Vision Impairment
Students can suffer from three different types of vision impairments.
- Low Vision- An ocular (relating to the eye) condition in which there is reduced vision, even while using corrective lenses. In order to be considered to have low vision, the individual's visual acuity will range from 20/70 to 20/ 200 and/ or their visual field is 50 degrees or less.
- Blindness- A condition in which a person is unable to perceive the light around them. This vision loss can range from being able to perceive little light to not being able to perceive any.
- Cortical (cerebral) Visual Impairment- This is a neurological impairment in which a person has difficulty interpreting visual information. There is damage from the visual pathway that stems from the brain.
Low- Tech Devices
Visual Edge Slant Board
- This slant board allows the student to position the material in a manner that will decrease distance angle or glare. This particular slant board is $30.00, however if purchased in bulk the cost goes down. It has collapsible legs so when it is not being used it can be easily stored. The Visual Edge Slant Board has a clamp at the top so papers can be held in place and at the bottom there is a book holder to hold textbooks in place.
Hooleon Corporation Braille and Large Print Keyboard Stickers
- These stickers stick to keyboard letters so a student with a vision impairment can easily detect the keys. These stickers not only have braille on them, but they also have the letters in large print so a child that does not know braille can still utilize them. The stickers come in several colors and range from $20 to $30, depending on the keyboard type.
Mead Raised Line Writing Paper
- This raised line paper will help visually impaired students identify where the lines on paper are. It acts as a guide for them to write straight and neatly. It will provide reinforcement that the student is writing not only on the paper, but also in a line. This particular pad of paper is made by Mead and costs $5.50. You can also find raised line paper that has thicker raised lines and different line widths, depending on the student and ability level.
Mid-Tech Devices
Talking Calculator with Earphones
- This calculator is a great resource for a visually impaired student to utilize while in math and everyday life. The large keys on this calculator make it easily for the student to identify the keys. This calculator also talks, saying which key is pushed at the given time. There is also a volume control so the student can adjust the volume depending on his environment. With this calculator, the student also has the option of wearing the earphones, so nobody else can hear the calculator.
Sony Digital Flash Voice Recorder
- Rather than have a visually impaired student worry about being able to write down all the notes, a voice recorder can simply record what the teacher is saying, alleviating some of the pressure the student may feel. This particular voice recorder is great because the recorded material can be transferred onto the computer and played back to the student as many times as he/ she would like. It comes with a 2GB memory card, but a larger one can be purchased. It is a simple design so if the student cannot see the buttons, he can still determine what they are. This recorder is especially useful because it is compatible with Dragon, a voice to print software.
Write: Outloud Text to Speech Converter
- It may aid visually impaired students to hear what they are typing, in order to ensure accuracy. Write: Outloud is a computer software program that does just that. It is geared towards students, so it is easy to use. Write: Outloud reads the words as they are being typed and even has an auditory spellchecker and homophone identifier.
High-Tech Devices
JAWS Screen Reading Software
- JAWS is a Windows compatible software. It reads aloud what is on the screen and allows the student to use several of the computer's programs, such as Adobe, Microsoft Office, and Internet Explorer by using a set of tools given through the software. JAWS is well suited for the visually impaired especially because it provides a braille output that can be used in conjunction with, or instead of speech. It can be customized to fit each student's needs.
Braille Sense Plus QWERTY
- The Braille Sense Plus QWERTY allows visually impaired students to essentially have all the functionality of a laptop. The Braille Sense is a notetaker that uses a full QWERTY keyboard that has Braille display. Students are able to connect to the internet, send e-mails, manager files, create documents, play audio, and even chat with others. The Braille Sense also has a speech output which is crucial. This is a great product, however is does have a high price tag of around $6,000.
Alpha Smart Neo 2
- The Alpha Smart is a portable word processing device. This would allow visually impaired students to type, rather than write any material they wanted to record. It easily converts the text to speech, which makes the information more accessible to students. There is also a large font option, which makes it more obtainable to visually impaired students. It is portable, allowing it be used in every class and the home.
References
- For more information on visual impairments, visit WATI. org. http://wati.org/content/supports/free/pdf/Ch12-Vision.pdf
- For more information on the Visual Edge Slant Board, visit http://www.visualedgesb.com/visual-edge-slant-board.html
- For more information on the Hooleon Corporation Braille and Large Print Keyboard stickers, visit http://www.hooleon.com/collections/keyboards-braille/products/keyboards-stickers-braille-large-print-black
- For more information on Mead Raised Line Writing Paper, visit http://www.amazon.com/Mead-Raised-Ruling-Inches-48556/dp/B0006HUK34/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354568983&sr=8-1&keywords=raised+line+paper
- For more information on the Talking Calculator with Earphones, visit http://www.independentliving.com/prodinfo.asp?number=276915
- For more information on the Sony Digital Flash Voice Recorder, visit http://www.amazon.com/Sony-ICD-SX712-Digital-Flash-Recorder/dp/B004M8ST2W/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1354570127&sr=1-11
- For more information on Write: Outloud Text to Speech Converter, visit http://www.donjohnston.com/products/write_outloud/index.html
- For more information on JAWS Screen Reading Software, visit http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/fs/jaws-product-page.asp
- For more information on Braille Sense Plus QWERTY, visit http://www.hims-inc.com/products/braille-sense-plus-qwerty/
- For more information on the Alpha Smart Neo 2, visit http://www.neo-direct.com/default.aspx