Visions of the Blind

Campers & Counselors stand around Camp Abilities North Georgia banner As I sit here on my front porch on a balmy Saturday morning, I reflect on my summer experiences. Yes, I work throughout the summer but I also slow down with the change of pace--just enough to rejuvenate for a new school year. One of the ways I both slowed down and worked is attending Camp Abilities North Georgia (CANGA). What an  INCREDIBLE experience! I grew up attending camps all summer long when I was not spending time on my grandparents' farm. At the time, camp was something to do that did not include sitting around the house all summer. Now, I know camp was so much more ! As a child, I had a ton of fun at camp while also learning new lessons which cannot be taught in school or at home and believe those experiences impacted who I am today. I also may have found myself in trouble one year for being sneaky but that is for a different post... So what does camp do for children? Over 3 days at CANGA ...

Hello! With the new school year fast approaching, I wanted to reach out to those general classroom teachers who may just be finding out that they will have the joy of teaching a student who has a visual impairment in their classroom! This week's blog post will address ways to adapt your classroom, materials, and routines to allow your student who is visually impaired to seamlessly adapt to the new year and compete on the same level as their peers. Chances are, you've already met your student's Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and Certified Orientation & Mobility Instructor (COMS). They will be wonderful resources for you this year and provide you the support you need. They may also be able to assist in the set up of your classroom!  Let's dive right in! Adapting your room to be VI friendly! Make sure that you check their IEP to see if they need preferential seating towards the front of the room or away from glare. It is important to make sure t...

In my last post "I Believe...In Working Myself Out of a Job", I referenced creating independence in students to the point where I am no longer needed. To dig a bit deeper, I recall a conversation with a supervisor many years ago. I was called to an office where my caseload would be reviewed by my supervisor and I would have the opportunity to state my case on a few new students. As we reviewed my caseload student by student, we came upon my most recent student. I had recommended a specific amount of service time based on the student's unique needs and what I knew he required to develop appropriate skills towards independence. My caseload was completely packed and I had no idea how I was going to serve this student. I was asked why I had recommended the service time if I did not have time to provide the services. I was thoroughly confused because I recommended the service time a child requires based on the child's needs, not based on my availability to serve.   A...