VIDBE-Q Volume 65 Issue 4
Curry, 1987; Curry & Hatlen, 1988), the field has eventually coalesced on what
those key areas entail and have identified a name for them: the ECC (Hatlen, 1996;
Sapp & Hatlen, 2006).
The importance of instruction in the ECC is now a keystone of the philosophy
of the field's professional practice for students with visual impairments. The
Division on Visual Impairments and Deafblindness of the Council for Exceptional
Children has incorporated ECC competencies into its Knowledge and Skills
Standards for university programs that prepare TVIs. Most university programs
now integrate these standards into their curricula, providing opportunities for their
students to learn about and practice strategies to teach these skills. Some states
have mandated assessment in the ECC in their student eligibility requirements,
meaning TVIs must identify strengths and weaknesses in these nine areas known to
be impacted by visual impairment in their planning for services for students found
eligible for special education. Since 1998, 217 articles have appeared in the
Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness that have mentioned the ECC. Although
still limited, some correlational research has demonstrated associations between
instruction in various ECC skills while in school and later adult success (Cmar,
2015; Kelly & Wolffe, 2019; Wolffe & Kelly, 2019).
The field's philosophy may have changed, but our practices do not always
support ECC acquisition. We all have met adults with early-onset visual
