Vision Impairment
This section of the Inclusive Virginia website provides information, instructional strategies, resources, and accommodations for adult education practitioners on serving adult learners with vision impairment.
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act website, visual impairment, including blindness, means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a learner’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.
Additional Information
Instructional Strategies
- Provide materials in alternative formats such as larger fonts, audio, or Braille.
- Include verbal explanations for all instruction and communication.
- Provide reading lists or class materials ahead of time so that learners can identify alternatives to the materials that are accessible to them.
- Follow accessible web design guidelines for any electronic materials.
- Provide breaks from looking at written materials.
- Provide mobility and technical orientation prior to the start of a class.
- Utilize peer mentoring, tutoring, and pairing.
- Address learners by name.
- Provide verbal descriptions of visual information in the class content.
These resources provide more in depth guidance on instructional strategies that can be used to support visually impaired learners in adult education.
Accommodations
- Service Dogs
- Electronic Mobility Aids
- Canes
- Reading Assistance Devices
These resources provide more information on accommodations for vision impairment.
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- Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI)
- Assistive Technology Products (American Foundation for the Blind)
- Blind/Visual Impairment: Common Assistive Technologies