Chapter 1

Product Definition

The Barraga Visual Efficiency Program (BVEP) provides information and materials to evaluate needs and to design instruction to maximize use of available vision. The information and materials in this program address the needs of students with low vision who have ocular impairments and who have achieved cognitive developmental skills at or beyond the 3-year-old level. Products for evaluation and instruction of students who have cortical/cerebral visual impairment (CVI) and students at the sensorimotor level (infants, toddlers, and students with severe visual and multiple impairments) are described in Tools for the Evaluation and Instruction of Sensory Efficiency Skills (page G-14). Some of the instructional designs used in this program may be appropriate for students who have CVI if they are developmentally 3 years old or older and if appropriate accommodations are used.

What is visual efficiency?

Visual efficiency is the extent to which available vision is used in an effective way (Corn & Erin, 2010).

Visual efficiency is also an area of instruction included in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC). The ECC defines nine crucial areas of instruction that are unique to visual impairment. One of these is Sensory Efficiency. The area of Sensory Efficiency addresses needs related to the use of all sensory systems: visual, tactual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, proprioceptive, and vestibular. The BVEP addresses one of these areas—the use of vision.

Visual efficiency and the teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI)

Teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their students related to all nine areas of the ECC. Once a need is determined, TVIs must decide how to address the need. There are two primary methods for addressing visual efficiency needs—instruction of visual skills and accommodation of learning media and environments. If a TVI determines that instruction is the best way to address a given need, a specific Individualized Education Program (IEP) goal may be written, or an instructional strategy to address the need may be embedded in the instruction of related IEP goals. If accommodation is the preferred method to meet the need, a specific description of the accommodation(s) to be provided during instruction is included in the IEP. When needs and methods are established, TVIs must work with educational teams to design instruction and to train team members who work with students daily.

Snapshot

Tran is 4 years old. He has high myopia (nearsightedness) caused by retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Tran wears glasses that improve his distance vision (3 feet and beyond). With glasses, he can see small details in pictures at 10 feet. He is able to see things close to him better without his glasses. He has good accommodative ability, so he uses unaided vision to see details within a 3-foot range. His preferred viewing distance for small details is 3 to 4 inches. Tran does not like to take off his glasses. His clinical low vision specialist suggests that he look over the top of the glasses for close viewing. This strategy works well except for table tasks. Tran cannot look over the top of his glasses when he is looking down at something, such as a worksheet on the surface of a table. Even when he is willing to take off his glasses for short periods of time, he still has to bend over at an uncomfortable angle to get within his preferred viewing distance. Tran enjoys using a dome magnifier prescribed by the clinical low vision specialist to look at details in pictures. Since the magnifier restricts his field of view more significantly than the other options available to him for near-vision tasks, he does not use it when he needs to scan and track items in his materials. Tran’s distance field of view is limited by peripheral field loss bilaterally. The development of efficient scanning and tracking skills will be important for him at all distances.

A child holds a picture up to his eyes to see the detail.

The child uses a dome magnifier to look at details in a photograph.

Needs

  • Learn to scan objects and track movement in large displays and areas such as whiteboards, playgrounds, and activity centers
  • Increase viewing distance for detail in near-vision tasks
  • Change viewing angle for table tasks to increase postural comfort

A photo shows a music stand with a book on it.

A photo shows a reading stand with a book on it and a flexible led lamp clipped on the stand.

Reading stands make it easier to inspect details in pictures.

Methods

  • Instruct scanning and tracking patterns in specific activities.
    • The TVI designs instruction and trains the team.
    • TVI embeds strategies during instruction of IEP goals in the area of social/emotional skills, such as following rules in structured games and putting away materials on request.
    • Team members practice skills daily with the student. Instruct use of magnifier for close inspection of details in objects and pictures as a secondary strategy to be used as desired after primary use of unaided vision.
    • Clinical low vision evaluation determines type and strength of magnifier.
    • TVI provides initial instruction and then expands to selected activities with support from classroom teacher.
  • Accommodate by using a reading stand for display of materials at desk.
    • TVI provides stand and observes its use.
    • TVI ensures that the use of the stand is listed in Accommodations/Modifications/Supports section of the IEP so that implementation is mandated for all team members throughout appropriate instructional activities carried on during the day.