Learners with
Blindness or Low Vision
Elga Andriana, Ph.D.
CASN - Even Semester 2023/2024
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Definition and Classification
Legal
Educational
Definition
Definition
(Used by
(Used by
medical
teachers)
practitioners)
Definition and Classification: Legal Definition
VISUAL ACUITY
FIELD OF VISION
Sharpness of vision, measured
The entire area that a person is
by the ability to discern letters
able to see when their eyes
or numbers at a given distance
are fixed in one position.
according to a fixed standard.
Definition and Classification: Legal Definition
Two major classifications of visual impairment are blindness and low vision.
BLIND
LOW VISION
Person has visual acuity of 20/200 in the better eye
with correction (eye-glasses) or has a field of vision Partially sighted.
so narrow that its widest diameter subtends an ● Persons who have low
angular distance no greater than 20 degrees. vision have visual acuity
● Fraction 20/200 the person sees at 20 feet falling between 20/70 and
what a normal vision sees at 200 feet. 20/200 in the better eye
with correction.
● Normal vision with visual acuity: 20/20.
Definition and Classification: Legal Definition
Definition and Classification: Educational Definition
● Visual impairment is a general term for a visual loss that affects
learning in a school environment.
● A child who is blind cannot use vision for learning but still can be
responsive to light and darkness and may have some visual imagery.
● Children with low vision have difficulty accomplishing visual tasks, but
they can learn through the visual sense by the use of various special
technologies and teaching techniques.
● The major educational distinction is that children who are blind use their
tactile or auditory senses as their primary learning channels, whereas
children with low vision can, with aid, still use the visual sense as their
major avenue of learning.
Prevalence
● Blindness is primarily an adult
disability.
● Approximately one-tenth as prevalent
in school-age children as in adult.
● Age 6-17 years of age as visually
impaired about 0.05% (blind or low
vision).
Anatomy and Physiology of the Eye
● Physical object being seen becomes an electrical impulse.
● Sent through the optic nerve to visual center of the brain, the
optical lobes.
● Before reaching the optic nerve, light rays do the following:
○ Pass through the cornea.
○ Pass through the aqueous humor.
○ Pass through the pupil.
○ Pass through the lens.
○ Come to focus on the retina, connected to the optic nerve,
which carries the information back to the brain.
Identification of Visual Impairment
Visual acuity is often
measured with Snellen
Chart, which consists of
rows of letters (for
individual knows the
alphabet).
For individuals who can For children and who can’t
read read
Identification of Visual Impairment
Although Snellen chart is widely used and can be useful, it has
some limitations:
● It is a measure of visual acuity for distant object, and a
person’s distance and near vision sometimes differ.
● Visual acuity does not always correspond with how a
student actually uses his vision in natural setting, which
has variable natural condition (e.g, fluorescent lighting,
window that admit sunshine, reflective tile floor)
Vision teacher uses a functional vision assessment involves
observing the student interacting in different environments.
Causes
Causes Affecting Children and Adults
The most common visual problems are the result of
errors of refraction (the bending of the light rays as
they pass through the various structures of the eye).
● Myopia
● Hyperopia
● Astigmatism
Among the most serious impairment are those
caused by glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetes.
Causes
Causes Primarily Affecting Children
The three most common causes
blindness in children are : Retinopathy of prematurity
● Cortical visual impairment
● Retinopathy of prematurity
● Optic nerve hypoplasia
Optic nerve hypoplasia
Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics
❖ Language Development
Some authorities believe that lack of vision does not
have a very significant effect on the ability to
understand and use language.
❖ Intellectual Ability
➢ In performance on standardized test result that
blindness does not result in lower intelligence.
➢ Infants and young children are lag behind in
conceptual abilities to their sighted peers.
❖ Many have serious delays in motor skills.
Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics
❖ Orientation and Mobility (O & M skills)
➢ Very important for the successful adjustment of people with visual
impairment. O & M skills refer to the ability to have a sense of where
one is in relation to other people, objects and landmarks (orientation)
and to move through the environment (mobility).
➢ It depends on spatial ability.
➢ Persons with visual impairment process spatial information : as a
sequential route or as a map depicting the general relation in
environment.
➢ Obstacle sense -> some persons who are blind, when walking along
the street seem able to sense objects in their path (doppler effect).
➢ The myth of sensory acuteness -> along with the myth some persons
who are blind develop better acuity in their other sense.
Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics
❖ Academic Achievement
The comparisons between sighted
persons and blind students in academic
must be interpreted cautiously.
❖ Social Adjustment
➢ Subtle visual cues : help better in
social interaction
➢ Society discomfort with blindness
➢ Stereotype behavior
Educational Considerations:
Braille (Louis Braille)
● One braille code called literary braille is used
for everyday situations.
● The nemeth code is used for mathematical
and scientific symbols.
● The basic unit of braille is a quadrangular
cell, containing one to six dots.
● The best method of reading braille involves
using both hands.
Educational Considerations:
Use of Remaining Sight
● Large print booKs are simply
books printed in larger-size type.
● It uses 18–pt type and 24–pt type.
● They are bigger than usual books.
Educational Considerations:
Orientation and Mobility Training
● This ability determines significantly their level of independence and social integration.
● Four general methods aid in O & M skills are:
1. The Long Cane
It can alert the user to drop-offs such
as potholes or stairs, and can help to
protect the lower part of the body from
collision with objects.
Educational Considerations:
Orientation and Mobility Training
2. Guide Dogs (Trained Dogs)
Educational Considerations:
Orientation and Mobility Training
3. Tactile Maps
Embossed representations of the environment, representing streets, sidewalks,
buildings.
Educational Considerations:
Orientation and Mobility Training
4. Human Guides
Most O & M specialists do not recommend use of human guides as the primary
means of navigation because it fosters too much dependence on other people.
Educational Considerations:
Orientation and Mobility Training
❖ Technological aids for communication and information access
➢ Kurzweil 1000TM: convert printed material into synthesized
speech or braille.
➢ Portable braille notetakers.
➢ Newsline and Descriptive Video Services.
❖ Technological aids for orientation and mobility
➢ Sophisticated device for sensing object in the environment
(the laser cane and miniguide).
❖ Cautions about technology
➢ Technologies for O & M have limitations.
➢ The best viewed as potential secondary O & M aids.
Assessment of Progress
❖ Assessment of Academic Skills
➢ Using braille in academic setting and monitor
progress of the students braille skills.
➢ Curriculum-based Methods (CBM) are the
effective method for measuring the academic
progress.
❖ Assessment of Functional Skills
➢ Focus on O & M skills since the skills are critical
to the successful adjustment.
➢ Using subjective checklist and self-report data.
Assessment of Progress
❖ Testing Accommodations
➢ Most common accommodations for
student with blindness are presentations
accommodations (e.g. test in braille, test
in regular print with magnification,
large-print test) and response
accommodations (e.g. use of braille).
Early Intervention
● Researchers have documented that immediately after birth infants begin
processing a wealth of visual information in their environment.
● Intervention should begin as early as possible
● Involve parents of infants with visual impairment in early intervention efforts.
Transition to Adulthood
❖ Independent Living
With proper training, most people who are blind can lead
very independent lives.
❖ Employment
➢ Many working-age adults with visual impairment are
unemployed or are overqualified for the jobs they
hold.
➢ Transition programming should be intensive and
extensive.
➢ Previous work experience is important.
Thank You
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