VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 1
set. Does this exempt us from addressing these competencies? In my professional
opinion, the short answer is "No". So how does a new TVI or even a veteran
working in isolation address the totality of their student's needs? An excellent
place to start is by using time-tested, peer-reviewed tools of the trade that are ready
made and easily accessible to all professionals in our field. I will be discussing 3
such tools available on Federal Quota from APH.
The Functional Vision and Learning Media Assessment for Students Who are
Pre-Academic or Academic and Visually Impaired in Grades K-12 Kit
(FVLMA, catalog #7-96151-00).
The FVLMA provides a framework for the systematic assessment of
student's visual functioning and needs for adapted educational media. First
published in 2012 by APH, it had been in field practice since 1993. The authors,
LaRhea Sanford, Ed.D. and Rebecca Burnett, Ed.D. offered the instrument to APH
so that it could be more readily and easily available to TVI around the country (and
even internationally now). The FVLMA is used to determine: a) how a student
functions visually in daily activities with a variety of materials, b) ways to increase
visual functioning, c) a student's primary and secondary learning media, d) current
skills in the various areas of literacy instruction, e.g., reading, writing, listening,
keyboarding and related technology and e) how the visual impairment adversely
affects the student's performance in the general education curriculum. In addition
