Teaching Visually Impaired Students

As a future teacher, it is important for me to be able to educate all types of students, including the visually impaired. There are a total of 60,393 students in the United States who have 20/200 vision or less or are completely blind. Often, these students are included in the regular classroom setting under the IDEA, while some still attend special schools. Teachers are still expected to educate these students with the same expectations as any other student. Early intervention with blind children are crucial. It is important to strengthen the other senses such as smell and touch. Teachers should give directions with in depth description such as "fold the paper length ways" instead of "fold the paper like this". Teachers should encourage students to do the work on their own instead of you doing it for them to help them get ready for post-education life. Lastly, when dealing with a blind student it is still  important for them to understand their surroundings. If they dropped a pencil it is better to say "John, I think you dropped your pencil, it sounds like it rolled towards the door." This way, they have a list of descriptions to help them find their pencil through sound. I found a video on Youtube explaining how early intervention works with children who are blind or visually impaired.

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