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typically involve vision, a sensory avenue not always fully available
to students with visual impairments.
Fluency in skills typically is developed over time through visual
observation and personal experiences that facilitate an appreciation
that the skills are not discretely applied in the natural environment,
but are interdependent. For example, shopping for groceries
requires not just independent living skills, but social interaction,
orientation and mobility, self-determination, and sensory efficiency
skills, and depending on the needs and resources of the shopper,
assistive technology skills. Specialized instruction is usually needed
for students with visual impairments to master the complex skills
associated with college and career readiness and successful adult
outcomes.
At the heart of the need for specialized instruction in the areas
of the ECC is the fundamental nature of learning without clear,
reliable visual input. Lowenfeld (1973) noted that students who are
blind and who have low vision require instruction that involves the
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