Tips for Teaching Students who are Visually Impaired

Visual impairments in children can be caused by many common diseases. As a teacher you need to know exactly what condition your visually impaired student has so that you can educate yourself on the condition and implement the correct strategies in your classroom to help your student succeed. Discuss the condition with the child’s parent to get an idea of what they feel works at home for them. You can also request that a visual assessment be sent from the child’s eye specialist to further assist you with learning about the condition and the child’s specific learning needs.

There are several tools available for students with visual impairments that will help make learning for them easier. These tools include a reading lamp, hats that will help decrease the glare on the paper, books written in large print, tape recorders to record the lesson, over head projectors in the classroom, dictionaries that talk, leaded dark pencils and magnifying glasses. All of these items will help your visually impaired child with their school work.

Some students who have a visual impairment will have a sensitivity to light. If this is the case they may wish to wear a hat that will help with reducing the glare of the light. It is also ideal to seat the child away from windows where bright light is likely to come through. If the reflection off the desk is an issue, try using a small cloth to cover the desk to keep the glare down. On the other hand some students may need more light to be able to see better. Having a table lamp is ideal to help them see better.

With either type of visually impaired student, it is ideal to use a blackboard with white or light colored chalk to make seeing the information easier. A whiteboard will have a glare that may make seeing the information difficult for your visually impaired student.

By meeting with your visually impaired student often, it will not only help to reinforce the bond between you, but it will also give your student a safe place to discuss things that might be causing him/her an issue in class. Also ask your child if there are things that are easier for him/her to see in the classroom compared to certain things that are difficult. This will give you a better understanding of what works best for your visually impaired student.