A teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) provides direct and indirect services to students whose vision loss is primarily due to pathology rather than the more common visual perception problems exhibited by students with learning disabilities. About 1 in 5,000 children under the age of 19 are legally blind, making this mpairment a low incidence disability for school age children. TMCSEA employs a full-time TVI to meet these needs in our twenty-one member districts. A TVI facilitates the learning for a child with a visual impairment: supporting the classroom instruction through accommodations, modeling, teacher consultation, promoting acceptance, providing advocacy for the child, and direct instruction when needed. Areas of direct instruction may include: Braille/reading, technology training for specialized equipment and software, self-advocacy skills, information on understanding the visual impairment, organizational skills, social skills, and keyboarding.
Tips for working with a student with visual impairment:
- Preferential seating is important.
- Provide additional desk or locker space as needed to accommodate special materials and equipment.
- Allow the student with visual impairment to do for himself/herself when possible, to promote independence.
For more information contact Kristina Neville, Program Coordinator or Jasmine Wells, Teacher of the Visually Impaired