VIDBE-Q 2026 Volume 71 Issue 3
Introduction of movement and physical activities should be done through
well-established routines and schedules for students to be able to anticipate that
movement and participation will be asked of them. Previewing skills and new
environments involves students being provided with extra time for exploration
to learn about the set-up of the activity or environment and also learning about
what equipment will be used throughout the lesson or activity (Iannacchino et
al., 2024; Lieberman et al., 2025). This strategy is known as pre-teaching
which involves providing advance targeted instruction and orientation before
actual classes or units begin. This approach supports students with
deafblindness to become familiar with environments, equipment, rules, and
movements they will encounter. Therefore, enhancing safety, confidence, and
participation during lessons, as students will be better informed on what is
occurring. Effective pre-teaching incorporates several key components
including working in collaboration with classroom teachers.
Environmental
orientation is one component that provides an introduction of the layout of
gymnasium or outdoor spaces, including key landmarks, boundaries, and
potential hazards. Environment preloading should also include instruction on
spatial development related to self and others, self and objects, objects to objects,
and cognitive mapping. This can be done by drawing on the student's hand or
back, depending on their preference, or by describing the environment in the
student's preferred mode of communication to enable them to build a cognitive
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