INDIVIDUALS

WITH VISUAL
IMPAIRMENT
L U C E R O AYA L A C A S TA N E D A
EDU 203
WHAT IS VISUAL
IMPAIRMENTS? P.447
• Cannot see even with correction • Functionally blind
• Visual Acuity – Learn through tactile and auditory
means
– Details near and distant
• Primary literacy medium
• Visual Field
– Frequent method of reading and
– Amount of vision around eye looking
writing
straight ahead
• Low vision
• Field Loss
– ability to perform daily activities
– Restriction of vision around the eye
with devices
looking straight ahead
• Residual vision
• Legally Blind
– Individuals usable vision
– 20/200 or less with correction
• Deaf-blindness
• Snellen Chart
– Hearing and visual impairments
– Eye chart
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIJDlnd
9GOg
HOW DOES THE EYE
WORK? P. 448

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_n3I
bfn1c
THE CLASSIFICATION OF VISUAL
IMPAIRMENTS P.449
• Myopia – Lenses that are opaque or cloudy
due to trauma or age
– The length of the eye that causes
extreme nearsightedness and • Glaucoma
decreased visual acuity
– A disease caused by increased
• Hyperopia pressure inside the aqueous portion
of the eye with loss in the visual
– Change in the shape of the eye,
field
which shortens the light ray path and
causes farsightedness • Optic nerve atrophy
• Astigmatism – Degeneration of the optic nerve,
which may be congenital or
– One or more surfaces of the cornea
hereditary, causing loss of central
or lens are cylindrical, not spherical,
vision, color vision, and reduced
resulting in distorted vision
visual acuity
• Orbit
• Albinism
– A protective cone –shaped cavity in
– A hereditary condition with partial
the skull, sometimes called the
or total absence of pigment in the
socket
eye
• Cataracts
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL2SM
jwyn5s
HISTORY OF VISUAL
IMPAIRMENTS P.450
• Blind were labeled as helpless or dependent
• Schools were made to see if the ones with a disabilities were
able to learn community skills
• First school for the blind in the US was supported by Paris
– Perkins School for the Blind in Boston 1829
– New York Institution for the Blind 1831
– Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia 1833
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IQKqPaICKI
THE VISION PROCESS AND ETIOLOGY
OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS P.453
• Photophobic
– Sensitive to light
• Aphakic
– Absence of the lens, causing light sensitivity and loss of the visual acuity
• Rod cells
– Light-sensitive cells located mainly in the peripheral areas of the retina that are
responsible for shape and motion, function best in reduced illumination, and are not
responsive to color
• Cone cells
– Light sensitive cells located mainly in the central area of the retina that define color
• Macular degeneration
– A common eye disease in adults, which may also occur in young people, involving
damage to the central part of the retina cones, affecting central vision, light
sensitivity, and color
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZTbCf8R5zM
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR
STUDENTS WITH VISUAL
IMPAIRMENTS PG. 473

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi3dH_QnnWQ
 ISSUES P.474
• May be harmed by eye diseases with glaucoma or diabetes
– Vitamin deficiency
– Glaucoma - damages your eye’s optic nerve with extra fluid that increases
pressure in your eye.
https://youtu.be/_VtFBnexqm0
– Diabetes - conditions include diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema,
cataracts, and glaucoma
• manage your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol, sometimes
called the diabetes ABCs
• If you smoke, get help to quit smoking
• have a dilated eye exam once a year

Of Diversity
• Many eye diseases
• Different ages of onset
• Accommodations that are needed for students
• Family and school need to work together to achieve goals for the
student
 TECHNOLOGY AND LITERACY P. 746
Method of Access Device Description
Braille Embosser Mountbatten Translates text from
Brailler Braille keyboard to printer
Braille Translator Duxbury Braille Takes computerized text
Translator file and converts and
• Options open for those with visual impairment formats the document
properly for printing
• Equipment used for everyday activities
Braille Writer Perkins Brailler Machine with keys
• Literacy is demonstrated in four way corresponding to each of
the six dots of the Braille
When an individual is code to create all
1. successful in communicating through writing characters of the code

2. Successful in communicating with a desired Optical Character Kurzweil 1000, System that provides the
Recognition (OCR) Open Book capacity to scan printed
audience text, have it spoken in
synthetic speech, save it to
3. Successfully apply reading and writing skills a computer file, or render
4. Successful in reading and writing at different levels it in Braille
throughout the life span Synthetic Speech JAWS, Window- Screen reading software
Eyes that allows text to be
converted to speech
Video Magnifier Closed- circuit Hardware used to project
television magnified images onto a
(CCTV) video monitor
TECHNOLOGY P. 478
• Student desires, needs in the classroom and
community, have a plan designed individually
– Eye care professional
– General Education Teacher
– Occupational therapist
– Orientation and mobility specialist
– Parent or primary caregiver
– Physical therapist
– Product vendors
– Rehabilitation specialist
– Technology specialist
– Vision teacher
TRENDS, ISSUES, AND
CONTROVERSIES
• Issues addressed by – Only 250 for visually impaired each
year
– Council for Exceptional Children
Division on Visual Impairment • Access to certified orientation and
– the Association for Education and Mobility specialists
Rehabilitation of the Blind and – Shortage
Visually Impaired
– IDEA requires mobility evaluation
– The National Association of State
– Services are lacking
Directors of Special Education
• Number of students assigned to
– The American Foundation for the
Blind teachers of the visually impaired
• Teachers shortage • Reading and literacy media
assessment
– Impacted in all school districts
– Few colleges and universities have
• Vocational training
necessary resources to prepare
teachers in a profession
REFERENCES
Braille Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2019, from
https://www.royalblind.org/national-braille-week/about-braille/braille-facts
Dodge, L. (2016, October 31). Causes of Vision Loss. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZTbCf8R5zM
Games, P. (2018, February 23). Vision Impaired Classification. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL2SMjwyn5s
HowStuffWorks, S. O. (2013, July 09). The Braille Story. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IQKqPaICKI
National Eye Institute, N. (2016, February 03). The Visual System: How Your Eyes Work. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_n3Ibfn1c
Noggin, L. (2016, December 05). How Do The Blind Perceive The World? Retrieved April 30, 2019, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIJDlnd9GOg
Segre, L., & Bagi, S. (n.d.). Human Eye Anatomy - Parts of the Eye Explained. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from
https://www.allaboutvision.com/resources/anatomy.htm
Visual acuity. (2019, April 09). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity
Willings, C. (2015, November 12). Vision Classifications. Retrieved from
https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/vision-classifications.html
REFERENCES

• Boyd, K. (2018, November 28). What Is Glaucoma? (J. McKinney, Ed.). Retrieved from
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-glaucoma
• NLS at the Library of Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/nls/
• Wichitapublicschools. (2017, May 19). Classroom Tools for Visually Impaired Students.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi3dH_QnnWQ