Study Guide
Field 117: Blind and Visually Impaired
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Sample Selected-Response Questions
Competency 0001
Foundations of Blind and Visually Impaired Education
1. The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA I D E A )
significantly changed services for children who are visually impaired in what way?
- Schools were required to provide educational services to children with visual impairments
in the least restrictive environment.
- States began to provide free and appropriate educational services to all three-
to five-year-olds with disabilities, including those needing vision services.
- Programs and services receiving federal funds could not exclude children on the
basis of having a disability alone, including children with visual impairments.
- Orientation and mobility services were added for children with visual impairments
under the expanded definition of related services.
- Answer
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Correct Response: D. This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of laws,
regulations, and New York State policies related to placement within a continuum
of services. Provisions identifying the types and levels of related services were
addressed in the original groundbreaking legislation enacted in 1990. The 1997 reauthorization of
IDEA I D E A
focused on increasing accessibility to the general education setting and
curriculum for students with disabilities, improving and increasing services regarding
early intervention, and expanding
parent(s)/guardian(s) parent(s) or guardian(s)
rights regarding the individualized education program
(IEP I E P )
team and eligibility decisions. Also included were two specific
amendments affecting the education of students who are blind and visually impaired.
The term "orientation and mobility services" was added to the statutory list of
examples under the category of "related services." This change was fully supported by
parents/guardians parents or guardians
and advocates of people who are blind and visually impaired
as a step toward teaching and supporting a student's independent functioning and
access to the general education environment. Another new provision established the
inclusion of braille instruction for students who are blind and visually impaired
as the default instructional program in the
IEP. I E P.
The
IEP I E P
team is now required to
affirmatively act to exclude braille instruction if it does not meet the needs of
the student.
Competency 0002
Knowledge of Students Who Are Blind and Visually Impaired
2. A teacher of the visually impaired
(TVI T V I )
works with a six-year-old student who
is blind and has an associated dysfunction of the sensory system. Which area of
sensory dysfunction would
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impact the student's literacy development?
- difficulty focusing auditory attention in a noisy environment
- inadequate bilateral and upper-/lower-body upper or lower body coordination
- difficulty interpreting the environment accurately using tactual perception
- inability to maintain balance without supports in a standing position
- AnswerEnter
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Correct Response: C. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate
knowledge of the characteristics and educational implications of various types of
exceptionalities and analyze the impact of additional exceptionalities on the development
and learning of students who are blind and visually impaired. An individual's sensory
integration system includes three basic sensory systems (tactile, vestibular, and
proprioceptive) that shape how a child learns and makes sense of his or her environment.
Without vision, an individual must develop compensatory modalities and relies heavily
on these sensory systems. The tactile system plays a large part in helping the child
learn and make sense of the tangible world. The ability to develop a strong and
accurate tactile response is beneficial in learning braille. A dysfunction in the
tactile system would therefore most directly impact early learning and literacy
development for a young child who is blind.
Competency 0003
Assessment and Individual Program Planning
3. A teacher of the visually impaired (TVI T V I ) works with a student who has cortical
visual impairment (CVI C V I ). The student recently received a score of 6 on the CVI C V I Range
Assessment. One of the student's visual characteristics is difficulty with visual
novelty (score of 2.5). Which individualized education program (IEP I E P ) goal would
be most appropriate for the
TVI T V I to address as a result of this assessment?
- The student will be able to focus on new objects and pictures after three opportunities.
- The student will be able to gaze at his or her face in a mirror for at least five
seconds.
- The student will be able to fixate on nonmoving objects after three opportunities.
- The student will be able to fixate on objects ten feet away for at least five seconds.
- AnswerEnter
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Correct Response: A. This question requires the examinee to apply
knowledge of how individual evaluation assessment and data and information are used
to make eligibility, program, and placement decisions for students who are blind
and visually impaired. The TVI T V I is responsible for analyzing assessment data and
information to create appropriate, individualized goals for the student. In this
student profile, an appropriate goal would be for the student to focus his or her
vision on new objects, since visual novelty refers to the ability to see both new
and familiar objects.
Competency 0004
Strategies for Planning and Managing the Learning Environment and for Providing
Classroom Interventions
4. Mark is a three-year-old child who is blind and attends a preschool program.
His teacher of the visually impaired (TVI T V I ) would like to create an appropriate learning
environment for Mark within the classroom. Which step would be most appropriate
for the TVI T V I to implement for this purpose?
- removing extraneous toys from the room and encouraging Mark to play with toys one
item at a time
- including rocking horses, small trampolines, and resonance boards for Mark to explore
- adding soft rugs and beanbag chairs to foster comforting surroundings for Mark
- having fidget toys available to place in Mark's hands to help him focus
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Correct Response: B. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate
knowledge of how to create and maintain a safe, equitable, positive, and productive
learning environment for all students, including establishing routines and appropriate
physical arrangements. An appropriate preschool learning environment would be one
where the child who is blind can engage in developmentally appropriate play activities
with his or her sighted peers to foster independence and inclusion. Young children
who are blind need support in developing their sensory integration systems in order
to be able to manage and make sense of the world around them. Research supports
the use of rocking horses, small trampolines, and resonance boards for youngsters
to develop coordination, balance, motor planning, and tactile discrimination.
Competency 0005
Instructional Planning and Delivery to Promote Students' Academic Success
5. A teacher of the visually impaired (TVI T V I ) works with a first-grade student who
has average cognitive ability and low vision caused by a cortical visual impairment
(CVI C V I ). The student shows interest in pictures and in exploring her environment tactually.
Which recommendation would be most appropriate for the TVI T V I to implement with regard
to the student's learning medium for reading?
- The student should be primarily taught braille reading to avoid impairing her sight
further and to provide her with a reading medium that is independent of her visual
ability.
- An evaluation phase should be performed to determine the student's visual and tactual
efficiency in the classroom.
- The student should be primarily taught sight-reading to promote her visual ability
and to help her fit in socially.
- Ophthalmological or low vision findings from the student's doctor should be the
main factor in deciding her reading medium focus.
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Correct Response: B. This question requires the examinee to apply
knowledge of research- and evidence-based specially designed instruction and intervention
in reading and literacy using the student's determined learning medium. Students
with visual impairments need to learn concepts and skills through unique methods.
Knowledge and understanding of a student's visual efficiency is important in determining
the student's learning medium for reading. The
TVI T V I
should be prepared to determine
the appropriate reading medium through the use of diagnostic teaching practices
(e.g., incidental and structured observations, indirect and direct teaching, and
ongoing assessment). A Learning Media Assessment
(LMA L M A )
is the most commonly used
assessment tool and provides considerable information regarding the student's ability
to gather information from various sensory channels and make sense of the information.
Competency 0006
Strategies for Teaching Language, Literacy, and Expanded Core Curriculum Skills
6. A teacher of the visually impaired (TVI T V I ) works with a student who has low vision
and will be using screen magnification to read more efficiently. Which step should
the TVI T V I take
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end italics to help the student increase reading rate?
- implementing the synthetic speech to allow the student to listen and follow along
visually
- setting the highest auditory reading rate appropriate for the student based on reading
assessments
- working with the student to identify the ideal combination of visual features needed
to support visual tasks
- noting words the student already knows based on size and shape by using auditory
identification
- AnswerEnter
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Correct Response: C. This question requires the examinee to apply
knowledge of how to teach students a variety of communication methods (e.g., listening
and auditory skills, handwriting, signature writing, braille reading and writing,
keyboarding skills, tangible and picture symbols, use of augmentative and assistive
technologies). Screen magnification consists of a variety of features that can be
individualized for the user. It is important for the TVI T V I to know the student's vision
needs to be able to choose the appropriate level of magnification that would facilitate
efficient, fluid reading when using this technology and avoid eye strain and visual
fatigue.
