Educational needs of visually impaired pdf

Educational Needs of Visually Impaired Learners

1. Presentedby
Mr.ReyazAhmadWani
AssistantProfessor
SchoolofEducation
CentralUniversityofKashmir
PRESENTATION
ON
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF VISUALLY
IMPAIRED LEARNERS

2. 1.MagnifyingGlassesandHandMagnifiers
2.Close-CircuitTelevision
3.LargePrintMaterial
4.TheBraille
5.TalkingCalculators
6.OtherSpecializedEquipments
7.PlusCurriculum
8.ParticipationinCo-CurricularActivities
9.Orientation&Mobility
10.ProvisionforintegratedEducation
11.UnifiedInstruction
12.VocationalTraining&Placement
13.ResidentialSchools
14.MainstreamSchooling

3. Theseassistivedevicesareusefulforlearners
withlowvision.Thesetoolspresentthematerials
inenlargedsize.

4. Acamerawithzoomlensphotographsthepartofthepageor
materialandprojectsthatinamagnifiedformonthe
televisionscreentoaidtheaffectedlearnertohaveaneasy
graspoftheprojectedimage.Thelearnermovesthebook
whilereadinginsuchawaythattheappropriateportionof
thepagegetsenlarged.Thesizeoftheprojectedmaterial
canalsobeadjusted/customized.

5. The font size of large/big print materials is considerably
larger than the usual, may be in18-24 font size, making it
feasible for learner with low vision to read the print with
convenience.

6. Brailleisasystemofraiseddotsthatcanbereadwiththe
fingersbypeoplewhoareblindorwhohavelowvision.
Teachers,parents,andotherswhoarenotvisuallyimpaired
ordinarilyreadbraillewiththeireyes.Brailleisnota
language.Rather,itisacodebywhichmanylanguages—
suchasEnglish,Spanish,Arabic,Chinese,anddozensof
others—maybewrittenandread.Brailleisusedby
thousandsofpeopleallovertheworldintheirnative
languages,andprovidesameansofliteracyforall.

7. Atalkingcalculatorhasabuilt-inspeechsynthesizerthat
readsaloudeachnumber,symbol,oroperationkeyauser
presses;italsovocalizestheanswertotheproblem.This
auditoryfeedbackmayhelpanindividualwithvisual
perceptionlimitationschecktheaccuracyofthekeysas
theyarepressedandverifytheanswerbeforehe/she
transfersittopaper.

8. Audio-aidsliketaperecorder,radio,arithmeticaidsand
embossedandreliefmapsforteachingofGeographyand
SpacePerceptionaresomeofthespecializedequipments
useforlearnerswithlowvision.Readingmaterialboth
fromtextbooksandothersourcescanbetranscribedand
presentedtotheprofoundlyVIlearners,whousually
benefitmorefromaudio-oralcuesthanfromvisual-cues.
Taperecorder,forexamplehelpsinteaching/learningof
History,Language,Geography,GeneralScience,etc.

9. Pluscurriculummeansthedevelopmentofskillsspecificto
blindnesssuchasBraillereading,Braillewriting,orientationand
mobility,dailylivingskills,sensorytraining,anduseof
mathematicaldevicessuchasTaylor'sframeandabacus.Itisan
educationprogramme,especiallyforinclusiveeducation.
WhenwearedealingwiththeeducationoftheVisually
Impairedchildrenwehaveobservedtheterm–“Plus
Curriculum”.Thispluscurriculumisalwaysbeingrecommended
fortheblindchildrenasanextendedcorecurriculum.Aswe
havealreadyperceivedthat,generally,thecurriculumarearefers
tocertainsubjectslikeMathematics,Science,SocialScienceetc.
Onthecontrary,pluscurriculumreferstocertainskillsand
competenciesthatareabsolutelypeculiartoblindness.

10. Participationinco-curricularactivitiesforlearnerswith
specialneedscouldbeagreatsourceofencouragementto
developsenseofpersonalworthandself-confidence.The
activitiesforVIcanbepoeticrecitation,debate&dialogue
contests,singingandplayingmusicalinstruments.The
objectiveistodevelopappropriateinter-personalskillsor
socialadjustmentinmainstreamsociety.

11. AnOrientationandMobility(O&M)Specialistprovidestrainingthat
isdesignedtodeveloporrelearntheskillsandconceptsablindor
visuallyimpairedpersonneedstotravelsafelyand
independentlythroughhisorherenvironment.
OrientationandMobilityisthatpartofablindandvisually
impairedchild’seducationthatprepareshim/herformore
independenttravel.Orientationreferstoanawarenessofone’sselfin
relationtothephysicalenvironment,aswellashavingan
understandingofthemanyobjectsoneencountersintheir
environment.ItisforthisreasonthatOrientation&Mobility
specialistsstresstheareaofconceptdevelopment,particularlybody
imageconcepts,spatialorientationandenvironmentalconcepts.
Mobilityistheabilitytotravelsafely,efficiently,andasindependently
aspossible.Putsimply,itistheabilitytowalkinasafemannerand
knowwhereyouaregoing.

12. ProfoundlyVIlearnersneedamajorcurricular
adaptationinanintegratedsystemofeducationascompared
tolearnerswithlowvision.

13. VIlearnersneedtobegivenhandsonexperiences
throughauthentictaskssothattheywillbeabletoprogress
intoleadingnormallyindependentlivesasmuchas
possible.

14. IndianAssociationfortheBlind(IAB),e.g.basedin
Madurai,SouthIndia,isawell-knownnon-profit
organizationworkingatthegrassrootsforthe
rehabilitationofpeoplewithvisualchallenges.IABaffirms
itscommitmenttoempowervisuallychallengedpeople
becomeself-reliantbyprovidingcomprehensive
rehabilitation,educationandemploymentopportunities.
IABhasaspecialfocusonthesocioeconomically
disadvantagedvisuallychallengedchildrenandadults,
particularlythosefromruralareas.

15. Theconceptofspecializedresidentialschoolsislosing
charminmodernIndianscenariobecauseofitslimitations
withregardtopersonalitydevelopmentanduseof
fundamentalrightsofindividuals.Itisalsoaverycostly
processfordevelopingeconomieslikeIndia.

16. Overtheyears,studiesinchilddevelopment,sociology,andspecial
educationhaveledenlightenededucatorstotheconclusionthatblind
childrengrow,flourish,andachievegreaterselfandsocialfulfillmentby
beingnurturedintheleastrestrictiveenvironment(LRE).Throughlocal
education,supportedbywellpreparedspecialistsineducationofthe
blind,thesechildrenmayenjoyeverydaycommonexperiencesessential
tothedevelopmentofakeenawarenessoftherealitiesoftheworld
aroundthem.Withpropertechnicalassistance,consultationgivento
regularclassroomteachers,andabroadeducationalenvironment,blind
childrenareabletoshowtheirtrueworth;theyarethenmorereadily
acceptedsociallybytheirsightedcounterparts.Statisticsrevealthatnot
even10%ofblindchildreninmostofthedevelopingcountriesare
receivinganykindofeducation,andtherefore,integratededucationis
consideredtobetheonlypracticalapproach.Itistheeconomically
viable,psychologicallysuperior,andsociallyacceptablemodeltobring
allthoseunreachedblindchildrenintothemainstreamofeducation.