Curricular Adaptations for Visually Impaired Students
Item 17: Curricular Adaptations for Visual Impairment
At school today, the concept of Special Educational Needs (SEN) shifted from a deficit model focused solely on difficulties to an interactive model considering the student’s needs and the educational response’s adjustment. Understanding the characteristics of students with visual impairment (VI) and their educational needs across all development areas is crucial to provide adequate resources.
The integration of students with VI requires resources based on Article 71.1 of Organic Law 2/2006 and RD 696/95. This topic begins by presenting student groups, identifying their SEN, and determining the teacher’s role. Subsequently, necessary curricular adaptations and the organization of the educational response through schooling and organizational measures are determined.
Student Groups with Visual Impairment
We distinguish between two main groups:
- Students with low vision: Reduced vision in one or both eyes, with residual visual acuity greater than 30% with optical correction. They may not require schooling adaptations.
- Students with hipovisión: Visual acuity after optical correction is less than 30% in both eyes. They can perceive volumes, colors, and acquire literacy in ink with adjustments.
- Blind students: Visual acuity does not exceed 10%. Total blindness is the total loss of vision or mere light perception. Partial blindness allows light, movement, mass, and color perception. Braille literacy is necessary.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
SEN for students with VI can be grouped into three areas:
- Low vision: Integrating information from different sensory pathways, stimulating remaining vision, ensuring personal autonomy, and technical help or literacy in ink.
- Blind students: Independent ambulation, orientation with technical aids, learning Braille, using materials for classroom activities, ensuring personal autonomy, internalizing body schema, and integrating multi-sensory experiences.
- Needs present in both cases: Acceptance, identity, positive self-esteem, social field development, and active classroom participation.
Teacher Functions
The teacher shall have the following functions:
- Adoption of attention to diversity measures.
- Contributing to early detection.
- Assisting in identifying student SEN.
- Participating in the IEP evaluation process.
- Providing direct educational reinforcement.
- Developing and providing materials and experiences.
- Encouraging family involvement.
Evaluation Process (EVPP)
Article 73 of the LOE states that SEN identification and assessment should be performed by qualified personnel. An EVPP process, according to OM dated 14 February 1996, is a process of collecting, analyzing, and assessing elements involved in the teaching-learning process to identify educational needs.
Criteria for Developing Individual Curricular Adaptations (ICAs)
ICAs should be guided by the following criteria:
- Based on counseling evaluation.
- Referencing the mainstream curriculum.
- Prioritizing normalizing adjustments: access, non-significant, then significant.
- Explicit in writing.
- Open and contextualized.
- Cooperation with the family.
- Grounded in reality, success, and functionality.
- Systematized and clear.
ICAs are planning strategies and teaching performance incorporating curriculum modifications. There are two types: actual curriculum and access.
a. Actual Curriculum
1) Significant: Affects core curriculum objectives, content, or assessment. Types include inclusion, modification, timing out of cycle, and elimination.
2) Non-significant: Does not affect prescriptive curriculum elements, methodology, or content prioritization/sequencing.
Adjustments for visually impaired persons:
1) Objectives, content, and assessment criteria:
- Prioritize objectives and content.
- Introduce objectives, content, and evaluation criteria not in the mainstream curriculum (e.g., personal autonomy, orientation, mobility, visual stimulation).
- Eliminate non-fundamental objectives, content, and evaluation criteria (e.g., color-related aspects in art).
2) Methodology:
- Plan tasks where vision is not a priority, providing alternatives.
- Encourage multi-sensory experiences.
- Select and design learning support materials.
- Consider methodological principles like globalization, individualization, cooperative learning, and modeling.
3) Timing:
- Consider that the learning pace may be slower compared to sighted students.
4) Specific adaptations:
- Social studies, geography: Use multi-sensory stimuli, verbal descriptions, support materials (models, maps).
- Math: Consider the pace of student learning. Use graphs, rules, abacus, talking calculator.
- Language Arts: Relate words with meaning, reference visual vocabulary. Braille is a methodological adaptation for written communication.
b. Access
1) Specific adaptations in the curriculum: Acquisition of behaviors and skills promoting independence.
- Multisensory stimulation.
- Memory and attention stimulation.
- Braille for blind students.
- Literacy for students with visual impairment with or without extensions/optical aids.
- Orientation and mobility behavior development.
- Daily behavior skills (dressing, money recognition, hygiene).
2) Adjustments in the organization: Changes in material elements and space organization.
- Decreased ratio in clusters.
- Adapted school without physical barriers.
- Orderly classroom with accessible material and space.
3) Technical Resources: Tools fostering learning according to SEN.
- Blind students: Tactile resources (Braille textbooks, tactile graphics), hearing resources (talking books, talking calculator), mixed resources (spoken PC).
- Students with residual vision: Large print, optical aids, writing aids, lighting and contrast adjustments.
4) Human resources support: Family, guardian, and counselor involvement.
Organization of Educational Response
Individual measures like ICAs must be complemented by adequate educational response organization at the center and classroom levels.
LOE principles for students with SEN are normalization and inclusion to ensure non-discrimination and effective equality. OM dated 14 February 1996 provides criteria for ICAs and schooling:
- All ICAs must be schooled.
- Promote standardization and integration in schools.
- Encourage early care and education.
- School adjustment based on SEN and EVPP.
- Reversibility and review of enrollment.
- Enrollment criteria assessed by interdisciplinary teams.
- Parental consent and cooperation.
Priority intervention areas for the visually impaired:
- Multisensory stimulation.
- Motor development.
- Knowledge of self and space.
Measures of Attention to Diversity
At the Center:
PEC (Educational Project of the Center):
- Specificity of VI.
- Flexible organization for blind or visually impaired students.
- Teacher education.
- Specialized human and material resources.
- Relationships with institutions in the environment.
PAD (Attention to Diversity Plan):
- General measures for the entire school community.
- Ordinary measures for students with LD.
- Special measures (ICAs).
Specific goals for students with visual impairment:
- Relationships between blind and low vision students.
- Written code acquisition and use.
- Knowledge and respect for students with impaired vision.
- Personal interactions and mutual knowledge.
At the Classroom Level:
- Teacher-student relationship should not differ.
- Encourage student participation.
- Use clusters, formulas, or criteria encouraging communication.
- Specialist support (AT and PT).
- Cooperation between educational community components.
This analysis emphasizes the importance of organizing a consistent educational response, ensuring the full integration of students with visual impairment into the educational community.