These resources are provided by Jonn Paris-Salb, Ex-Officio Trustee of the American Printing House for the Blind for the California Department of Education. If you have any questions regarding this package of resources, please contact Jonn Paris-Salb, Assistive Technology Consultant, by phone at 916-323-2202 or by e-mail .
Visual Impairment Articles Specific: October 15, 2014
Using iPads with Students Who Have CVI or Multiple Impairments
By Tara Mason 9-29-2014
For students who have Cerebral / Cortical Visual Impairment and/or multiple impairments we need to be thinking about visual characteristics of CVI, positioning, and learning environments, in addition to planning ways to incorporate the iPad into a comprehensive Expanded Core Curriculum educational program.
When considering CVI characteristics, it is very important to consider the classroom learning environment. If it is noisy and distracting, your student may not be as successful using an iPad since they will be using their hearing or distracted by something moving. I would highly recommend a quiet, cubby-like space with a black backdrop so there is no visual clutter. If the classroom cannot provide a quiet space for working on new iPad skills, I would recommend using headphones or working with your student in another room to help create a quiet environment.
Tips for iPad use tied to CVI visual characteristic areas:
A.Visual complexity:Categorize apps into folders to cut down on clutter.
B.Novelty: Conducting a trial of 2-3 apps in order to notice what characteristics of an app are most attractive and keep your student engaged.
C.Color preference: Use color preference in apps, for background color
D.Visual field preference: Position the iPad using a mount, tripod, etc., so that it is in the student's preferred visual field. Most students are as successful with iPads lying flat on a desk.
E.Light gazing or non-purposeful gaze: Be careful about where the light sources are in the student's learning environment. Try positioning the student with his or her back to the window.
F.Visual latency: There are also apps to help students practice focusing as a visual target.
G.Distance viewing: Be careful not to have the iPad too far away from your student's face.
H.Movement: The iPad can be very helpful with the need for movement for students
It is helpful to think about how the iPad can be implemented in a comprehensive way using the Expanded Core Curriculum.
Children who are blind or visually impaired, including those who have additional disabilities or deafblindness, benefit from lots of hands-on exploration of real objects from the natural environment. Exploration of various household items can help to develop basic concepts about size, shape, color, and lay the foundation for classification skills, matching, and sorting. They can compare groups of objects and find the one that is "big" or "little" or "same". At the same time, experimenting with common objects provides lots of opportunities to practice counting and arranging items, and preparing for more advanced mathematical skills, such as addition and subtraction.
To read the complete article including pictures and examples of sets of objects, go to
IB Milwaukee’s Take on Braille Literacy Month
Harley Thomas, October 2014
Braille’s role in our society has changed significantly in the past 50 or so years. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, 50 percent of legally blind school-age children in America could read Braille in 1960. But today, that number has lessened dramatically: Nearly 90 percent of kids aren’t being taught or given access to Braille in 2012.
Few could put it better than IB Milwaukee’s own Danielle Creapeau. While my peers were learning their ABCs, I learning Braille — and I fell in love with books. Long ones, short ones, books of essays and poetry, it didn’t matter to me. Braille books weighed a ton, but I didn’t care; I could read anywhere, just like everyone else.
Some in the education field argue that putting an MP3 player in a blind child’s hands is more cost-effective for the school than hiring a Braille teacher. But that child is going to grow up and be at an even bigger disadvantage by being not only blind but illiterate. Studies have shown that visually impaired people who learned to read using the Braille system have a 44 percent unemployment rate — while those who didn’t learn Braille sit at more than 75 percent unemployed.
To read the complete article, go to
Regular Checkups are Necessary for Good Eye Health
Staff writer, 2014
Vision enriches your life and is an important factor in maintaining your physical and mental health. Therefore, regular visits to an eye care professional (ophthalmologist or optometrist) are an important step in preserving your sight. How often should you see an eye doctor? The answer depends on your age, race, and general health.
Vision screening can be performed by your child’s pediatrician to identify problemsthat could lead to visual impairment so that a referral can be made to an eye careprofessional (an optometrist or ophthalmologist). Early detection is the key to correcting many vision problems as well as preventing frustration for your child. Young adults need to see an eye care professional only if they have a problem – such as the need for eyeglasses, an eye injury, or a change in vision.
Get to know your family history – some eye diseases are hereditary as well as more prevalent in different races of people. If you have a family history of eye disease you should visit an eye care professional regularly. If you have other health problems, especially diabetes or any of the autoimmune diseases, you should be under the care of an eye doctor. The National Eye Institute offers tips and links to help you locate an eye care professional, see:
To read the complete article, go to
First Sight: Sonia & Anita
By Staff at Wonderwork 11-1-13
WonderWork is a charitable organization that provides free surgeries for children in the poorest countries of the world. Blue Chalk traveled to India and documented the story of two sisters, both born blind, and followed them through the emotional process of receiving their surgeries and seeing for the first time.
The two sisters, Sonia and Anita, are among 20 million children and adults that could have their eyesight restored through a 15-minute surgery that costs just $300, according to WonderWork.
To read the complete article and view the documentary made
How to Use Your Apple Product as a Visual Display for Your Braille Note Apex – Free (11:01) at
Whole Eye Transplant under Development
By Jeffrey Goldberg, 9-22-2014
The concept of a whole eye transplant seems futuristic, if not impossible. But with a $1million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine hope to someday make implantation of an entire, functional eye a reality.
A whole eye transplant could be a holy grail for vision restoration. It is in the realm of scientific plausibility.
The basic idea is straightforward: Doctors would implant a donor eye in the recipient's eye socket. The vascular system to the eye would be re-established, as would the eye’s musculature to enable normal movement. The greater challenge – and focus of the two-year project – would be devising effective methods to reconnect the eye's neuronal wiring to the brain through the optic nerve, which contains more than 1 million nerve cells and transmits visual information from the retina. Researchers at UC San Diego and Harvard University have developed a variety of molecular techniques for enhancing optic nerve regeneration.
Scientists have also identified proteins in the optic nerve known as neurotrophic factors that are involved in growth, survival and maintenance of developing neurons and have developed techniques for enhancing their signaling to nerve cells. Other “molecular tricks” will be used to try to overcome the inhibitory environment for re-growth normally found in the optic nerve.
If successful, researchers suggest whole eye transplants might restore sight in a wide range of patients who are blind due to structural or functional problems in the eye.
To read the complete article, go to