Division on Visual Impairments

DVI Quarterly Volume 59(1)

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.

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The goal of the CIPIE, through the collaborative efforts of SCW, the Ministry of Education, and the Santa Cruz de Yojoa community is to provide education for every child. This requires that we address how we provide specialized training for teachers, identification of which resources are needed, and how we can acquire those resources. In addition, it is important to include families of children with special needs in the school and the community. This will send the message that they are all welcome, in addition to fostering a belief that their children deserve to be educated. Plan for Change During the initial phase of interviews with parents, teachers, and community members, we identified underlying assumptions within the community that included: (a) children with special needs did not have the capacity to be educated; (b) teachers who believed these children could be educated, felt unprepared to educate them, due to lack of formal training; (c) the education system and government systems believed they did not have the knowledge or resources. These assumptions provided a negative cyclical affect within the community and the education system, allowing the situation to continue. These were strong forces with which to contend during this process. There were both internal (parents', children's and teachers' beliefs) and external forces (lack of resources) 57

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