Division on Visual Impairments

VIDBE-Q 67.2 Spring 2022

A quarterly newsletter from the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Visual Impairments containing practitioner tips for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and other professionals.

Issue link: http://dvi.uberflip.com/i/1465739

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Know Where You Are Part of guiding students along their paths involves orientation. The TSVI's first priority in orientation is finding the beginning of the path, which means identifying the AT that best fits the strengths and needs of each student on their caseload. The TSVI orients the student to that AT, providing explicit explanations and instruction, modeling, constructive feedback on the use of the AT, and reinforcement of successful application of the AT in the student's daily life and educational journey. Each student's journey will have twists, turns, and its own seasons along the way. As the journey commences, the TSVI serves as a guide who reminds the student how to remain oriented and on the path. As with any other type of navigation, TSVIs must periodically re-orient themselves and their students, making course corrections as needed. This can include learning new skills on the AT device used by the student, switching methods and strategies on the student's current AT, or changing AT to fit the student's needs and strengths that were discovered during the re-orientation process along the journey. Facing the myriad of possibilities may seem overwhelming at times, much like planning a trip to somewhere new. It can help to remember that even as TSVIs balance short-term and long-term goals, students do not need to be everywhere at once. Journeys take time.

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