TX SenseAbilities – Spring 2019 Issue
Featured Article
Summer Camp at TSBVI – A Family Perspective
The author describes her family’s experience regarding the choice to allow her son to participate in a summer program at TSBVI and offers suggestions for other families.
Download Article (PDF)Family Wisdom
Welcome to A Sense of Texas!
The author describes her new(ish) podcast about programs at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and beyond.
How Do People With Vision Impairments…Go To The Movies?
An author with a visual impairment describes how she has used audio description services and equipment to attend a movie.
Cuddles, Chemicals, and Co-Regulation: Reflections on Stress and Resilience
The author describes our body’s response to stress and how we learn and support self-regulation. He also gives caregivers information to guide their children, especially young children and those with sensory impairments and multiple disabilities, on their own paths to self-discovery, self-regulation, and resilience.
Effective Practices
Kersten’s Story, Part II: Why Relationship-Based Instructional Programming Works
Matt Schultz continues to describe the journey of a student who, as a result of her instructional team’s use of a relationship-based educational approach, had a life-changing breakthrough. He links her experience to current research on how and why this happened. To read Kersten’s Story, Part I, please visit the following link: https://www.tsbvi.edu/fall-winter-2018-issue/222-tx-senseabilities/5937-kersten-s-story
What’s Happening with Active Learning, Part 2
The authors provide an update on the expanding knowledge and use of Active Learning, a technique designed to provide education for students who are functioning within the developmental range of 0-48 months, in Texas and beyond. Part One of this series was included in the Fall/Winter 2018 issue of TX SenseAbilities.
There’s an App for That…
Chris Tabb provides an update on a recent app, Aira, that provides access for users with visual impairment and blindness.
Texas Leaders in Visual Impairment Teacher Training and Professional Development Focus Efforts on Neurologically Based Visual Impairment
CVI is a neurologically based visual impairment that may be improved with targeted and specialized interventions. Teachers often feel unprepared to assess and modify for this highly complex condition. It can be frustrating for parents and guardians if they see that the educational team lacks guidance about how to address their child’s vision needs. The Texas CVI Statewide Initiative has been formed to improve educator confidence and competence in addressing CVI around the state and thus improve outcomes for children who have CVI.
Take AIM! Targeting Accessible Instructional Materials
Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) consists of four specialized formats: braille, large print, digital text and audio. Students with visual impairments are eligible to receive AIM. Understanding AIM and working collaboratively to make decisions about AIM will likely facilitate students’ participation in the general education curriculum.
News & Views
TSBVI Braille Literacy Pilot for Young Children
The superintendent of TSBVI describes a pilot program to support braille literacy instruction in Texas.
Meet Joe Perez, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Rehabilitative and Independence Services
Joe Perez joined Texas Health and Human Services in December 2018. Learn more about his role and goals for the Rehabilitative and Independence Services (RIS) section and the Blind Children’s Vocational Discovery and Development Program.
Explore STEM!
Texas Workforce Program Specialist explains the benefits of career exploration through Explore STEM!
Texas Education Agency Updates – Spring 2019
The Texas Education Agency shares updates on projects and collaborative efforts dedicated to students who are blind, visually impaired, and DeafBlind.