Anne Arundel County Public Schools provides vision services to
children, birth through 21, who have been identified as visually
impaired. Special education and/or related services are provided to
students through an itinerant model. Teachers of the Blind and
Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility teachers provide
services to students in their home school or current school
placement.
The population of children identified as blind or visually impaired
is extremely diverse. These children display a wide range of vision
difficulties and require varying adaptations for the vision loss.
With regard to degree of vision, the student population includes
persons who are totally blind or persons with light perception, as
well as persons with varying degrees of low vision. For some
individuals, blindness or visual impairment is their only
disability, while for others, blindness or vision impairment is one
of several identified disabilities that will affect learning.
In addition, persons with similar degrees of vision loss may
function very differently. Visual functioning is determined by the
nature of the diagnosis as well as other factors. These include
cognitive ability, physical and motor development, emotional
factors, and experiential backgrounds. Therefore, in addition to the
nature and extent of the visual loss, a variety of factors need to
be considered in designing an appropriate educational program for a
blind or visually impaired child, and these factors could change
over time.
Services and educational program needs are determined by the
Individual Educational Program (IEP) process. Accommodation,
modifications, and assistive technology may be required to increase
a student’s opportunity to access the general education curriculum.
Eligibility Criteria
A child is considered to be visually impaired, who meets the
following criteria:
-
Has a current (within one year) ophthalmology or optometry
report documenting a diagnosis of a visual condition and an
acuity of 20/70 or worse, in the better eye, after correction,
or has a documented medical diagnosis of a visual condition with
a deteriorating prognosis.
-
Has had an assessment by a teacher of the visually impaired to
determine that there is an educational impact
-
Has been determined by the IEP team that a child meets the two
criteria above and is in need of special education services in
order to meet their educational needs
A Student Evaluation Plan is developed and conducted by the IEP team
to determine if the student requires special education and related
services.
Vision Services
Vision Services are provided by a certified Teacher of the Visually
Impaired (TVI). Instruction is aligned with the general education
curriculum and supports the student in the Least Restrictive
Environment. In addition to mastering skills taught to all children,
children with visual impairments receive instruction in the skills
the IEP team determines are necessary for the child to access and
participate in the general education curriculum as well as the
development of skills related to future employment, vocational
training or postsecondary education.
Orientation and Mobility
Orientation and Mobility (O&M) is a related service provided to
blind and visually impaired students by an O&M teacher to enable
those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement
within their environments in school, home, and community.
The skills that are taught include:
-
spatial and environmental concepts and use of information
received by the senses to establish, maintain, or regain
orientation and line of travel
-
use of a long cane to supplement visual travel skills or as a
tool to safely negotiate the environment for students with no
available travel vision
-
to understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision
aids
-
other concepts, techniques, and tools
Infants and Toddlers Program
A Teacher of the Visually Impaired and an Orientation and Mobility
Teacher are available to provide services to infants and toddlers
who are blind or visually impaired, as determined by the Individual
Family Service Plan (IFSP). Additional information can be found
under the
Infants and Toddlers Program.
Other Special Services
Additional services, such as occupational, physical therapy, etc.
are available for students who are blind and visually impaired when
additional educational needs are identified through the IEP process.
Resources
Blackboard