Aids for Visually Impaired Students

Children with disabilities can gain a lot, if they are taught along with other children who are not disabled. In fact, there are laws especially designated to integrate visually impaired children into the public school system. These laws encourage equal education for disabled students. But there is a need to employ certain strategies and some other areas also to be taught to them, beyond the traditional curriculum to groom them academically in a healthy and competitive manner in the classroom.

There are numerous ways to provide aids for visually impaired children. There are certain devices which can go a long way in assisting special children. While being integrated into the public school system, certain devices can help them learn some very specific day-to-day skills. These devices are described below.

An adult with a normal sight can assist a visually impaired child in mobility and orientation. Later, with the maturity of age, the child can be taught to make use of a cane or Seeing Eye dog. Devices such as Sonicguides, Mowat Sensors, and laser canes have brought positive change in the lives of many special children. They extend a great help in giving independence for travel.

• Sonicguides: A Sonicguide emitting ultrasound rays converts reflections from objects into audible noise which makes an individual learn from the sound echoed back to the Sonicguide.
• Mowat Sensor: A Mowat Sensor is an ultrasound travel aid that can be carried in hand. This Sensor warns of the obstacles in the path by vibrating at different levels.
• Laser Cane: Similar to Sonicguide, a Laser Cane too creates sound to inform presence of an object in the path but it does so with the help of an ultra light.

The school promoting special education equity and access needs to have special labs and resource rooms for students with visual impairments. There should be a place where a Seeing Eye dog can be used and rooms should be numbered and labeled with raised digits so as to help special children identify their location.

In addition to these facilities, other facilities such as availability of electrical outlets for using tape recorders inside the classroom should be there for promoting special education. Also, one needs to take care that doors and stairs leading to accident prone areas be locked for use for such students. These devices and facilities help special children in learning mobility and orientation skills.

There are other technological devices which are more specific in nature and can cater to the special needs of visually impaired students by making them learn mathematics, reading, etc. Optical aids like corrective glasses can also be used. Apart from use of braille, other means such as recorders, special slates, talking calculators and sighted readers, etc can also be used to help students understand some complex subjects.