Students with visual
impairment
Over 40 million people in the world are blind, and over 120 million people
have significant Low Vision conditions
that cannot be corrected, cured or treated by conventional refraction,
medicine or surgery.
This number is
expected to double by the year 2020.
(World Health Organization, 2004)
Visual acuity impairment /WHO/:
• Normal vision: 5/5 , 5/7.5 and better
• Low vision:
• Medium – 6/18 – 6/60
• Severe – 6/60 – 3/60
• Profound – 3/60 – 1/60, visual field narrowed to 20 °
• Blindness:
• Practical – less than 1/60, visual field narrowed to 5-10°
• Factual - incorrect / no light perception
Visual acuity 5/5:
Visual acuity 6/18:
Visual acuity 3/60:
Visual acuity 1/60:
Definition of visual impairment in the USA:
• Legal:
• a person who is legally blind has visual acuity of 20/200 or less in
the better eye even with correction or has a field of vision so
narrow that its widest diameter subtends an angular distance no
greater than 20 degrees
• A person who is partially sighted has visual acuity falling between
20/70 and 20/200 in the better eye with correction
• Educational:
• Stresses the method of reading instruction
• Persons who are blind or severely impaired learn to read in Braille
• Persons with low vision can read print /with the help of magnifying devices or
large print-books/
Glaucoma:
• A condition when there is
excessive pressure in the
eyeball, the blood supply to the
optic nerve is cut off
• If untreated results in blindness
Cataracts:
Diabetic retinopathy:
Implications for teaching
1. Academic achievement
2. Health implications
3. Methods of instruction
Educational considerations:
• Students with VI have to rely on other sensory modality to acquire
information
• Modification of the teaching process necessary
• Braille
• Use of remaining sight
• Listening skills
• Mobility training
Teaching aids for the blind and partially sighted:
1.
3.
5.
2.
4.
6.
• Scanner with Optical Character Recognition /OCR/ software
2. Braille display
6. Braille emboser
3. Braille writing board
5. Braille machine
4. Tactile models
Low-vision aids:
Try to read with a magnifier.
Mobility training:
• The long cane
• Symbol cane (identification
cane)
• White walking sticks (support
cane)
• Guide dogs
• Human guides
When speaking with a person who is blind or has low vision, consider the following tips:
• Identify yourself - don't assume the person will recognise you by your voice.
• Speak naturally and clearly. Loss of eyesight does not mean loss of hearing.
• Continue to use body language. This will affect the tone of your voice and give a lot of extra
information to the person who is vision impaired.
• Use everyday language. Don't avoid words like "see" or "look" or talking about everyday
activities such as watching TV or videos.
• Name the person when introducing yourself or when directing conversation to them in a
group situation.
• Never channel conversation through a third person.
• In a group situation, introduce the other people present.
• Never leave a conversation with a person without saying so.
• Use accurate and specific language when giving directions. For example, "the door is on your
left", rather than "the door is over there".
• Avoid situations where there is competing noise.
• Always ask first to check if help is needed.
• Relax and be yourself.
Everyday life
• Offering help or information
• Guiding
• Sitting and getting on/off tram (car, etc.)
• PE for student with visual impairment
• 6:48 – 15:41
• Blind football – Avoy
• 3:35
• Skiing with a guide
Students with hearing
impairment
Some figures concerning hearing impairment
5 %
360 million
32 million
10 years
Some figures concerning hearing impairment
5 % of the worlds population, it means approx. 360 million people, has
a disabling hearing loss,
and 32 million of these are children. The numbers also show that on
average, people with hearing loss wait as long as 10 years before
seeking help.
• A HI is a decrease in one´s ability to hear (perceive auditory information)
• HI ranges in severity from mild to profound
• Deaf
• Hard-of-hearing
• Mild (26-54 dB)
• Moderate (55-69 dB)
• Severe (70-89 dB)
• Profound (90 dB and more)
Hearing Aids:
• Worn behind the ear
• Worn in the ear
• Worn in the canal of the ear
Hearing aids make sounds
louder, not clearer.
Hearing aid at school
Cochlear Implant:
• A small microphone worn
behind the ear
• A small computerized speech
processor worn by the person
• An implanted internal coin
• Electrodes implanted in the
inner ear
• Hearing in everyday life
• 3:23 – 5:50
• Loss of hearing is not only about processing information but also
about communication and sharing information…
Approaches to teaching
• Oral approach
• Sign language
• Total communication
In the classroom
Student
with
hearing
impairment
Adaptations to
the methods of
instruction
Means of
copmmunication
Teacher:
knowledge, skills
and attotude
Challenges in the
process
Technical
aids/solutions
• Tips for classroom management
• Reading and comprehension
• Complex sentences
• Sarcasm, irony, metaphor
• Distorted timeline
Reading
• Face the hearing impaired person directly, on the same level and in good light whenever possible
• Do not talk from another room. .
• Speak clearly, slowly, distinctly, but naturally, without shouting or exaggerating mouth movements.
• Say the person's name before beginning a conversation.
• Avoid talking too rapidly or using sentences that are too complex.
• Keep your hands away from your face while talking.
• Try to minimize extraneous noise when talking.
• Avoid situations where there will be loud sounds when possible.
• If the hearing impaired person has difficulty understanding a particular phrase or word, try to find a different way of saying the same thing,
• Acquaint the listener with the general topic of the conversation.
• If you are giving specific information, have them repeat the specifics back to you.
• Whenever possible, provide pertinent information in writing, such as directions, schedules, work assignments, etc.
• Take turns speaking and avoid interrupting other speakers.
Communication with people with hearing impairment
Interpreting
• Lyrics and rhytm
• ..when lyrics is less demanding
• Starbucks