Mommy�s cleaning the table� will actually have a concrete meaning; it will not merely be a jumble of words that he has heard but doesn�t understand because he cannot see what it is you are doing. Eventually, he will put together your location, the sound of the water on the rag, the sound of the rag on the table, and will know on his own what you are doing. But until you give meaning to the sounds and smells and textures in his world, your blind baby cannot learn the function of the objects in his environment. Do not feel foolish describing every little thing and activity to your baby. It can only help her.

I personally don�t like playpens, especially for totally blind infants. Put your child on the floor with some toys; place a noisy toy out of his reach to entice him to move to find it. This way he can learn that his environment is far more than what he is readily aware of. When he begins to creep or crawl, show him the boundaries between rooms, the extent of rooms, how he can move around tables and chairs, but not around walls. Expose your child to everything: show him the steps, the trees in your yard, the grass. Take him to the beach and show him the sand, how the water moves, sea shells. Show him the inside and outside of the car his car seat is in. Show, show, and show some more�hands on whenever possible�with constant explanations using simple statements. Teach care providers to do the same. Place toys on accessible shelves and show him where they are in relation to other objects in the room. As he begins to show understanding of words and begins to use words to express needs and desires, you will see that these efforts have paid off. By the time he is walking, your child will know �right� and �left� and will have no trouble moving about familiar surroundings with ease.

Blind herself, Christine Faltz is the mother of two blind children, a girl, Samantha, and a boy, Braden.

by Doris Willoughby

[PICTURE] Doris Willoughby, teacher and author, regularly volunteers to work at the NFB literature table during Federation National Conventions.

Editor’s Note: A couple of years ago I received a letter from an occupational therapist who wanted some suggestions about methods for assessing motor skills in blind or visually impaired children. I didn ‘t know anything about it, so I referred the letter to Doris Willoughby, who knows a great deal about many things relating to the education of blind children. Mrs. Willoughby did, indeed, have some excellent suggestions to make. Most of all, however, she demonstrated in her response to that letter an attitude we should all develop. Mrs. Willoughby has faith that there is usually a way to adapt materials and tasks so that blind people can engage in almost any activity. She is also thoroughly familiar with the alternative techniques of blindness, but she doesn’t make a big mystery out of the techniques. She just assumes that others can learn and understand them, too.

In any event I share this correspondence with you for its own intrinsic value and because it is such a good example of how to approach the “How do blind people do such-and-such?” type of question that every blind person and parent of a blind child have to routinely answer- both for themselves and for others.

October 14, 1987

Thank you for your letter about methods for assessing motor skills in visually impaired children. Barbara Cheadle has asked me to answer your letter. In general, I would suggest using your usual assessments but adapting them to make them appropriate. I also suggest observing the child in his/her regular daily activities. Here are some specific ideas:

1. Many kinds of evaluations are appropriate “as is,” if the child is old enough to understand and if the task does not involve vision. A good example would be “hop on one foot times.”

2. If you would ordinarily show the child (visually) what you want him/her to do, find a way to explain verbally or tactually. Suppose, for example, that you want the child to squeeze a small ball as hard as he can with one hand and that ordinarily you demonstrate while the child watches visually. With an older blind child, a verbal explanation may be adequate. But especially if the child is young, it is important to have him/her feel the ball in your hand while you squeeze. Also, take the child’s hand and help him/her to squeeze as desired. Then say. “Now you do it by yourself.”

3. If the task requires space, and the child may not know whether there are obstacles, provide plenty of space and assure the child that there are no obstacles.

4. If a visual cue or aid is typically used to guide the task, provide a non-visual guide instead. (Example: If a ball is to be thrown toward a target, provide a sound at the target.)

5. Consider the child’s experience and techniques which he/she would ordinarily use. Test appropriate tasks, and avoid making evaluations based on inappropriate tasks. A good example is paper-and-pencil work, which tends to figure prominently in evaluation of fine-muscle control. If a child reads Braille, he/she may have had little or no experience with a pencil or crayon–at most using only a few symbols. A blind child should be evaluated on reading and writing Braille and on other appropriate tactual tasks.

6. It may be obvious that a totally blind child cannot be expected to use visual cues. We also need to remember that a partially sighted child should not be evaluated based on vision which he/she may not have. In examples such as those above, if the child does not clearly have enough vision to perform the tasks visually, an alternative should be used. (Example: A partially sighted child may not see obstacles until he/she is quite close. As in number three above, make sure he/she knows what space is available and whether obstacles are present.)

With children of first grade age and above, I believe you will find that your usual evaluations, adapted as above, will generally work for the visually impaired child (including the child who is totally blind). Probably you have more than one evaluation list or scale at your disposal, and you may find some more easily adapted than others.

For very young children it may be helpful for me to name some developmental skills or guides which have been especially easily used with blind children of preschool age. It is not meant to be an exclusive list, and some of the items on these scales may still require adaptation; but I believe this list might be helpful to you. (I apologize for the fact that I’m not certain of the spelling of all of these scales. In some cases I have not used the materials myself but have heard them recommended by other professionals whose opinion I respect.) CallierAzusa Koontz The Oregon Project Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) Brigance Inventory of Early Development I hope that these thoughts have been helpful to you. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely, Doris M. Willoughby

NOTE: If you are interested in obtaining any of the scales above, contact the following:

CallierAzusa:
Callier Center for Communication Disorders:
1966 Inwood Road
Dallas, TX 75235

Koontz:
Western Psychological Services
12031 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

The Oregon Project:
Jackson Education Service District
101 N. Grape Street
Medford, OR 97501

Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP):
The Vort Corporation
P.O. Box 60132
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development:
Curriculum Associates
5 Esquire Road
N. Billerica, MA 01862-2589

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

September 2018 — Hailing from Bitola, a small town in southwestern Macedonia, Barbara Vasilevska was diagnosed with eye nerve atrophy at the tender age of 7. Her parents were very concerned about her education prospects and wondered if there was a special school she could go to in her town, if she would be able to cope without additional support, and if she would be one of the only children in Bitola with this problem.

In 2016, Barbara’s parents enrolled her in the Bitola Resource Center established by the Children with Visual Impairments Project, a partnership between USAID and the Lions Club International Foundation. She started attending classes four times a week and, for the very first time, she had real access to formal education. With a lot of hard work and support from her special educators, within a few months, she was ready for a mainstream primary school in Bitola.

Barbara felt accepted by her teacher and peers at school and continued to visit the resource center four times a week for help with all the new activities she was being exposed to at the school. In addition to literacy, she had physical exercises to strengthen her orientation and coordination skills. She participated in creative workshops, visited art studios, and even learned how to play the piano.

Despite her ability to read and write in large print, Barbara’s progress was slow due to the volume of educational materials she had to study. Eventually, she was introduced to Braille, which made reading and writing much easier. Barbara was finally learning at a much faster pace and successfully completed first and second grades.

She recently began the new academic year as a third grader and still has the support of her peers, teachers, personal assistant, and special educators at the resource center.

“I love reading and learning new things. I am very excited about my piano classes. Music and singing make me extremely happy,” says Barbara.

Her family is extremely proud of her success. “There are no words to express my gratitude. My daughter now has the same opportunities as other children her age. A few years ago, I could not have imagined it,” says Elica Vasilevska, Barbara’s mother.

Since 2015, the Children with Visual Impairments Project has established five resource centers in cities and towns across Macedonia. The five-year project has conducted over 23,000 free eye screenings for children in kindergarten and trained over 200 special educators across the country. The project organizes inclusive sports, art and other outdoor activities for nearly 100 impaired children on a regular basis.

Universidad Tecnológica de la Mixteca, Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Mexico

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CHI EA ’19: Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

ABSTRACT

Usability tests help us obtain quantitative and qualitative data with real users who perform actual tasks with a product. Usability tests were carry out to evaluate a designed product for a Student Design Competition (SDC). The following document relates the process of adapting usability tests to visually impaired children, who were the target audiences in a project. In interaction with children we learned how to help children understand some concepts involved in the product faster. This interaction resulted in a reliable device whose characteristics fit directly with user’s needs.

LIFESTYLE

How fashion helps the world:

The 17th campaign for visually impaired children, Heart for Eye

In this period of fear and uncertainty because of the COVID-19 outbreak, it can be easy to feel a little lost. Therefore, at times like this, we need to be encouraged by good news. Simple acts of charity and kindness, whether by individuals or business, can warm our hearts and lift our spirits. To this end, KUHO is currently running its 17 th annual “Heart for Eye” campaign.

Heart for Eye campaign

Since 2006, women’s fashion label KUHO, part of Samsung C&T Fashion Group, has been conducting its annual “Heart for Eye” campaign, to help share the beauty of fashion with visually impaired children. Each year during this campaign, large amounts are donated to offset the costs of surgery and treatment for children with a range of eye problems.

In collaboration with celebrities and artists, KUHO releases special campaign clothing items and gives the sales proceeds to Samsung Medical Center to support sight-giving surgeries and treatment for visually impaired children from low-income families.

To date, the proceeds have helped a total of 361 children receive the eye care they need. KUHO truly has a heart for the eyes of children.

Bright, fun look taking on children’s games and artistic collaborations

This year’s theme is “playing with the kids” and in keeping with that theme, campaign garments feature artworks with motifs like origami animals, jigsaw puzzle pieces and amusement park carnival lettering.

T-shirts in white, blue and pink, have been printed with origami versions of children’s favorite animals such as cats and elephants on the one hand, or jigsaw puzzle pieces on the other. These come in both adult and children’s sizes, so the whole family can have a matching look.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children Origami animals and puzzle pieces on these KUHO Heart for Eye t-shirts invoke a whimsical feeling of childlike play.

KUHO has also collaborated with artist Kwon Chul-hwa, of the “Studio Concrete” collective. His talent donation has resulted in one “Heart for Eye” t-shirt bearing “Dreamer”, a marker pen drawing that expresses love, children, women and the mind’s eye, and another featuring “My Heart”, an oil pastel artwork that tells a warm story able to be sensed by the ears, nose and mind, not the eyes.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children “Dreamer” (left) and “My Heart” (right) by artist Kwon Chul-hwa features on these Heart for Eye t-shirt designs.

Special “Heart for Eye” jackets, cardigans, dresses and pants have also been launched, and these are both meaningful and trendy at the same time. The wide cuffs of the crop jumper create a feminine and romantic mood, while the baggy pants come with a paper bag detailing, so that merely tucking the top in makes an effortlessly stylish look.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children Also part of the KUHO “Heart for Eye” Collection: a crop jumper, paper bag detail pants, and long dress

Profits raised through sales of these “Heart for Eye” clothing items are donated to helping visually impaired children from underprivileged families receive the surgeries and treatments they need to see a better future.

Lastly, KUHO has also released a video with SUBSUB, an illustrator in artist collective ESteem Mixtage, to capture the meaning of the Heart for Eye campaign in a creative audio-visual clip.

In the opening seconds we hear the words “Heart for Eye” spelled out in Morse code, reminding us that letters can not only be written; they can also be heard. To this short music video SUBSUB adds visuals with his iconic round faces and figures that highlight both eyes and hearts, reminding us what this campaign is all about.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children Artist SUBSUB has collaborated with KUHO to promote this year’s “Heart for Eye” campaign.

KUHO head Lee Hyun-joo says, “Thanks to talent donations by artists and these artworks designed for KUHO that make people feel good, this year we can once again share in a new way the real meaning of our Heart for Eye campaign.” She adds, “As one of Korea’s best-known womenswear brands, KUHO will convey the beauty of the world beyond fashion through corporate social responsibility activities with our customers, as well as the best garments and service.”

KUHO’s Heart for Eye products are available at KUHO stores in Korea and SSF Shop, the integrated online mall of Samsung C&T Fashion group.

Tampere 27 April 2006Supporting learning for blind and visually-impaired children in schools is the goal of a system that offers collaboration, data exploration, communication and creativity based on a common software architecture. Already interfaces and application prototypes are being tested. Partners in the IST programme-funded MICOLE project, the teams responsible are working in close contact with national and local associations and organisations of visually-disabled persons, as well as schools. Their main task is to design the system itself. However, project co-ordinator Roope Raisamo, University of Tampere, Finland, describes several supporting activities emphasising users and their real needs.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

“We are experimenting with how to use different senses to partially replace missing visual capabilities, especially in tasks that are central in the construction of the system”, he stated. “Empirical research of collaborative and cross-modal haptic interfaces for visually-impaired children is one of the most important research activities.”

Initial field studies involved interviews with teachers, children and related user organisations as well as observations of actual group work in schools. The objective was to determine how visually-impaired children collaborate in school with peers and teachers, and to understand to what extent they engage in group work.

“The interaction among the pupils, with teachers and with their peers is very important for learning”, stated Roope Raisamo. “We know that collaborative learning has benefits because the pupils learn through a dialogue with their peers and construct their own knowledge by doing tasks together with others.”

Field study results from Austria, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom showed major differences in the education of visually-impaired children, however, they revealed many similarities regarding aspects of collaboration. Based on these results, a prototyping workshop was held in Stockholm where the school situation for such pupils was addressed. Various hapitc and auditory applications developed within MICOLE were assessed and new designs formulated.

Roope Raisamo noted there are no specific requirements for the users of the system. “The system adapts to the users. It is aimed at visually-impaired children, but because it facilitates collaboration among sighted and visually-impaired children, it also supports sighted children.” A multimodal system with visual, audio and haptic feedback can support many kinds of users with disabilities because missing one of the modalities does not make the system unusable, Roope Raisamo added.

Project partners have developed or tested 16 different interfaces and application prototypes, such as explorative learning of the earth’s internal layers, rhythm reproduction, a tactile maze game, virtual maracas (percussion instruments), post-its with a haptic barcode, an electric circuit browser, a haptic simon game, memory games, a haptic turtle and a haptic game of the classic first video game, pong.

For example, to better teach natural phenomena, such as seasons, gravity and the solar system, project partners constructed a system using pro-active agents that offer the pupil help when necessary. The user decides whether to accept help comprised of visual, auditory and haptic feedback to present content.

King Pong is a fully accessible remake of pong, supporting a spatially localised 3D audio environment, force feedback translating sound into haptic feedback, recording and playback. It also offers a high level of configurability concerning the auditory grid.

The underlying technology of their SALOME system is a haptic force feedback device. A software application uses this device like a pen, writing with friction on a virtual horizontal plane, much like a notebook page. Geometric figures are coded as haptic magnetised grooves that attract the pen toward the different elements of the diagram. Each element has an audio description – voice synthesiser – that enhances the perception of the element. This sequential audio-haptic scheme shapes a spatial representation of the figure.

Software architecture is being developed in parallel with the prototypes. The next phase will be defining and programming the agents. More than 100 visually-impaired test users in the partner countries are part of this research process. Project partners include European and world leaders in the area of haptics and multimodal-human-computer interaction. For example, Reachin Technologies AB is a global expert in haptic technology; France Telecom has experience in developing applications for the blind.

“MICOLE offers an outstanding opportunity and the critical mass for the consortium to integrate and realise results of their earlier work and to test the most novel ideas to meet the needs of the visually impaired”, stated Roope Raisamo. “The results are expected to make a valuable European contribution to the development of the information society and real-world equality for visually-disabled children, empowering them as future citizens.”

For more information you can contact Roope Raisamo, University of Tampere, Department of Computer Sciences, Tampere Unit for Computer-Human Interaction (TAUCHI), Kanslerinrinne 1, FIN-33014 Tampere, Finland, Tel: +358-3-3551-7056, Fax: +358-9-3-3551-6070, or visit the MICOLE project Web site.

This article has been reprinted from the IST Results Web site.

How to Work With Visually Impaired Children

How to work with visually impaired children

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Non-Autistic and Autistic Rubella –
Distinctions noted by Chess et al.