As TVIs, therapists, special educators or family members, we never have enough time to create all of the books that we want to. Happily APH came out with a cool new product called Tactile Book Builder Kit and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! This...
Blog Posts
Below are recently created blog posts.
By Peggy Sinclair-Morris
While working as a teacher of the blind and visually impaired, one particular teaching moment has really stayed with me. A six-year-old student of mine was learning how to read braille; she had a nice little braille book in front of her and I was...
By Charlotte Cushman
Recently there has been a large amount of publicity about the development of Lego Braille Bricks. While we applaud anything that promotes braille literacy, we also wanted to be sure that people are aware that Kevin Murphy created TACK-TILES®...
By Stacey Chambers
As the current school year winds down, we begin to anticipate our learners’ transitions to new campuses and classrooms for the fall. What a great time to work on some Self-Determination skills as part of the ECC (Expanded Core Curriculum)! I use...
By Charlotte Cushman
Summer is the time for FUN! It's also a time to expand skills beyond the classroom and explore new things. Here are some of our favorite ideas for school, home and the community!
Ideas for the Family
Building Literacy Skills...
By Krista Owens
Picture symbol programs such as Boardmaker, SymbolStix, LessonPix, etc. are wonderful and very convenient programs for teacher to use to adapt material for students, but have you considered the appropriateness of these programs for our students with...
By Leslie Edmonds
Braille Lego sets coming out next year are the talk of the town this week amongst Teachers of the Visually Impaired. I personally will be counting the days until they are released. I’m a self-described Lego fanatic and any time I can...
By Cierra Brettnacher
It seems as if braille blocks are the hot topic, thanks to LEGO announcing that they are going to be releasing a braille set. I envisioned this about three years ago and set out on my own to find a way to make it happen. My son, Anthony, is now 7 years old...
By Claudia Swapp
A fun part of the recent Oregon CVI Conference was a “Make and Take” portion that included producing over 180 CVI adapted books to get out to students with cortical visual impairment in Oregon . The conference was held April 4 – 5, 2019 and...
By Scott Wall
By Scott Wall and Claudia Swapp
A conference on Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) for Teachers of the Visually Impaired was held in Bend, Oregon April 4-5 of this year. The conference was prepared and presented by a team of professionals from Columbia...
By Kaycee Bennett
I have been using Pinterest to help with lesson plan collaboration using shared boards. I am a DeafBlind Specialist and I have shared boards with a teacher that teaches in an elementary life skills classroom that our district calls Structured Learning...
By Nancy Churnin
We can all move mountains. That’s what I learned from Dashrath Manjhi, the hero of my non-fiction picture book, Manjhi Moves a Mountain, now available in contracted braille through the National Braille Press. And that’s what I hope to share with...
By Kelly Brown
How the Classroom Teacher, Speech Language Pathologist, and Teacher of Students with Visual Impairment came together to support one another and increase student engagement with a Reading Group
“It just seems like her days could be so much...
By Charlotte Cushman
Your child is first and foremost a child. While certain things can help to promote development, there is no substitute for loving your child, as you would any other, and spending time together talking, playing, and engaging in normal family activities,...
By Adrienne Brown
As a TVI, I am always looking for a quick “go-to” reference sheet for classroom teachers. I created this one for science educators to take the guess work out of creating accommodations for students with low vision and cortical visual impairment (...
By Regina Quaid
Learners with vision impairments can sometimes feel left out when it comes to traditions, such as Easter Egg Hunts. There are auditory eggs hunts that learners with visual impairments can participate in, but what about those learners with CVI (cortical visual...
By Amy Flores
As Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVIs) we teach our students the Expanded Core Curriculum. Cooking, under Independent Living Skills, is an area where TVIs can typically create a meaningful lesson plan for students of nearly any age. This...
By Bobette Enderson
The importance of developing early literacy skills in preschool children is well documented. Literacy competence in our youngest learners helps ensure later success in school. Therefore, as parents and teachers of preschool children who have visual...
By Angela Powell
I have been a TVI (Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments) in Kentucky for 5 years and I am currently working on my Assistive Technology certification through the University of Kentucky. For course work this semester I was given the assignment to explore...
By Elsie Rao
I loved teaching tactile skills and braille. It was a giant puzzle for me to discover the student's learning style and material preferences. One story I want to share that sticks in my memory happened when I had two young students in kindergarten. Once...