This chapter discusses the elements of interventions provided to students who are visually impaired within the context of past instructional advancements still in effect today and current instructional advancements preparing the field for tomorrow. Disability-specific interventions and the theoretical framework that encompasses the unique areas of…

This brief, co-produced by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS), provides important information about students with dual sensory loss who also have significant cognitive disabilities, as well as recommendations for identification and implications for instruction. The…

Nineteenth-century educators worried that blind children were particularly susceptible to moral apathy, religious decay, and atheism because they could not see the beauty of nature. These educators used instruction in biology, zoology, and natural history to teach blind children about the beauty of the natural world and the breadth of God's…

The changing racial and ethnic demographics in the United States school-age population is a defining phenomenon of its educational system. Classrooms across the country are a microcosm of the expanding cultural diversity in society. This growing demographic of students of color extends to students in low-incidence disability groups: deaf or hard…

This study is about music teaching strategies for students with low vision, including blindness. Based on a two-case ethnographic design, this study focuses on understanding what decisions in terms of activities, lesson plans, and curricula, six participants from two different schools adopted for their students, as well as how these decisions…

A person's ability to travel independently can determine whether he or she transitions successfully from one life stage to another. One critically important aspect of independent travel is coming to understand how vehicles move in the built environment. For youth without visual disabilities, this information is addressed in depth in driver's…

The Professional Development (PD) intervention in this study introduced special education teachers to inquiry-driven practices utilizing assistive technology (AT) to support student diverse learning needs. The study followed multiple case study research design to examine changes in AT competency and mindset of three special education teachers…

This study investigated the concept images of blind students about the polygon concept. For this purpose, four open-ended questions were asked to five blind middle school students. During the interviews, geometric shapes were presented with raised-line materials and blind students were given opportunities to construct geometric shapes with…

A body of research indicates the importance of interventions for promoting the development and progress of children with visual impairments. However, the research available on suitable interventions for this population is relatively sparse. The purpose of this review is to identify, collate and appraise the available research evidence on…

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to survey the faculty of personnel preparation programs that train orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists in the identification of accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources needed to teach students who are visually impaired (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) and who are…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) stress the need for all students to receive excellent science instruction--including those with disabilities--based upon disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices (NGSS Lead States 2013). Further, the NGSS emphasize reducing disparities in student…

Introduction: Ethical practices and technology are current trends in education for individuals with disabilities. This study investigates the perceptions of assistive technology expressed by teachers of students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) in Jordan. Methods: The research involved 20 teachers. Data were collected via…

This work showcases specific adaptations used to make cybersecurity accessible to high school students with visual impairments and blindness (VIB). The rapidly growing field of cybersecurity demands a diverse workforce; however, barriers exist which can deter students with disabilities from studying cybersecurity, let alone pursuing a career in…

Specialized assessments, including the learning media assessment (LMA), are essential in appropriately planning and implementing instruction for students with visual impairments (Holbrook et al., 2017; Lusk et al., 2013). The LMA, first introduced by Koenig and Holbrook in the early 1990s, was designed to be an "objective process of…

Digital developments that foreground the sensory body and movement interaction offer new ways of engaging with mathematical ideas. Theories of embodied cognition argue for the important role of sensorimotor interaction in underpinning cognition. For visually impaired children this is particularly promising, since it provides opportunities for…