Serving Students with Visual Impairments: The Importance of Collaboration

General Education Teachers

• Instruct all students in the general education classroom in core academic curriculum
• Implement the suggestions and strategies offered by other professionals for teaching the core curriculum to students with visual impairments
• Support students with visual impairments when those students use disability-specific skills, such as are found in the expanded core curriculum (ECC)
• Consult regularly with students, families, and specialists for assessment and instructional purposes

TVIs

• Instruct students with visual impairments in disability-specific skills (e.g., braille)
• Teach areas of the expanded core curriculum, when appropriate
• Conduct disability-specific assessments (e.g., functional vision assessment)
• Consult regularly with students, families, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, IEP team members, and orientation and mobility specialists

O&M Specialists

• Orient students to classroom, school, and community environments
• Assess students’ use of functional vision
• Consult regularly with students, family, classroom teachers, TVI, and occupational and physical therapists, as needed
• Instruct students in the development of concepts and the use of senses, low vision devices, and mobility devices

Paraprofessionals

• Provide instructional support
• Reinforce classroom instruction, the use of disability-specific skills, and safe campus travel
• Assist in the preparation of adapted instructional materials or equipment
• Consult regularly with students, families, classroom teachers, TVI, and O&M to best support school success and reinforce important skills

Parents/Guardians

• Share previously implemented academic, behavioral, and social skills strategies
• Reinforce instruction and skills learned at school through additional practice or homework
• Create new learning opportunities for students that are not offered through the school (e.g., going to a theater)
• Collaborate with school personnel and other professionals about the student

Students

• Communicate learning preferences and mediums
• Inform teachers when instructional content needs to be repeated or described in greater detail
• Communicate the need for accommodations, preferred assistive technology, and assistance

Related Service Providers and Other Professionals

• Provide supports required for the student to benefit from special education services
• Examples include:
  • School counselors
  • School psychologists
  • Speech and language pathologists