Interventions Required to Provide Special Education to Visually Impaired Students

You may not be able to believe it, but what you can’t do at this age, millions of visually impaired children all over the world would do the same in no time. Thanks to the providers of special education to these children with special needs, they are able to function well.

Providing special education to visually impaired children is not easy. Their special needs require much care and students with visual impairments need to be taken care of differently in the classroom. Besides fighting their physical weaknesses, these special children are also required to struggle with mental blocks of non-confidence and inferiority complex. Let’s make an effort to understand the challenges they face.

For assessing visual impairments, the initial focus lies on visual acuity. Snellen test, also known as an eye chart exam, is a common way of measuring visual acuity. In the Snellen test, the individual to be tested is made to stand at a distance of 20 feet from an eye chart and is asked to identify the symbols of the chart. This test has its own limitations as it cannot be used for children of lower age. Other method can be ophthalmological exam and/or observation of the child. Medical professionals can also test visual impairment before the birth of the child through genetic counseling. The entire assessment procedure is a must before any intervention takes place.

Challenges for visually impaired children to receive special education resources are plenty. For instance, research has indicated that visually impaired children differ in intelligence, understanding of spatial concepts, speech and language development, social and educational development, etc. They also face difficulties in developing speech and language skills as they are unable to associate objects with work. To perform everyday tasks like eating and drinking, they require practice. They need to be provided special training for learning vocabulary, speech, language, orientation and mobility and basic life skills. This justifies the need for social intervention, along with special education, which is surely going to boost the morale of these special children. Various types of aids for visually impaired students are now available which can be used to facilitate them into a more proactive learning mindset.

The educational procedures for visually impaired students focus on using other senses like hearing, smelling and touching. Their hearing capabilities can be strengthened by using recordings of particular sounds again and again and asking them questions based on those sounds. For heightening a child’s sensitivity, tactical devices can be used. A child should also be encouraged to experiment with temperatures, smells and tastes.

With all these gestures and efforts, we can help a special child blossom with confidence. As a part of the society we need to step forward in the emancipation of children with visual impairments.