Associationforeducationandrehabilitation of The

Resolutionofthe

AssociationforEducationandRehabilitation of the

BlindandVisuallyImpaired,July2014

LiteracyMediaDecisionsforStudentswithVisualImpairments

Resolution2014-1,AmendedJuly23,2016

Author: Mark Richert

WhereasAER'smissionistodevelopandpromoteprofessionalexcellencethrough supportofthosewhoprovideservicestopersonswithvisualimpairments;

WhereastheAssociationforEducationandRehabilitation oftheBlindandVisually Impaired(AER)isdedicatedtoservingitsmembersneedsbyimplementing and maintaininghighprofessionalstandardswhilebeingastrongadvocateforpeople whoareblindorvisuallyimpaired;

WhereastheAERBoardofDirectorshasadoptedthepositionpaperentitled, LiteracyMediaDecisionsforStudentswithVisualImpairments(Lusk,Lawson,McCarthy,2013);

Whereasthechoicesforconventionalliteracyinstructionincludeoneofthefollowing asstatedinthepositionpaper:

I.InstructioninbrailleandtheuseofbrailleunlesstheIndividualized EducationProgram(IEP)Teamdetermines,afteranevaluationofthestudent'sreading andwritingskills,needs,andappropriatereadingandwritingmedia(including anevaluationofthestudent'sfutureneedsforinstructioninbrailleortheuse ofbraille),thatinstructioninbrailleortheuseofbrailleisnotappropriatefor· thechild. Thisisidenticaltothewordingregardingtheprovisionofbraillein IDEIA.or

II.Instructioninprintwithorwithoutopticaland/orelectronicdevicesaftera

clinicallowvisionevaluationofthestudent'spotentialforusingvisionto accessappropriategeneraleducationreadingandwritingmaterialsatnear andatadistance;or

Ill.Instructioninbothbrailleandprint(knownasdualmedia)withorwithout

prescribed opticaland/orelectronicdevices,afterevaluationsdescribed abovein(I)and(II),andcombiningtheinstructionalapproaches defined abovein(I)and(II).Thesecondandthirdoptionsaremodeledafterthe braille-specificwordinginIDEIA,butencompass otherliteracymediaor combinationsofmedia.TheseoptionsaretakenfromtheAERadopted positionpaper; and

WhereastheRecommendationsforPracticefromthepositionpaperarestatedas follows:

"Avarietyofassessmentsfromawiderangeofmedicalandeducational professionals isneededtofullyassessastudentwithavisualimpairment and provideindividualized"conventionalliteracy"programming.Beyonddeterminingif thestudentrequiresbraille,print,oracombinationofprintandbraille,thereare additionalfactorsthatmustbecontinuallyevaluated.Informationonhowthese factorsimpacttheacquisitionofliteracyskillsmustberecordedandchartedto determinetherateofprogress,oralackthereof.TheTeacherofStudentswith VisualImpairments(TVI)alsoneedstoaddressnewtechnologies andinstructional methodsastheyemerge.Thisensuresthatfuturechangesoradditionstothe student'sliteracyprogramming areindividualized anddata-based;" now, therefore, be it

Resolved, bytheAssociationforEducationandRehabilitation of theBlindandVisuallyImpaired(AER)thatasanendorserofH.R.3535,theAlice CogswellandAnneSullivanMacyAct,AERreaffirmsitscommitmenttothe Cogswell-MacyAct'spromptenactmentand,thereby,totherightofeverystudent whoisblindorvisuallyimpaired(includingstudentswhomayhaveadditional disabilities)tobraille,lowvision,anddualmediainstructionandservicesmeeting suchstudent'sindividualneeds.

Reference:

Lusk,K.,Lawson,H.,McCarthy,T.(2013).LiteracyMediaDecisionsforStudents withVisualImpairments.Alexandria,VA:AssociationforEducationand RehabilitationoftheBlindandVisuallyImpaired.Availablefrom