My son Liam is 7 years old and is deafblind. He is a braille reader and as of lately (this school year especially) he has really taken an interest in writing in braille as well! Below are 10 ways that I try to encourage this new skill at...
Blog Posts
Below are recently created blog posts.
By Tracy Fitch
As Teachers of the Visually Impaired one of the major parts of our jobs is to ensure that our students have access to the general education curriculum. This can be difficult throughout a student's school career, and can prove more difficult as the...
By Deena Recker
Using information obtained from Christine Roman-Lantzy’s book, Cortical Visual Impairment, An Approach to Assessment and Intervention, these books are designed to help bring literacy to students who are diagnosed with or demonstrating the...
By Keveny Glynn
One of my students participated in an 11-week therapeutic riding program this fall and we wanted to find a way to incorporate literacy, communication, social interaction, and other skills. He kept a weekly "journal" of his experience, which is...
By Tracy Fitch
You've got to think outside of the box!
It's NOT about being pretty!
It's NOT about looking exactly like the print!
It IS about being meaningful!
It IS about being understandable!
Our...
By Charlotte Cushman
A member of our community asked if we had any activities or resources for teaching braille mechanics to students with Cerebral Palsy (CP) or decreased tactile sensitivity. We have included tips for both reading and writing braille. There are many...
By Liz Eagan
Why is the grass greener on the other side? “'The grass is always greener on the other side' because the other side knows what fertilizer to buy," I often heard growing up. But is it? Is the grass greener because they...
By Charlotte Cushman
The holidays are an exciting time of year for children and there are lots of opportunities to incorporate literacy into the fun! The ideas here include suggestions to make Christmas and Hanukkah more accessible to children with visual impairments or...
By Daniel Simmons
I am a COMS and TVI, and have been using a MakerBot Replicator 5th Generation since June 2014, and I presented at SOMA on my experience with 3D printing. I have been pleased with MakerBot for its plug-and-play ease of use and great customer support. You...
By Sharon@TSBVI
JAWS, Job Access With Speech, is a popular screen reader, developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse. JAWS provides speech and braille output for the most popular computer applications...
By Holly Cooper
Leer en Español.
People often wonder what to get as a gift for a child who has a visual impairment. Every child is unique and has their own interests, preferences, and abilities, so any advice must be considered with the...
By Gwyn McCormack
This is the first post in a series about adapting worksheets for students who are blind or visually impaired. It is designed to help teachers and assistants to think through the steps involved in providing access to materials.
Before you...
By Cheryl Brown
These tips and tools are designed to address skills for the young beginning braille reader who is ready to start braille instruction and who has received preschool instruction on concept development. For experienced TVIs, this will be a review of ideas and...
By dwilkinson
Exposure to pictures is a prerequisite to successful literacy.
Pictures provide the first step to literacy for sighted children and serve as a bridge between the pages of the books they will eventually read and the three-dimensional world around them...
By Liamsmom
It's all about the experience! We have been using experiences to teach concepts or new ideas and vocabulary.
It is so important, especially for our children with vision impairments, to have real-life tangible experiences!...
By Roxana Cziker
This is the first of five parts created by Low Vision Therapist, Dr. Roxana Elena Cziker, focusing on the needs of students with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) The series is designed to address challenges for children with CVI who...
By Liamsmom
Taking purposeful trips to places in the community can be prove to be a motivating and meaningful way to focus on language goals.
My son, Liam, is 7 years old and happens to be deafblind. American Sign Language (ASL) is his first...
By Katie Armstrong
A resource for teachers or parents of tactual learners
When many people first think of literacy skills, or pre-braille skills they think of things like tracking braille lines, identifying tactual or textured pictures or exploring objects in a story box, just...
By Tracy Fitch
Braille writing instruction will happen at the same time as braille reading instruction. It is important to teach all braille learners the parts of the brailler, along with inserting paper. There are a number of braille writers available and...
By Tracy Fitch
A Swing Cell is designed to help students understand the relationship between the braille cell and the keys on a braillewriter. In the closed position, the removable pegs inserted into the blocks represent the dots in a braille cell. In the open position, the...