VIDBE-Q Volume 68 Issue 4
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skills. [Thus,] students with low vision may benefit from a variety of
accommodations" (p. 169).
Teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) must develop teaching
strategies that will enhance the development of students' literacy skills and should
also be integral parts of daily instruction (Layton & Koenig, 1998). To access
literacy, students with low vision may use magnification devices and software, text
to speech, digital media, or large print. The use of these devices and electronic
options must be taught, and students and teachers must learn which devices fit
which literary contexts. When teachers use evidence-based practices to further
develop such strategies, it allows for improved teaching practices and opportunities
for students with visual impairments to improve their performance in reading
fluency and comprehension (Ferrell et al., 2014).
Read Naturally is one supplementary reading program that aims to improve
reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension and has been determined to have
moderate to large effects in improving both reading fluency and comprehension.
While Read Naturally has been extensively utilized and researched with students
who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability (e.g., Arvans, 2010;
Christ & Davie, 2009; Hancock, 2002; Kemp, 2006), it has not been researched
with students who have visual impairments. Therefore, it is imperative that an
evidence base for the use (with appropriate adaptations) of Read Naturally with
