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Reasonable Accommodations: A Faculty Guide to Teaching College Students With Disabilities
Teaching Students with Visual Disabilities
Before or early in the semester
During the semester
Examinations and evaluations
Visual disabilities vary greatly. Persons are considered legally blind when visual acuity is 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of corrective lenses or when they have a field of vision no greater than 20 degrees. Most people who are legally blind may have some vision. Others who are partially sighted may rely on residual vision with the use of adaptive equipment. People who are totally blind may have visual memory, depending on the age when vision was lost.
Whatever their degree of visual disability, students
should be expected to participate fully in classroom activities, including
discussions and group work. To record notes, some use such devices as
portable or
computerized bailers. They may encounter limitations in laboratory classes
and field trips, and internships, but with planning and adaptive equipment
the barriers can be overcome or minimized. [Top]
Before or early in the semester:
- Provide reading lists or syllabi in advance to allow time for such arrangements to be made as the taping or brailing of texts.
- In cooperation with the Coordinator/ Director, assist the student in finding readers, note takers, or tutors, as necessary, or team the student with a sighted classmate or laboratory assistant.
- Reserve front seats for low vision students. If a guide dog is used, it win be highly disciplined and require little space. [Top]
- Face the class when speaking.
- Convey in spoken words whatever you put on the chalkboard and any other visual cues or graphic materials you may use.
- Permit lectures to be taped and/or provide copies of lecture notes, where appropriate.
- Duplicate materials distributed to the class on a large print copier, or print documents in large fonts and/or provide electronic copies on disk or by e mail, if feasible.
- Be flexible with assignment deadlines.
- Plan field trips and such special projects as internships well in advance and alert field supervisors to whatever adaptations may be needed.
- If a specific task is impossible for the student to carry out, consider an alterative assignment. [Top]
Students should not be exempt from examinations or be expected to master less content or lower levels of scholastic skills because of visual disabilities. But alternative means of assessing their course achievements may be necessary. The students themselves, because of their experience in previous learning situations, and the college Coordinator/ Director may offer suggestions on testing and evaluation strategies. The most expedient devices are alternative examinations (oral, large print, Braille, or taped), the extension of time for exams, and the use of such aids as print enlargers, specialized computer programs, or tape recorders.
Other adaptations suited to specific instructional situations –such as tactile materials in presenting or illustrations certain subjects –may be helpful. [Top]