1. What is the role of the family on the development of a visually impaired child?

- When parents and other family members first learn of their child's vision impairment, they often feel
overwhelmed with grief. However, it is the immediate family members share a more intimate role to the
visually impaired child. They have firsthand knowledge on their child’s medical history across time, have
observed how the child has reacted to and coped with disability and other stressors in life, have become a
support in both physically, mentally, psychologically, and emotionally. Although the structure and
composition of families have changed significantly over the past several decades, the family remains the
primary unit for providing physical, emotional, and social support. In this sense, the family is likely to
influence the health and rehabilitative outcomes of child who is visually impaired.

2. What will you do as a teacher if the family will not show support to their child with visual impairment?
- Good working relationships can best be fostered when everyone has a clear idea of her or his role and the
roles of others with whom they are cooperating. If the family will not show support to their child with visual
impairment, granted that I have fully exerted my effort in letting them understand their role as a family
member as well as the importance of their support, then I must give an extra care and support where the
learning environment that is as inclusive as possible is not only a classroom to them but also a home.

3. What could be the problems encountered in concept formation?

- Concept formation is reviewed under five categories: (1) What is a concept? (2) What is concept formation?
(3) methodology; (4) concept formation in children; (5) concept formation in adults. Three problems are
considered: (1) genetic origin and development of conceptualizing ability; (2) acquisition and repertory of
concepts at various maturational stages; (3) individual methods of achieving specific concepts. It is
concluded that (1) the distinction between child and adult concept formation should be emphasized; (2)
there is a paucity of methodologies available for study of concept formation; (3) concepts have internal and
organizational characteristics as well as those objectively definable in terms of the external behavior; (4)
research on a wider scale is necessary.

4. What activities will you give a child with visual impairment to develop his/her sense of touch?
- Sometimes blind and visually impaired children come to preschool or kindergarten with less than average
strength in their hands and fingers. This is the age that pre-reading and reading and writing activities should
formally begin for children. Even if your child is not a future tactile reader, it is wise to spend time playing
with him or her to develop arm, hand, and finger strength. Below is a partial list of activities you and your
child might enjoy while doing just this. As you play you will find other activities that use these muscles. The
goal is for your child to do the activity independently. But above all, have fun!

Arm and Hand Strength:

Weight-bearing activities such as:
- playing as a human wheelbarrow
- creeping up hills or over obstacles
- pushing wagon, weighted box, loaded sandbox trucks
- doing yoga positions: cat, cobra
Grip and Finger Strength:
- tearing paper and fabrics
- squeezing water out of sponges, washcloths
- squeezing bulb syringe medicine droppers
- cutting with scissors on different textures and fabrics
- using a paper-hole punch
- playing with playdough and bread dough
- playing with manipulative toys—LEGOs, Tinkertoys, Snap Blocks, pop beads
- playing rope pull, tug of war
- holding on to rope or hoop while being pulled on scooter
 - using clothespins
- using tools—hammer, saw, screwdriver, nuts and bolts
- using tongs or tweezers to pick up small objects
- playing with magnets
- opening jars and containers with lids
- turning knobs or dials, pushing buttons
- typing on a keyboard
- bowling
- squirting water from empty soap bottle or squirt gun
- water painting with large brush;
- doing simple cooking activities—stirring batters; using garlic press, potato masher, juicer,
hand mixer, sifter; pouring water from one container to another; and using cookie cutters
with playdough or cookie dough
- playing wash day—wring out water from cloth and hang on clothesline with clothespins
- using stick or spoon handle to draw in wet sand
- solving puzzles made from rubber
- placing clay into plastic lid, patting smooth, and drawing pictures on it with pencil or stick
- crumpling paper (vary the weight) and tossing to a target
- tying knots (vary weight and density of cord)
- operating a stapler
- opening rubber bands with one hand and placing on a tube or dowel
- popping packing bubbles
- using easy grip pegs and pegboards

5. What early interventions will you provide for a child with visual impairment to develop his sense of hearing?
- Early Intervention is a critical service for students with visual impairments as it builds a foundation for
further learning. As described in the Guiding Principles page of this site, a visual impairment limits the
opportunities a child has to learn about their world. They need unique instruction, modeling, and hands-on
opportunities to make sense of their world. Many of the suggestions throughout this site are applicable to
infants and toddlers. I have summarized here some of the key points that are particularly important to keep
in mind when working with young children who are visually impaired.

Provide a Variety of Experiences

- Infants who are blind cannot observe the actions of others or see objects and materials around them. Even
babies with some usable vision will have difficulty making sense of the limited visual information they are
receiving. Additionally, they are not able to see the effects of their own actions on objects, that the object
continues to exist when out of reach (object permanence), or observe how others interact with the object.
As stated throughout this site, providing children with a variety of hands-on experiences that with real
objects will help the child learn best. Actively modeling play activities for the child, participating in everyday
experiences with the child and explaining daily events will enable the child to learn about people, objects
and events.

The child will learn new skills best by doing them with you. Wearing the baby in a front pack or a sling, and
talking to the baby about what you are doing as you prepare a meal or do chores will help the baby make
connections about the world. As the child gets older, allow the child to feel the spatula or touch the pan
before you use it. Let the child be a part of the experience. Naturally, find a balance between encouraging
touch and exploration and keep the child safe! By allowing the child to participate, you will help the child
understand the process. Also, by teaching within the context of natural activity, the experience will be more
meaningful.

Reduce Auditory Distractions

 - Be aware of auditory distractions. It is ideal to not have the television or radio on nonstop or loud as the
child will not be able to focus on other sounds and language spoken by people in the room.

Talk to the Child

- Talk to the child about what is happening. Find a balance between verbal descriptions and incessant talking.
Provide short, clear descriptions of daily events and activities. Be sure to let the child know when you leave
the room and let him know when you return.  Be sure to talk to the child about what you are going to do
prior to doing it. For example, tell the child that you are going to wipe his nose prior to wiping it.

Create Consistent Routines & Transitions

- Creating a consistent routine will help the child learn to anticipate events. When there is predictability and
consistency in the schedule, the child will find comfort by being able to anticipate what is going to happen
next. Prepare the child for each transition. If the child does not yet understand words/language, use an
object, or touch cue, associated with the next activity to prepare them for what will happen next. For
example, place the diaper in the child's hand prior to a diaper change.

Encourage the child who is visually impaired/Blind to move

- Students with significant visual impairments may need the motivation to move and explore objects outside
of their immediate reach. The student may not be motivated to explore the world without seeing things to
entice them. It may be tempting to bring everything to the student, but this will prevent the student from
discovering things and the student may become dependent on others bringing the world to them. The
student must be taught to move confidently and independently to explore and learn from their world.
Encourage the student to use any remaining vision but to also use their other senses to make sense of their
world. Encourage the student to learn by listening, touching along with using their sense of smell.
- Encourage the child to hold his head up and reach toward objects to learn to walk and to explore their
world. You can do this by helping the child understand his body and where it is in relation to other things.
This will lay foundations for Orientation and Mobility skills. Placing wrist rattles on ankles and wrists will help
give the child a sense of where his hands and feet are. Place sound sources throughout the house (or
daycare center) to help the child orient himself within the home. Place wind chimes on the front/back door
or bells on the doorknobs. Create as many places as possible for the child to explore safely. If the child is
mobile, and keep the floors uncluttered, doors fully opened or closed.

6. If you have a preschool student who has visual impairment. What concepts will you teach him/her?
- Teachers of students with visual impairments teach a wide array of skills and subjects and have a variety of
responsibilities. The particular services your preschooler receives from the teacher of students with visual
impairments will depend on his individual needs and abilities, but they are likely to include the following.
- Teaching expanded core curriculum skills: The teacher of students with visual impairments will work with
your preschooler to teach specific skills that your child needs to learn because of his visual impairment.
(These skills are called the “expanded core curriculum” and are also sometimes referred to as “disability-
specific skills”). These may include the following areas.
- Braille skills: If learning to read and write in braille is appropriate for your child, the teacher of students with
visual impairments will begin introducing preliteracy skills using the braille code. The instruction may take
place in your child’s preschool classroom at the same time other children are learning beginning reading
and writing concepts and skills, or the teacher may take your child to another room and work with him
individually on braille activities.
- Use of vision: If your child has low vision, the teacher of students with visual impairments may help him
learn how to use his vision more efficiently. He or she may show him how to use a magnifier to see things
close up, such as the print on the page of a book, or a monocular to see things in the distance, such as the
pictures on the bulletin board.
 - Technology: Preschools are increasingly offering activities involving computers and other types of
technology. The teacher of students with visual impairments may work with your child on beginning
computer skills, such as locating the space bar or “enter” key to make a choice in a game. He or she may
also teach your child how to use some types of assistive technology, such as a video magnifier or closed-
circuit television system (CCTV), to look at pictures, pages in a book, or small objects such as bugs in the
science center.
- Social skills: The teacher of students with visual impairments may work with your child on learning ways to
make friends and to interact with other children. For example, the teacher may help him learn how to ask
to join a group of other children, rather than just barging into the middle of the group, or not joining the
group at all, how to wait his turn, and how to let others know when he can’t see something.
- Orientation and mobility (O&M) skills: A teacher of students with visual impairments receives some training
in basic O&M techniques, so he or she can show your child how to get around safely in the classroom and to
reinforce the travel skills and concepts that an O&M instructor may be teaching your child.

7. What activities will you give a Grade 6 student who has visual impairment to develop his spatial concept?
- Concept development involves understanding the characteristics of an object and it’s spatial relationship
with other objects. Students with visual impairments miss out on many opportunities to learn concepts
incidentally as they may not be able to observe and effectively interact with their world.  Students who are
blind or visually impaired need to be provided with meaningful experiences and interaction with real
objects that they can touch, hear, smell and see (if they have any vision). 
- As stated in the Impact on Development and Learning section of this website, there are three primary
limitations that students with visual impairments face. These include:

- A loss in the range and variety of experiences;

- A loss or the restriction in the ability to get around (which influences opportunities both for
gaining access to experiences and for developing social relationships); and
- Loss of the control of the environment and the self in relation to it.

Students may also need guided exploration and explanations of what they are interacting with. Explanations
provide the student with vocabulary associated with the experience, help the student make sense of what
they are feeling and make connections to previous experiences. These experiences will help develop the
students understanding of new concepts, develop their language, and motivate them to explore their
environment which will subsequently lead to motor development.

To minimize or eliminate these restrictions, it is important to provide concrete and unifying experiences as
well as to encourage the student to be a part of the action by "doing". When provided with concrete
experiences, the student will experience many opportunities to develop concepts. Many of these concepts
can be developed simply by actively participating in family and school routines. Other opportunities can be
created that are fun and relevant for both students with visual impairments, but for sighted peers and
siblings too. Both the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and the Orientation and Mobility
Specialist will work with the student on building concepts.

8. How will you encourage parents/ guardians in the language development of their child? What activities can you
give them?
- The best way to encourage parents/ guardians in the language development of their child is to let them
understand their roles as a parent. Provide them with the pros and cons of helping their child with the
development of language. Given them suggested activities to set keep them focus on teaching their child.
 - Three aspects of parenting have been highlighted as central to children’s early language and learning: (1)
the frequency of children’s participation in routine learning activities (e.g., shared book reading,
storytelling); (2) the quality of caregiver-child engagements (e.g., parents’ cognitive stimulation and
sensitivity/responsiveness); and (3) the provision of age-appropriate learning materials (e.g., books and
toys).
- Early and consistent participation in routine learning activities, such as shared book reading, storytelling,
and teaching about the letters of the alphabet, provide children with a critical foundation for early learning,
language growth and emergent literacy. Routine activities provide young children with a familiar structure
for interpreting others’ behaviors and language, anticipating the temporal sequencing of events, and
drawing inferences from new experiences. Moreover, engagement in learning activities expands children’s
vocabularies and conceptual knowledge. Shared book reading, as well as the sharing of oral stories,
facilitate young children’s vocabulary growth, phonemic skills, print concept knowledge, and positive
attitudes toward literacy.

9. What tasks can you give at school to a visual impaired child to practice his/her daily skills?
Teaching Strategies
- There is a range of inclusive teaching and assessment strategies that can assist all students to learn but
there are some specific strategies that are useful in teaching a group which includes students with vision
impairment.
- We often take for granted the amount of visual information received every day. Many students with a
vision impairment do not have a lifetime of visual experiences to draw upon. It may be necessary to
consider the amount of assumed visual content in your subject when designing learning tasks.
- Prepare as much information as possible in electronic format - this makes it much easier to provide
materials in accessible formats and allows users with disabilities to adapt the information to a format which
is suitable for them.
- Make required book lists and course materials available early so there is sufficient time for them to be
reproduced in audio or Braille, if required.
- Indicate compulsory texts in your reading list, noting important chapters if possible. Specifying the order of
reading within a text is helpful, as it can take many weeks to have a book reproduced into audio or Braille.
- For students with vision impairment your teaching style will need to be ‘verbal’. Think about how to
communicate information to students who cannot see what you are doing.
- Verbalize what is written on the blackboard and on PowerPoints. Talk through any calculations as they are
made or procedures as they are carried out. Read any printed information and describe any charts or
graphs being used.
- Academic activities which take place off-campus (such as industry visits, interviews or field work) may pose
problems and on-campus alternatives may need to be considered.
- Provide an individual orientation to laboratory equipment or computers in order to minimise the anxiety
likely in an unfamiliar environment.
- Consider supplementing laboratory practicals, experiments or field trips, for example by audio taping
commentaries.
- Inform the student if you plan to use videos, slides or PowerPoints, and discuss alternative ways of
presenting the necessary information.
- Because students with vision impairment are generally slower than other students in completing reading
tasks (reading is slower; considerable time is involved in getting material taped or Brailled), provide reading
lists well before the start of a course so that reading can begin early. Consider tailoring reading lists and
provide guidance to key texts.
- Providing the student with a vision impairment with prior notice that you plan to use a film or video in class
allows him/her the option to request to see it beforehand. This will enable him/her to sit very close to the
 screen or have someone explain the film or video. It would be helpful to 'pause' on important points when
the student is viewing the resource in class with others.
- A student may have difficulty finding his/her essay or assignment in a pigeonhole or amongst a pile of other
students' work.
- Students may not be able to read your hand-written comments. It would be helpful if you could negotiate
alternative feedback mechanisms with the student.
- Students are usually able to access online learning materials with the use of assistive technologies if
websites follow accessible web design guidelines.
- The vision of some students may be affected by the glare from fluorescent lights or sunlight so you may
need to attend to some aspects of your teaching environment. This should be done unobtrusively.
- Use tactile graphics where necessary

Assessment Strategies

- In considering alternative forms of assessment, equal opportunity not a guaranteed outcome, is the
objective. You are not expected to lower standards to accommodate students with a disability, but rather
are required to give them a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. Once you have
a clear picture of how the disability impacts on learning, you can consider alternative assessment strategies:
- Students with a vision impairment may need adjustments to assessment tasks. Once you have a clear
picture of how the disability impacts on learning you can consider alternative assessment strategies.
- Provide extensions to assignment deadlines if extensive reading has been set. Consider setting alternative
assignments in which students can work intensively on a few selected texts rather than having to read
widely.
- Examination papers may need to be enlarged or Braille, with tactile diagrams, maps etc. It may be necessary
to provide heavy line paper, a scribe or special writing implements.
- Some students may undertake examinations using a personal computer with assistive software. Some may
need other assessment adjustments such as a reader/scribe, an oral examination, audio taped questions or
large print papers. It may be necessary to provide extra space for equipment and specific personnel or a
separate examination venue if the noise from equipment being used is likely to be distracting for other
students.
- Provide extra time in examinations. Some students with vision impairment will require double time for
examinations so time for rest breaks will be essential. Take-home examinations or split papers are a
preferred option under such circumstances.

Tactile graphics

- People with a vision impairment are finding tactile graphics extremely valuable and, in some cases, vital for
successful study, work and leisure. While people with a vision impairment are routinely provided with text
transcribed into Braille, audio or large print, the pictures, diagrams and maps which accompany text are
often omitted or only very briefly described.
- Visual graphics can effectively be converted into tactile graphics, even for the highly graphical information
contained in maps and scientific material. This is not simply a matter of taking a visual image and making
some kind of tactile photocopy – the tactile is a considerably less sensitive sense than the visual.
- Visual graphics need to be re-designed by experts, in a variety of formats such as vacuum-formed
(thermoform), swell paper (microcapsule paper) and embossed (such as that produced on a Braille printer).
They can also be accompanied by labels and descriptions in Braille or audio format.

Tactile graphics are useful when:

- the user is print-impaired but has some tactual ability

- a concept not easily described in words
- a real object is unavailable for touching
 - the shape, form or pattern is significant
- it is necessary to illustrate scale and explain maps, technology, or biological relationships
- a one-time reference or reminder is needed
- the educational experience can be enhanced
- Tactile graphics are not, however, exact replicas of the original, nor are they good for fine detail and
representing very large graphics. They should not be used without training and support materials.

10. For you, which is more important: teaching daily living skills or teaching academic lessons to a child with visual
impairment?
- For me, teaching daily living skills is more important than teaching academic lessons to a child with visual
impairment. Individuals with visual impairment can overcome the obstacles to blindness with support and
learning skills to compensate for vision loss. Even if they cannot live independently, being independent in
self-care will take some of burden off the caregivers as well as help visually impaired individuals to feel a
sense of dignity. Thus. Independent living services is often the most important goal for a child or adult with
a disability. Achieving happiness and self-sufficiency in life for visually impaired persons of all ages is our
goal and learning the skills to take care of oneself is a critical component of our services.