are also classified as being legally blind. Approximately 10% of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to describe visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200. (Vision Aware 2016)
Teachers should be aware that the child may face difficulties during P.E. lessons. During ball games the child may not see the ball coming towards them resulting in the ball hitting them. (Hastings 2008) This could potentially cause a physical injury depending on the type of ball being used and where it hit them. Being hit in the face could cause more damage to the eyes. A differently coloured ball may not make a difference outside due the open space and brightness of the sun. If the child hasn’t seen the ball once it passes upwards of their head height, the chances are that they won’t see it come down either, leading to a greater chance of the ball hitting them. (Hastings 2008) Schools may be reluctant to include children with visual impairments during P.E. lessons but small adaptations to the way games are played could be enough to give them the opportunity to join in. (Lieberman and Wilson 1999; Winnick 2011)
Partially sighted children still work primarily through the visual medium, and make up the majority of learners with visual impairment. (Dutta 2013) Their needs vary considerably and many work with normal print, which can create difficulties as they don’t want to be seen as different and don’t want to make a fuss. This means that their needs may be underestimated. (RNIB 2010; Dutta 2013) Enlarging worksheets straight on to A3 paper may not be the best technique here as the text quality isn’t as good, trying to enlarge the text but still keeping A4 paper may be better here. (Early Support Consortium, 2012) The children themselves may not fully understand what their needs are until they reach secondary school. Dutta (2013) states that teachers and staff should consider whether the child’s level of sight is stable or variable and under what conditions, how much the child’s field of vision is restricted, what size or style of print is comfortable for the child student and does the child have a particular preferences for the learning environment in terms of lighting or choice of seat? The Early Support Consortium (2012) and the RNIB (2012) also agree with this.
Some teachers may be inclined to have different expectations of children with visual impairments because it has been classed as a disability, but there is no direct evidence to support a link between visual impairment and intelligence, children with a visual impairment just have additional barriers to overcome. (Dutta 2013) More than a third will have some additional needs that may affect their learning and can affect a number of areas, such as the speed of working, communication skills environmental and spatial awareness, and social interaction, with a reduced ability to recognise body language and facial expressions. As a result, students can suffer from lower self-confidence which can have a negative impact on learning. (Dutta 2013)
Meeting the challenges
Inclusion is key to the successful education of children with visual impairment. According to The Centre for Studies in Inclusive Education (2013), inclusive education means disabled and non-disabled young people learning together in ordinary school provision, with appropriate networks of support. They should have access to the same information at the same time and, if possible, in the same way. Local Authorities should provide a Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (QTVI) to visit the school and give advice for teaching the child. (Dutta 2013) Inclusion was a term which was first used in the Warnock report (1978) which made recommendations about bringing children with disabilities and impairments out of special schools and into mainstream schools. The teacher should also try to organise regular meetings with the parents discuss what type of support has been given, whether or not the support is actually working and what more could be done to improve the child’s school life. (Dutta 2013) Advice from opticians and eye care consultants should be read and acted on as they will provide the school with an in depth report on the type of visual impairment the child has, the amount of vision and suggested improvements to make the child’s time at school easier.
A child with a visual impairment should be singled out as little as possible and the changes that are made for them should seem like a normal routine to the other children. The child should be seated at the front of the classroom so that they can see the board. Blue or black pen should be used when writing or drawing on the whiteboard as they give a good colour contrast. (RNIB 2001; Scottish Sensory centre 2016) Worksheets and handouts should be enlarged to a size where the child can comfortably read the text without straining their eyes, this will mean that they will have the time to form an understanding of the text as oppose to just reading the words. This should be a minimum of size 14, but may need to be larger than this depending on the severity of the impairment. (RNIB 2001; Scottish Sensory Centre 2016) It’s important that teachers make the most of specialist support that is available. Most teachers won’t have the skills to teach specialist areas such as Braille, but QTVIs can visit and work closely with schools to advise how to meet children’s needs. Every local authority has a vision impairment service which includes at least one QTVI. (RNIB 2016)
The classroom environment will have a significant impact on the success of teaching and learning of a visually impaired child. On top of dealing with health and safety issues, it is important to consider the room’s sensory nature. (Brown et al 2011) The school might have had an audit conducted by a QTVI to suggest improvements, but there are other points to consider such as keeping the classroom tidy to allow for easier movement, keeping frequently used resources labelled and in the same accessible place, the level of lighting, using real objects to support teaching and storage space for any special equipment. (Brown et al 2011; Dutta 2013)
Resources may need to be modified so the child can assess them as visually impaired children learners often require extra time to process information and complete tasks, so using the simplest formats can help them. Make time to modify resources before lessons to include, for example, larger print or bolder colours. Pre-created versions can be found in a wide range of Braille materials, audio-visual resources, and tactile pictures and diagrams is available from various educational suppliers. (Dutta 2013)
Conclusion
With the right support, a child with a visual impairment can achieve as well as anybody else in the education system given that teachers and other staff understand the needs of the child. Every visual impairment is different but there is some general advice to follow to ensure that the child is included in the school community. All information should be produced in plain language and in a minimum type size 14 point. Obviously the type size will vary depending on the severity of the visual impairment. Use clear, easily readable font. Some teachers use swirly font in PowerPoint presentations and word documents to try and keep the children focused but this just makes the text harder to read. (Bowman et al 2001) Using a background of contrasting colour is really helpful for pupils with a visual impairment although be aware that black and white may produce too much glare. Black and yellow has been shown to be effective as has blue and yellow. Justify all type on the left so the child can easily see where each line starts. Don’t print sentences in block capitals as research suggests it’s easier to recognise the shapes of lowercase letters. (Hu 1962; Legge et al 2001) If requested, information should be provided in an alternative format. This could include as large print, audio or braille. (RNIB 2016) The child may struggle to use a computer or other device during Computing lessons, however there is software that can help with this. Some devices have built in systems that will talk to the user and tell them what is on the screen and read the text to them. (Vista society for the blind 2016) Provide any service in a flexible way using, where appropriate, meeting times and telephone conversations with the child’s parents. Ensure that the classroom and school is fully accessible to people with mobility or sensory impairments and provide publicity materials which tell the parents or carers of the child the type of support that can be offered. A good working relationships with other service-providers who can help, could be essential to ensuring that the child achieves the highest grades they can and enjoys the time they spend at school. Finally, all staff should be provided with disability equality training, not just for visual impairment, but for any type of disability that teachers and TAs may come across during their career.
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