[[2026]]Page 1 of 20 !! Special Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision
Special
Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments
Special Education Chapter 12 Students
with Vision Impairments
Louis Braille (1809-1852)
Invented a printing system for the blind that consists of dots.
Braille
A system of writing that uses raised dots which are read by the fingertips of a blind person.
1832
New England Asylum for The Blind (now Perkins School for The Blind) opens.
Samuel Gridley Howe (1801-1876)
Founder of the first American school for the blind students.
Howe developed these 3 principles principles:
-Pay attention to each student's individual's needs;
-Provide a curriculum similar to that for sighted students;
-Expect students to integrate into their communities.
Special Education Chapter 12 Students withSpecial
Vision Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments.pdf Page 1
,[[2026]]Page 2 of 20 !! Special Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision
Special
Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments
1900
First part-time class for students with visual impairments established on an experimental basis in the
Chicago Public Schools.
Characteristics of these new classes:
-Students spend most of the day in general ed classes & received instruction in braille & typing from a
special teacher,
-Were designed specifically for students with low vision who weren't blind;
-The intent was to rely on oral instruction as a means of preserving their residual sight, an approach
referred to as sight saving.
Sight saving
The intent was to rely on oral instruction as a means of preserving their residual sight.
1950's
Significant change came in this decade when a dramatic increase occurred in the number of babies who
were visually impaired because of a condition called retrolental fibroplasia (RLF).
Retrolental fibroplasia
-Blindness in newborn infants,
-Oxygen poisoning from incubators of premature babies,
-Complete or near complete blindness.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
-A condition resulting from administration of an excessive concentration of oxygen at birth;
Special Education Chapter 12 Students withSpecial
Vision Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments.pdf Page 2
, [[2026]]Page 3 of 20 !! Special Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision
Special
Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments
-Causes scar tissue to form behind the lens of the eye.
Other historical developments
2.
1st historical development
-A radical shift in the methods used to teach students who were partially sighted,
-In contrast to the earlier practice of sight saving for these students, research indicated that using
residual vision could actually improve visual efficiency, & so sight-saving classes were disbanded in favor
of programs that emphasized using available vision.
2nd historical development
-A sudden increase in the number of students with visual impairments who had additional disabilities--
the result of a rubella epidemic in 1964 & 1965 that left 30,000 infants born with deaf-blindness & other
health conditions,
-Advancements in medical interventions for premature infants has increased their survival rate
dramatically, but these infants often have multiple disabilities, including visual impairments,
-Today, it's estimated that half/more of students with visual impairments have additional disabilities.
Visual Impairment (VI)
An impairment (including blindness) in vision that, even with correction, may adversely affect a
student's educational performance.
2 subcategories of visual impairments:
-Low vision,
-Blindness.
Special Education Chapter 12 Students withSpecial
Vision Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments.pdf Page 3
Special
Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments
Special Education Chapter 12 Students
with Vision Impairments
Louis Braille (1809-1852)
Invented a printing system for the blind that consists of dots.
Braille
A system of writing that uses raised dots which are read by the fingertips of a blind person.
1832
New England Asylum for The Blind (now Perkins School for The Blind) opens.
Samuel Gridley Howe (1801-1876)
Founder of the first American school for the blind students.
Howe developed these 3 principles principles:
-Pay attention to each student's individual's needs;
-Provide a curriculum similar to that for sighted students;
-Expect students to integrate into their communities.
Special Education Chapter 12 Students withSpecial
Vision Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments.pdf Page 1
,[[2026]]Page 2 of 20 !! Special Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision
Special
Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments
1900
First part-time class for students with visual impairments established on an experimental basis in the
Chicago Public Schools.
Characteristics of these new classes:
-Students spend most of the day in general ed classes & received instruction in braille & typing from a
special teacher,
-Were designed specifically for students with low vision who weren't blind;
-The intent was to rely on oral instruction as a means of preserving their residual sight, an approach
referred to as sight saving.
Sight saving
The intent was to rely on oral instruction as a means of preserving their residual sight.
1950's
Significant change came in this decade when a dramatic increase occurred in the number of babies who
were visually impaired because of a condition called retrolental fibroplasia (RLF).
Retrolental fibroplasia
-Blindness in newborn infants,
-Oxygen poisoning from incubators of premature babies,
-Complete or near complete blindness.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
-A condition resulting from administration of an excessive concentration of oxygen at birth;
Special Education Chapter 12 Students withSpecial
Vision Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments.pdf Page 2
, [[2026]]Page 3 of 20 !! Special Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision
Special
Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments
-Causes scar tissue to form behind the lens of the eye.
Other historical developments
2.
1st historical development
-A radical shift in the methods used to teach students who were partially sighted,
-In contrast to the earlier practice of sight saving for these students, research indicated that using
residual vision could actually improve visual efficiency, & so sight-saving classes were disbanded in favor
of programs that emphasized using available vision.
2nd historical development
-A sudden increase in the number of students with visual impairments who had additional disabilities--
the result of a rubella epidemic in 1964 & 1965 that left 30,000 infants born with deaf-blindness & other
health conditions,
-Advancements in medical interventions for premature infants has increased their survival rate
dramatically, but these infants often have multiple disabilities, including visual impairments,
-Today, it's estimated that half/more of students with visual impairments have additional disabilities.
Visual Impairment (VI)
An impairment (including blindness) in vision that, even with correction, may adversely affect a
student's educational performance.
2 subcategories of visual impairments:
-Low vision,
-Blindness.
Special Education Chapter 12 Students withSpecial
Vision Impairments.pdf
Education Chapter 12 Students with Vision Impairments.pdf Page 3
