As you learned in chapter 7, a range of expertise is needed to meet the unique needs of students with visual impairments and other exceptionalities. An educational team may consist of many professionals including: Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI), Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS), Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (VRT), Special Education Teacher, General Education Teacher, Occupational Therapist (OT), Physical Therapist (PT), Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP), Psychologist and Social Worker, Audiologist, and Behavioral Interventionist, amongst others. Make sure to include the Family, and the Student him/herself when relevant.
Select one of the educational team members listed above who may be included on the collaborative team with the TVI. Create a description of how visual impairment might affect that area of development including specific considerations to support a student with visual impairment and additional exceptionalities that you would give to that educational team member to help facilitate integrating vision goals into their activities. For example, an Occupational Therapist works with a student who has low vision or is blind to develop fine motor skills using functional manipulatives. The TVI recommends using a black felt board as a backdrop, and presenting no more than three brightly colored manipulatives at a time against the backdrop, spaced at least three inches apart to demonstrate shift of gaze and support the student to reach for and access the materials independently. You would also write a summary of how low vision or blindness can affect fine motor development. This paper should be 2-4 pages maximum, double spaced. Feel free to provide resources including helpful websites for the professional in the area you choose.
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