Visual Impairments(including blind) VI

Rebeca Rubio

IDEA (2004) defines VI as:

An impairment in vision that,
even with correction, adversely
affects a childs educational
performance. The term includes
both partial sight and
blindness.

Partially Sighted
Partially Sighted is usually used in
educational contexts to describe a
visual impairment that requires special
education services. The partially
sighted student meets the challenge of
disability in much the same way as a
totally blind student.
http://www.washington.edu/doit/how-are-terms-low-vision-visually-impaired-and-blind-defined

Partially Sighted - Accommodations

Accommodations include the use
of readers, audio taped texts, and
raised-line drawings. The partially
sighted student may be able to
use large print books and a
Closed-Circuit TV (CCTV) or other
magnifying device. Some partially
sighted students can take notes in
class by printing very large with a
felt tip pen or marker; others will
tape record lectures for later use.
http://www.washington.edu/doit/how-are-terms-low-vision-visually-impaired-and-blind-defined

Legally Blind
Legally Blind refers to people
that have less than 20/200
vision in the better eye or a
limited field of vision that is 20
degrees or less at its widest
point. People who are legally
blind may have some useful
vision.
http://www.washington.edu/doit/how-are-terms-low-vision-visually-impaired-and-blind-defined

Blindness (Accommodations)
Totally Blind individuals
need Braille, raised-line
drawings, audio
recordings, and/or other
non-visual media as an
accommodation for
accessing the content
of visually presented
materials.
http://www.washington.edu/doit/how-are-terms-low-vision-visually-impaired-and-blind-defined

American Printing House for the Blind,

2014 Annual Report

Each year, the American Printing House for the Blind

polls each state for data on the number of legally
blind children (through age 21) enrolled in
elementary and high school in the US eligible to
receive free reading matter in Braille, large print, or
audio format.

Total number of students: 60,393

By reporting agency
American Printing House for the Blind, "Annual Report 2014: Distribution of Eligible Students Based on the Federal Quota Census of
January
7, 2013 (Fiscal Year
2014)."
Accessed
November 13, 2016, fromhttp://www.aph.org/federal-quota/distribution-2014/.
Reported
by
state
departments
of education: 50,205 (83.1%)

American Printing House for the Blind,

2014 Annual Report

By primary reading medium

Braille readers: 5,147 (8.5%)
Print readers: 17,647 (29.2%)
Auditory readers: 5,529 (9.2%)
Non-readers: 21,042 (34.8%)
Pre-readers: 11,028 (18.3%)

American Printing House for the Blind, "Annual Report 2014: Distribution of Eligible Students Based on the Federal Quota Census of
January 7, 2013 (Fiscal Year 2014)." Accessed November 13, 2016, fromhttp://www.aph.org/federal-quota/distribution-2014/.

Educational Attainment (US)

The number of non-institutionalized, male or female, ages
21-64, all races, regardless of ethnicity, in the United States
reported to have a visual disability in 2013. These numbers
refer to the highest level of education attained by a given
individual.
Less than high school graduation: 878,600 (24.0%)
High school diploma or a GED: 1,171,600 (31.9%)
Some college education/associates degree: 1,113,800
(30.4%)
Bachelor's degree or higher: 503,300 (13.7%)

https://nfb.org/blindness-statistics

Employment (US)
The number of non-institutionalized, male or female
with a visual disability, ages 21-64, all races,
regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in
the United States in 2013.
Employed: 1,474,700
Full-time/Full-year Employment: 968,600
Unemployment (in the labor force, i.e., actively looking):
263,800

Therefore, for working age adults reporting

significant vision loss, only 40.2% were employed
https://nfb.org/blindness-statistics
in 2013.

Personal Experience
In the past, I have had the opportunity to work with a student with
a visual impairment; he could only see some shades and certain
colors. Working with him allowed me to understand the daily
academic struggles that students with a visual impairment face on
a daily basis, and it showed me how to help them overcome these
obstacles. I learned how to use Wikki Stix, Tactile Graphics Kit,
which are a great resource to create 3D and 2D graphics for
visually impaired students. Since he had lost his vision a couple of
years before I started working with him, his braille skills were
limited. Therefore, we used audio recordings instead of braille to
assist the student in accessing some of the content that would
require the student to do a lot of reading, such as books. Working
with this student was truly a very rewarding experience for me.

Useful links
Free, accessible apps provided by the American
Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/using-tech
nology/download-afbs-apps/123?gclid=
CP31kJK2otACFUgbaQodA8gEVQ

Wikki Stix for visually impaired students

http://www.perkinselearning.org/videos/teachable-moment/u
se-wikki-stix-withinclassroom

Resources for people that work with students who are

blind or visually impaired

http://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com

References
http://www.aph.org/federal-quota/distribution-2014/.
http
://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,300,A,300%25
2E8,c
,
https://nfb.org/blindness-statistics
http://www.washington.edu/doit/how-are-terms-lowvision-visually-impaired-and-blind-defined