VIDBE-Q 2026 Volume 71 Issue 1
In addition to accommodating age and personality differences, I teach a wide
variety of skills, depending on each student's abilities and goals. On a given day, I
may teach braille literacy and assistive technology to one student, and visual
efficiency skills to another. I may also instruct a student in how to analyze busy
intersections and safely cross streets along a new route. Along with teaching, I am
constantly collaborating with classroom teachers, special education teachers, and
other service providers to help students access their curriculum, meet their goals,
and determine next steps.
Through my experience of teaching and collaboration, I have learned that
while each student prepares me for future students, I cannot simply assume that a
previous strategy will work again. Rather, the students' unique needs and
circumstances present constant challenges. I try to learn from these challenges and
identify adjustments that I can make to help students succeed. I may combine
techniques used with previous students or seek an entirely different approach.
Despite my years of experience, it is still common for me to initially feel
unprepared when encountering a new student and determining which strategies to
use.
One of my most memorable experiences of feeling unprepared began when I
received an 11
th
grade student who had been diagnosed with papilledema (optic
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