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Students who are classified as visually impaired have widely varying conditions, ranging from total blindness to an inability to read standard print or navigate without using a cane or guide dog. Students with partial sight may also experience significant fluctuations in their sight day to day. Consequently, each student will have different needs for accommodation. The largest barrier to all visually impaired students is access to the written word--on the blackboard, in textbooks, and as feedback on their homework and tests. For this reason, written information must be provided in alternative formats.

Some students will be able to read standard print with difficulty and extra time; others will need large print; and still others will request information as a computer file so that they can access it using computers with enlarged text, braille, or speech output. It is important to provide information in the format that the student requests, recognizing that a format that is accessible to one student may not be useful to another. This document provides some suggestions for making your class accessible, along with guidelines about interacting with a person with visual impairment in a way that is comfortable for all involved. Most students with visual disabilities take advantage of assistive technology. Computers can enlarge print; convert printed material to Braille; read the text on a computer screen aloud; or scan books, articles, and other printed materials and then read their text. Some students also use audiotape recorders, portable note-taking devices, or talking calculators.

 

Interacting with individuals with visual impairment

• Identify yourself when beginning an interaction with a student with a visual impairment. Make sure that the student knows when you are leaving.
  Speak directly to the student, not through his/her assistants or other students. Use the tone and volume you normally do.

• In group discussions, establish rules which will help the student follow the class proceedings. Have students identify themselves before speaking.

• Students with visual impairment may feel that it is difficult to contribute because the lack of information about facial expression and body language makes it hard to judge when to speak.

• If a student uses a guide dog, do not interact with the dog. The dog may become distracted and excited at the attention when it needs to be calm and focused on its work.

• If it is ever appropriate to guide a blind person, ask first. Offer your arm so that the person can follow you, rather than pushing the person ahead of you.

 

Suggestions on instructing students with visual impairment

• Students with visual impairment usually have a good deal of experience in making things accessible and can suggest the adaptations which work best for them. Discuss their situation with them.

• Arrange for preferential seating as requested so that the student can hear clearly what is being presented and see as much as possible.

• Provide course materials in advance as requested--including syllabi, lists of required reading materials, lecture materials--so that students have additional time to prepare for class. Students may also use braille, recorded or electronic versions of texts, all of which require time for DSS to acquire and may need to be produced on demand.

• Course materials such as handouts, lecture materials, overhead projections and other visual aids may need to be adapted to meet the student's needs.

• Lecture styles may need to be adapted according to meet the student's needs--for example, verbal descriptions of concepts and specific language rather than words like "this" or "here" which require visual information; slowing the pace when referring to a textbook or handout to give students time to find the information.

• Allow students to tape record lectures or to use portable computers to take notes in class requested. If there is a concern about recording lectures and/or copyright issues, Disability Support Services can provide a release form. Some students may also have an assistant present to take notes or to help with laboratory procedures.

• Discuss testing accommodations with the student, which may require the need for extra time, adaptive equipment, and/or use of a reader. If the office is to assist with the arrangements, the student should provide a Test Accommodation Request Form from Disability Support Services. Students often have readers. This preference should be accommodated whenever possible to minimize the student's need to train the reader and avoid additional stress.

• Ask the student how he/she would like feedback on his/her work. Comments on work are an important part of the learning process, and should be made to the student verbally or in a written form which is accessible. Having your comments read by another person adds an unnecessary layer of communication. In addition, students may not wish their readers to have knowledge of their academic performance.