Assessment and Instructional Resources

Locating appropriate tools to help develop appropriate IEP goals in the wide range of areas impacted by a visual impairment is a formidable task. We have so far compiled the following listing of assessment tools used and recommended by teachers of the visually impaired to evaluate their students' skills. We have put this together over a couple of years, and welcome your comments, additions, or deletions. It is organized by content and then in alphabetical order with ordering information.

• CONTENT SPECIFIC TOOLS
  • BRAILLE
  • READING
  • ABACUS
  • MATH
  • VISUAL FUNCTIONING
  • O & M
  • DISCRIMINATION
  • LISTENING
  • KEYBOARDING
  • SOCIAL SKILLS
  • DAILY LIVING SKILLS
  • CAREER READINESS
  • COMMUNICATION
  • FUNCTIONAL VISION EVALUATIONS
• ALPHABETICAL LISTING WITH ADDRESSES

CONTENT SPECIFIC TOOLS

BRAILLE

• ABLS (Assessing Braille Literacy Skills)
• AFB Practice Report-Informal Assessment of Developmental Skills for Visually Handicapped Students
• AUEN (Addressing Unique Educational Needs of Individuals With Disabilities)
• Braille Requisite Skills
• Braille Too
• FACTS (Functional & Applied Curriculum and Training Skills) California School for the Blind
• MBSI (Minnesota Braille Skills Inventory)
• Mangold Developmental Program of Tactile Perception and Braille Letter Recognition
• Mangold Math
• Patterns Braille Reading Program
• Patterns Pre-Braille Program
• PREP (Preparatory Reading Program for Visually Handicapped Children)
• Read Again
• Sharpe-McNear-McGrew Braille Assessment Inventory (BAI)
• TSBVI Functional Academics Curriculum

READING

• Gray Reading Inventory
• Jerry Johns Informal Reading Inventory
• Spache - Diagnostic Reading Scales

ABACUS

• Abacus Checklist for Counting Method
• Use of the Cranmer Abacus - TSBVI

MATH

• Brigance - Grade Placement Test
• Key Math Diagnostic Arithmetic Test
• TSBVI Functional Academics Curriculum
• Woodcock - Johnson

VISUAL FUNCTIONING

• Broken Wheel Visual Acuity Text 
• BAR (Beyond Arms Reach)
• DAP (Diagnostic Assessment Procedure)
• Developmental Visual Dysfunction - Ehrhardt
• FACTS - CSB
• INSITE
• Oregon Project
• Peabody Mobility Kit
• Perkins Activity & Resource Guide
• Project Strive
• Teachers' Guide to the Special Educational Needs of Blind and Visually Handicapped Children - Functional Vision Checklists
• VIISA (Resources for Family Centered Intervention for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers Who Are Visually Impaired)

O & M

• Body Image of Blind Children - Cratty and Sams
• FACTS - CSB
• Jackson Preschool O & M Referral, Inventory & Assessment
• Oregon Project
• Peabody Mobility Screening
• TAPS, O & M Curriculum Guide - TSBVI
• TACTILE FACTS - CSB

DISCRIMINATION

• Mangold Tactile Perception and Braille Letter Recognition
• Oregon Project
• VIISA

LISTENING

• AUEN
• AFB Practice Report
• Brigance - Auditory Discrimination Sections
• Listening A Curriculum Guide for Teachers of Visually Impaired Students
• Focus on Individualized Programming for the Visually Handicapped
• TOLD (Test of Language Development)
• Woodcock-Johnson

KEYBOARDING

• AFB Practice Report
• Keys to Success (software)
• Talking Typer (software)
• Typewriting for the Blind - APH tapes

SOCIAL SKILLS

• AUEN
• FACTS - CSB
• Independent Living Curriculum - TSBVI
• INSITE
• Oregon Project
• SSAT-VI (Social Skills Assessment Tool for Children with Visual Impairments)
• VIneland - Socialization Domain

DAILY LIVING SKILLS

• AUEN
• FACTS - CSB
• Independent Living Curriculum - TSBVI
• INSITE
• Oregon Project
• Vineland - Daily Living Skills Domain

CAREER READINESS

• AFB Practice Report
• AUEN
• Independent Living Curriculum - TSBVI

COMMUNICATION

• Every Move Counts - Sensory Based Communication Techniques
• FACTS - CSB
• HELP (Hawaii Early Learning Profile)
• INSITE
• Oregon Project
• Vineland - Communication Domain
• VIISA

FUNCTIONAL VISION EVALUATIONS

• Functional Vision Evaluation Form - ESC Region VIII
• South Carolina Functional Vision Assessment
• TSBVI Low Vision Resource Guide
• Teachers' Guide to the Special Educational Needs of Blind and Visually Handicapped Children - Functional Vision Checklists

ALPHABETICAL LISTING WITH ADDRESSES

ABLS (Assessing Braille Literacy Skills)

Region IV Educational Service Center
7145 W. Tidwell Rd.
P. O. Box 863
Houston, Texas 77092-2096
(713) 462-7708

AFB Practice Report - Informal Assessment of Developmental Skills for Visually Handicapped Students

American Foundation for the Blind
11 Penn Plaza - Suite 300
New York, NY 10001
(202) 502-7600

AUEN (Addressing the Unique Educational Needs of Individuals with disabilities - Categorical VI)

Disability Research Systems
500 Kerry St., Suite 208
Lansing, Michigan 48912
(517) 485-5599

Abacus Checklist for the Counting Method

Debra Sewell - TSBVI Outreach Program
1100 W. 45th St.
Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 206-9301

BAR (Beyond Arms Reach)

Audrey Smith, Ph.D.
Lizabeth O'Donnell, M.S.
Pennsylvania College of Optometry Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Body Image of Blind Children - Bryant Cratty and Theressa Sams

American Foundation for the Blind
11 Penn Plaza - Suite 300
New York, NY 10001
(202) 502-7600

Braille Requisite Skills

Region IV Education Service Center
7145 W. Tidwell Rd.
P.O. Box 863
Houston, Texas 77092-2096
(713) 462-7708

Braille Too

Grant Wood Educational Agency - Marketing Department
4401 Sixth St. SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 399-6714

Brigance

Stoelting Company
620 Wheat Lane
Wood Dale, IL 60191
Phone - (630) 860-9700

(Available in Braille from APH)

Broken Wheel Visual Acuity Text

Bernell Co.
750 Lincolnway East
P.O. Box 4637
South Bend, Indiana 46634

DAP (Diagnostic Assessment Procedure)

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Developmental Visual Dysfunction

Therapy Skill Builders
3830 E. Bellevue
P. O. Box 42050
Tucson, Arizona 85733
(602) 323-7500

Every Move Counts - Sensory Based Communication Techniques

Therapy Skills Builders - A division of Communication Skills Builders
3830 E. Bellvue
P. O. Box 42050
Tucson, Arizona 85733
(602) 323-7500

FACTS (Functional & Applied Curriculum and Training Skills)

California School for the Blind
500 Walnut Avenue
Fremont, California 94536

Focus On Individual Programming for the Visually Handicapped

Pennsylvania Materials Center for the Visually Handicapped
5601 N. Front St.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110

Functional Vision Evaluation Form - ESC Region VIII

ESC Region VIII
P. O. Box 1894
Mt. Pleasant, Texas 75456-1894
(903) 572-8551

Gray Reading Inventory

Pro-Ed
8700 Shoal Creek Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78758-9965
(512) 451-3246

HELP (Hawaii Early Learning Profile)

VORT Corporation
PO Box 60132
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 322-8282
Web site: http://www.vort.com

INSITE

Project INSITE
Utah School for the Deaf and the Blind
846 20th St.
Ogden, Utah 84401

Independent Living Curriculum - TSBVI

TSBVI
Curriculum Department
1100 W 45th St.
Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 206-9240

Jerry Johns Informal Reading Inventory

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
2460 Kerper Blvd.
P. O. Box 539
Dubuque, Iowa 52004-0539
(319) 589-1000

KEY Math

American Guidance Service
Publisher's Bldg.
Circle Pines, MN 55014-1796
(800) 328-2560

(Available in Braille from APH)

Keys to Success (software)

Life Science Associates
One Fenimore Rd.
Bayport, NY 11705
(516) 472-2111

Listening A Curriculum Guide for Teachers of Visually Impaired Students

Illinois Office of Education
Department of Exceptional Children
Springfield, Illinois

MBSI (Minnesota Braille Skills Inventory)

Minnesota Educational Services
Capitol View Center - 70 W. Co. Rd. - B2
Little Canada, MN 55117-1402
(612)483-4442

Mangold Development Program of Tactile Perception and Braille Letter Recognition

Exceptional Teaching Aids
20102 Woodbine Avenue
Castro Valley, California 94546
(510) 582-4859

Mangold Math

Exceptional Teaching Aids
20102 Woodbine Avenue
Castro Valley, California 94546
(510) 582-4859

O & M Referral, Inventory and Assessment

Jackson Education Service District
101 N. Grape St.
Medford, Oregon 97501
(503) 776-8550

Oregon Project

Jackson Education Service District
101 N. Grape St.
Medford, Oregon 97501
(541) 776-8555

Patterns Braille Reading Program

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Patterns Pre-braille Program

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Peabody Mobility Screening

Stoelting Co.
1350 S. Kostner Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60623
(312) 522-4500

Perkins Activity and Resource Guide

Perkins School for the Blind
175 North Beacon Street
Watertown, Massachusetts 02172
(617) 924-3434

PREP (Preparatory Reading Program for Visually Handicapped Children)

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Project Strive

Region IV Education Service Center
7145 W. Tidwell Rd.
P. O. Box 863
Houston, Texas 77092-2096
(713) 462-7708

Read Again

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Sharpe-McNear-McGrew Braille Assessment Inventory

Hawthorne Educational Services, Inc.
800 Gray Oak Drive
Columbia, MO 65201
(573) 874-1710

SSAT-VI (Social Skills Assessment Tool for Children with Visual Impairments)

B.J. McCallum & S. Sacks
1296 Mariposa Avenue
San Jose, California 95126

South Carolina Functional Vision Assessment

South Carolina Department of Education
1429 Senate Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201

TAPS, O & M Curriculum Guide - TSBVI

TSBVI
Curriculum Department
1100 W. 45th St.
Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 206-9240

TOLD (Test of Language Development)

Pro-Ed
8700 Shoal Creek Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78758-9965
(512) 451-3246

TSBVI Functional Academics Curriculum

TSBVI
Curriculum Department
1100 W. 45th St.
Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 206-9240

Talking Typer

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Teachers' Guide to the Special Educational Needs of Blind and Visually Handicapped Children-Functional Vision Checklists

American Foundation for the Blind
11 Penn Plaza - Suite 300
New York, NY 10001
(202) 502-7600

Typewriting for the Blind

American Printing House for the Blind
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(800) 223-1839

Use of the Cranmer Abacus - TSBVI

Curriculum Department
1100 W. 45th St.
Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 206-9240

VIISA (Resources for Family Centered Intervention for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers Who Are Visually Impaired)

Ski*Hi Institute
Utah State University
Department of Communicative Disorders
Logan, Utah 84322-1900

Vineland Behavior Rating Scales

American Guidance Service
Publisher's Bldg.
Circle Pines, MN 55014-1796
(800) 328-2560

Woodcock-Johnson

DLM Teaching Resources
One DLM Park
Allen, Texas 75002

Compiled by TSBVI Outreach, 1996.
Distributed at International AER Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, 1996