This session will discuss several different methods and intervention strategies that will enable children with visual impairments to be included in a variety of settings. Topics will include the simplification of instruction, tactile modifications, benefits of preview/review, task analysis, and how to use a variety of household materials to create multisensory activities.
Presented by
Kathy Boisvert
Integrated Preschool Teacher and Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI)
Blackstone-Millville Regional Public Schools
My name is Kathy Boisvert and I received my doctorate in Health and Behavior Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University. I have worked as an adjunct at UMass Boston teaching education courses and Fisher College teaching courses focused on assessment and program administration. I have taught more than 50 courses both online and face-to-face at the university level. I also work as a teacher of the visually impaired and an integrated preschool teacher at Millville Elementary School in MA. I enjoy working directly with children, as well as with adults who will support their education in the future.
Core Competency Area:
Curriculum and Learning Environment
Skill Level:
Fundamental
Presentation Outcomes:
Participants will be able to integrate at least 2 strategies into their daily schedule by using the techniques highlighted to support children with visual impairments. The strategies assist educators and families increase their ability to include children with visual impairment in a variety of daily routines and activities. The interventions will also assist children during learning opportunities with the goal of using strategies that lead to a reduction in direct adult assistance.
Using the links and information provided, participants will also be able to locate more information about children with visual impairments and find resources that can increase their understanding of specific interventions.
Learning Objectives:
The presenter will discuss some of the most effective interventions that have been used in her career that have allowed many of her students with visual impairments to thrive in and out of a classroom setting with their peers. Some examples include teaching tactual perceptual skills, communication skills for children who are nonverbal, and strategies for social and daily living skills.
This presentation will focus on working with children with visual impairments and offer suggestions on how to successfully include them in all settings. Practitioners and families of children with visual impairments will be able to utilize these strategies to increase their child's opportunities for inclusion.
The topic of interventions for children with visual impairments is important because this session will introduce practitioners and families to strategies that provide support, accommodations, and adaptations needed for a child with visual impairments to access, participate, as well as learn within and across activities/routines.
This session will also introduce strategies that can be used at home and/or in a daycare setting because it will focus on support strategies that practitioners and families can use so that they will be able to provide guided assistance in all environments during daily routines and activities to promote a child’s access and participation in all learning experiences.
