Spring 2022 Announcements!
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TSBVI Outreach Program Announcements
From: Kate Borg, TSBVI Outreach Director
You know the cliche that the only constant is change? Well, that certainly fits Outreach! We are excited to share some personnel changes, but do not worry. We get to keep these two fabulous team members! Mary Shore is moving from coordinating our professional preparation partnerships to focus full time as our Early Childhood Orientation and Mobility Consultant. We are so glad that she will get to use those O&M skills full-time! Cecilia Robinson will be moving into the newly created Coordinator for Statewide Professional Development and Personnel Preparation position, leaving her Assistive Technology role. They will both be fabulous in their new roles and will continue to help Outreach support the ever-changing needs of students, families, and professionals in Texas.
From: Cindy Bachofer, TSBVI Low Vision Consultant
Cover of Preparing Your Visually Impaired Child for Their Future with a QR code to access the online version
Do you or your student have questions about the possibility of driving with low vision and related telescope use? This new brochure provides an overview of using a bioptic (a small telescope attached to the glasses frame) to drive and using a monocular telescope to build telescopic viewing skills. Dr. Henry Greene, lead author and longtime proponent of bioptic driving, is an optometrist and low vision specialist in North Carolina.
Preparing Your Visually Impaired Child for Their Future: Distance Vision Devices, Education, and Driving is a FREE publication from OCUTECH, Inc., a company that works with low vision specialists to provide Ocutech low vision aids to their patients.
Greene, H. et al. (2022). Preparing your visually impaired child for their future: Distance vision devices, education, and driving. OCUTECH, Inc. www.OCUTECH.com.
TSBVI Curriculum Department Announcements
From: Debra Sewell, TSBVI Curriculum Department Director
The cover of the Early Tactile Learning Profile (ETLP)
The Early Tactile Learning Profile (ETLP) is ready! Available as a free downloadable checklist on the Free Curriculum Publications page of the TSBVI website, the ETLP was specifically created in response to the needs of students who struggle with the acquisition of tactile skills. This tool is designed to help educational teams identify their student’s strengths and needs in relation to early tactile skills and can help them create a tactile profile of their student that can guide the student’s instructional program. This tool also includes references and resources for both the evaluation and instruction of early tactile skills. Note: The first drafts of the ETLP were known as the Progression of Tactile Learning (PTL).