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Hindsight is 20/20: What We Wish We Knew Sooner & Lessons Learned from Experienced TVIs (Panel Discussion with Q&A)

Added Oct 24, 2022 •

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Presented by Dr. Karen Blankenship, Nancy Toelle, Mary Ann Siller, and Amy Covington on 10/21/2022 TN VIVA 2022-2023 Session Description: In such a unique, sometimes isolating field, TVIs may not realize what they don’t know about working in the profession. In this panel discussion seasoned TVIs shared their experiences, knowledge, and tricks of the trade, passing along their wisdom from one generation of TVIs to another.

Show Transcript

all right well welcome everybody to today's school bell I guess I'll tell her one for the fifth time that I'm in a separate building on campus go to the blind from the school but I still get the school's bells and it's it's the worst but anyways you are not here for that you are here for today's Tennessee Viva session conviva stands for visual impairments Virtual Academy that used to be called the unity Virtual Academy we branded because the in-person unity conference is back to the school year but yes and welcome to today's session which is titled hindsight is 20-20 what we wish we knew sooner and lessons learned from experience gvi and today we're really it is really blessed to have some some truly experience to be ice in our field with us today so it's a shared little Pearls of Wisdom from you know what they experienced in their careers what they may still be sing Under careers and just going to chat and have a good time your reminiscing and thinking back on you know those those Lessons Learned so that those of us who are you know stolen middle of our careers in the vascular early in our careers working towards starting our careers can take away some pieces of wisdom that can really just improve us in a little bit in a little way in and how we transition into starting a work or just think about young the little the little the little things the details that matter in helping us be more effective and feeling like we are making a meaningful difference in the work that we do and so you know  grateful for everyone who's who's here thank you for all those who have joined us live here today and we are recording this to that be here will be able to still you know learn from the the discussion and I'm getting called all right so just to give a little bit of a framework for how things will go today we are scheduled to go about 2 hours but you're just being a panel discussion what I told the panelist has I don't want this to be a very Richard question and answer thing you ask a question and then you know Karen your response Nancy your response no Marianne your response and we don't want to be like that I really just you know post it to the entire panel and just as you feel like you've got something that really that brings to mind please share that and then organically I'd love to see you no conversation come from there that if you guys can bounce off of each other and just see where that leads whenever that may be calm down I will ask them if the next question on my my list and Global through that takes us and then you know we're starting what will we start at 12 if we work out since 12:45 starting point let's see how we're doing at about 1:30 1:45 and if we need a break we'll take a break around then because this is a 2-hour thing and then what will keep going okay well let's get started here by just having the panelists introduce themselves remember exactly what I said in here but if you would all just give me a basic background on on on yourself, your career I think really started with what brought you to the field and I'm kind of warehouse warehouse where if you worked and then maybe different capacities and kind of where is that Journey taking you since he joined the field to where you are today and just a little bit of that and you know don't feel like I'm I'm not going to play music to tell you to kind of cut your biography short just give me give me what you got and and we'd love to come to see who it is that's with us today that's an okay instead so well Karen let let let let you start this off and we'll will work here since 1976 I went to Peabody of Vanderbilt University and one of the first things that happened is they have you in fieldwork the first semester so I was a dual major Elementary ad and Bonnie just like scared because fraction had to have two to method or majors and so the first practicum site that I got in my freshman year was in a resource room for children who are blind and I just immediately so I started a new teacher since I was 10 but this was a new Venture for me because I really wanted to work with that student population so I had 450 contact hours with kids are blind and visually impaired I graduated and so my first position in 1976 was at Litton middle school and I was a rich person which was interesting to have Middle School 21 I had no stores I'm so it was I loved it it was fun but that was before that was right with naughty for 146 was authorized so we don't have IP and so it was interesting because it's really no. It's so what we're supposed to do and I had no tea help with homework I had one brown student so I knew I had to do that and then after that I moved the resource room to high school cuz as my transition to high school I just moved the room right to the high school and then I served as the pot monitor in the morning outside the school building again 2122 with these huge children monitoring if they're smoking pot or not I also had tomorrow's the bathrooms we had to lock the bathroom and then after that I moved and came back to Resource room back itinerary and so then as I finish up my PhD which doctor and Cornett Vanderbilt accepted a position at Iowa Department of Education as the vision consultants so I worked all of the state professional loved it it was wonderful but my next job was my favorite song so after that I came back to Vanderbilt in the program a visual disabilities that's still the joy of my life is working with students and so I kind of did that and you can imagine that after 919-414-6942 things started to come work for me and so by then we were doing as we were doing and it was just wonderful to have that and teach their students every experience I've had this kind of I have enjoyed all of them so and now it's been 46 years and I retired but I'm still Consulting so I love still working keeping my toes in the water for sure empathic and I think you know many people here in in Tennessee and all across the country really have some ways in touch by Karen's you have instruction I thought you would care and I think anybody would Karen and many others I think and you know just the thing learn she should absolutely passed on and that is helped all of us you know carousels in Atlanta with the professionalism and care for the field that I think is is really special really cool side note I ran out to a pH for a training a couple weeks ago and ran into some other graduates and it was a really nice moment to CO2 it all in a bin together at same time again you do and accessories study with Karen you know we're all across the country now but I'll drop back together seeing as you know the things that we've been able to get along so yeah thank you Karen all right what's the next on my screen Marianne would you like to introduce yourself in Texas area play teach in a school district named Richardson Independent School District and I have a great group of students burn through 21 my my journey is Not Unusual from what Karen's had said to a got got into the field but I I was scared at the University of Kansas KU that's where I hail from is in Kansas and I was very interested in trying to see what I could possibly do that would be a specialization and I had the opportunity because of a sorority that I was part of Delta gamma who's Bill on philanthropic focus is the Blind and Visually Impaired so I was able to do some Museum programming with these students in in Lawrence Kansas and happened to be that students were several more visually impaired in the regular classroom that and I just had such a enormous time of looking at all the aspects of what the children are learning with tactical demonstrations and different things like that and saw also the need for these students to have a PO may be a Richard and borrow so I gave me the thinking of trying to find a resource that I could then build up pain and my undergraduate and then get something else in my graduate work so I looked around and dr. Natalie Berge at the University of Texas at Austin it was quite a marketer she really knew how to strengthen his interest in people she was just sort of watched on as I know I'm not unusual at all she did that for so many of her students she's really encouraged me to come to Texas which was a huge piano change but at the same time what a wonderful way to have your undergraduate in a field that you were really looking for and the other thing that really impressed me and why I really got into it is that burnt we started at Birth and we were the deaf and hard-of-hearing deaf blind and bi they're seven states back in the late 70s served at Birth and Texas was one Hawaii Ohio Illinois the Florida I think there's some others may be a California probably but seven states and Texas with one and I realized if I came to Texas and had Natalie Baraga as a formative in a professor that I would be doing his dad took what I really am interested to do was really starting from the very beginning with families and young children all the way up 21 so that's what I did and I'm there I had some wonderful opportunities to teach Texas has a system called the Education Service Center so it's not it's it's very similar to what New York state has with bows weird have 20 of them around the two states that are a liaison from the Texas Education Agency to the school district and the focus there is not just bi but we have some state laws that came in back in the late 70s that has kept us in a very unique position to have some wonderful state laws that really support our children and having teachers of the visually impaired at our meetings are what we admission video dismissal or IEP meetings and a few other things but that was a is a really unique organizational structure is called the service center so I went to Corpus Christi to reach into and was employed right out of college which was about same time Karen was there and feel I started in 1978 and as a teacher and I was we were teacher Consultants so we had a lot number school districts that we would travel to without a cell phone I want to extra everyone realizes that we're not cell phones and you would go to the different and the Mini have a frontier areas of the region in Arabic 70 school districts in this region in Texas has quite a few schools Independent School District but that was my role and it was if I loved it it was wonderful I got to really be involved with the families and I really involved with that the school think that you really had an opportunity every day was different and that was really unique I went to the Texas Education Agency we have state funds is what I had mentioned earlier to everyone that we have that are state law we have around six million dollars in change that's for the Blind and Visually Impaired and deaf blind and that is a supplemental fun and so I came to the agency was was recruited and came to work with the bi Department which was very unique in the country that we had a VI Department within the state agency and that was monitoring school districts and programming and then we were also the liaison to Grants to the to the school district for supplemental the iPods and I really loved that it was it was a very unique opportunity to really you know dip your toe into a lot of and I'm absolutely wonderful friends that are still my lifelong friends that's at Nancy's one of them that I met is the service center person they are during that time. And I really enjoyed that I was able to go on to some other areas I went to the American foundation for the blind was recruited there to help with educational programming and I stayed there 20 years and did a variety of educational programs and National work helped start a lot of different things that I'm very proud of the aafp solutions for and related to textbooks on time the national agenda for the education can I use the dishwasher paraments those with multiple disabilities and that was a huge piece being a steering committee member had an opportunity to support lots of programming that helps you change a lot especially with the eye DEA in 2004 and when we were able to get passage of the nine Mack which is at a pH which is the instructional materials Center we had over 200 people in 47 years with probably 250 people around the country at coordinating that aspect with wonderful Grassroots support of the School for the Blind parents and families and teachers but you know I'm a teacher and I did the same thing as Karen did that she did mention I had their luxury I think honestly to have two different support degrees a regular and special ed at the UT Austin and I was able to delve into a special ed in have a student time there and also a regular Ed and I think you know first and foremost I am a teacher and I love that opportunity I have I chose to go back into the to the teaching so I and a teacher for the last 12 years again and that has really been an important piece for me so that I can if I'm doing any teacher training and I've enjoyed doing that so much with the programming a man killed Karen and I have been working I worked on with the essential assessments and Nancy's work with the quality programs qpi I really feel like I have to know what the real world is like classroom and so I went back in the classroom and I love it it's it's daunting. Write a me you were just talking about it there's a lot to it and I have the first one to say I'm still learning at the the agent stage and responsibilities that I have I'm still looking for a new answers and better ways to do it so I think first and foremost I love making dreams happen for my students and I love the fact that we're both rue21 we have the gift of time with children and we have families and I think the camaraderie that we have in our field is very unique and I've really I really appreciate that and I think the generosity of what you were saying about Karen she such a generous person and I find that with so many of our teacher colleagues in the fields and Owen Adams do that they're very generous in their their help and I think that's something we all have to take back and look forward it to in and bring what we have for work and be generous but, nutshell I love it thank you yeah I was already with you first to just hearing like the history of certain place and then you completely seen such momentous things change in your education law for special-ed Law and is just mind-blowing going Nancy what will I have you go next hi Jude you needed to get into the field and was being your journey today always think I was really Bamboozled by Natalie bear because I walked into Sutton Hall at the University of Texas just interested in special education kind of for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and she was sitting at the front desk I'll never forget you know I can't imagine Natalie Baraga sitting at a desk talking to random students toward the end of her her career but anyway this was towards the middle and in there was in the sixties and she told me there funding for people who went into special education for the visually impaired which I badly needed so that's what I did and I didn't find out until literally 20 years later that that funding was for all areas of specialized and she had just kind of reels me in so and she really my sister for years later so we were both of us have our careers have Natalie bear get the thing for our careers and so I just went through the program at the University of Texas and just loved every minute of it it was it just turned out to be the perfect thing for me and so when I graduated before I graduated actually I hadn't student taught at the school for the blind here in Texas and Austin in first grade and the second grade teacher retired and they needed a person so there I went off with my new degree in 1970 and my eight little students for with low vision and four who were a braille blind students so it was unbelievably fabulous job it was just to turn to find the kids were great I had almost everything I could ever need at the school for the blind we were very well equipped and then I got married and moved away to back to my hometown of Corpus Christi and where Marianna ended up a couple years after I left I sure could have used you there in about 19 72 Marianne So I taught middle schoolers I have about 10 of them in Corpus Christi itinerant so it's the first time I've ever done and I did a great job and I was just nobody do anything anything about kids with visual impairment the teachers were scared and intimidated why did what I had to do was make connections with them and calm down in My Little Red Riding student who was a gifted writer had trouble getting into the gifted program because she got a visual image and so I was doing things that I never had any idea that I've been doing and that's when I started thinking you know there's got to be a way to help these teachers understand what the needs of a visually impaired to Ian and ministrator so everybody actually the school people so that's when I started working on my my little checklist for what should have quality program for students with visual impairments be and how can we help gen Ed teachers and administrators and everything understand it and figure it out and then how can we best provide a really quality program for our kids because they desperately need that so anyway that started in Corpus Christi in the 70s oh I ended up taking one of those services are jobs that Mary and talked about is the service center Region 20 in San Antonio so instead of going from school to school I went from County the county we have 14 counties and that's where I learned that if your original service that are person you better like to drive because there's a lot of driving and so I'll how to dictate while I was driving so I do all my record keeping you know my report writing and everything orally so if you can train yourself to do that that's a good thing and I just felt so wonderful about helping these kids and there might be a blind student piano for 4 hours away from San Antonio teacher of the visually impaired until I showed up there and you know there was so much to be done for children out of the rural areas so I'm I'm a big believer in providing services regionally and making sure they're impactful so near I did that for a long time I continued my cute kitty I work and Texas School for the Blind started sponsoring that so we brought people from all over the country and started training people and how to look at programs systematically are the kids getting eye reports are the kids getting functionals are the kids getting Ella Mae's are the kids getting going in are the kids getting Mental Health Services if they need them are the families getting services so when you were really asking a lot of questions and some people like that a lot the ones who are organized and kind of managing to keep their heads above and some people just hated it because they were drowning to begin with and they just couldn't imagine a way not to drown so anyway I continued with that and eventually ended up doing that as my full-time work for qpi and traveling all over the United States I spent a lot of time with Sheila she could do the whole state of Iowa and when she told me that I thought she was crazy and of course she is crazy because she did and so it was just a huge plus lyrics. driving through blizzards which she insisted on doing to get from point A to point B where we needed to be so that was the last several years of my working career was just doing qpi and helping State schools for the Blind and public State education agencies look at their teachers programming with an eye to help the teacher TV eyes have the resources they need to provide good services to their kids because TV is are frequently out there on the longest limb and nobody knows what they're doing so anyway I'm retired now and got have my fingers crossed that the teachers are are getting new supports they need cuz I know there are a lot of people out there helping them thank you that last but not least a me I have been a TI for 10 years prior to that I thought Elementary School for five years it kind of happened that I taught elementary school and I didn't love it I thought I would but it was meaning of it didn't see my life then I got my Master's in administration and supervision but I was in my early twenties still and didn't see myself really doing that and I don't know Darren or Deborah I'm not sure who sent me an email but I got an email from Vanderbilt saying hey consider this Vision program we think you'd be a great fit and I don't know how they got my name but somebody sent it so that's how I got into I got an email and I thought that's really interesting I think I should look into it and I loved it it's the perfect fit for me I've done resource room in Middle School I've done resource room in elementary school and now I'm itinerant mostly I've got some high need kids my youngest student is 3 my oldest student is 22 average for 25 schools a day I put out all the fires I'm in charge of new students and technology and I also deal with textbooks and I talked to Alan a lot let me think what else I I love it I can't imagine doing anything else I think being a tvi is such a fulfilling and enjoyable you know what kind it's all the boxes that fascinating information about the medical piece and neurology since you're staying we get to look at a lot of that and I absolutely adore collaborating with all the other stakeholders so I work with I work heavily with the occupation therapist school psychologist the physical therapist at orientation Mobility specialist to come in contact with us that I'm I'm always I'm always communicating with somebody about something that's going on so I don't think I ever stop thinking about what we're doing at school which is a blessing and a curse that supposed that I love it fantastic I hope for you know everyone who's so far you know you kind of seem like just the motivations that are driving our panelists were here today and so hopefully these questions that we ask really provide a little some Opera for them to share from their their their perspective and just get some detail on what they what they value looking back and and and now in thinking about what constitutes services for kids and so in all this is coming from a place of you know we're all here because the session hopefully was interesting because you're as Vision teachers you know we for her. what's an ulcer to settings and I as an itinerant teacher you're driving around all day you and your car you don't have a partner like a buddy cop or whatever and it even if you work in the School for the Blind you have a lot of colleagues but in your classroom for a lot of the day your kind of it right and so understatement nuances to how it stands to reason for me at least that you might wonder what is there more out there but I still know about you know I went through my programs I hear from people once in awhile but is there is there someone out there doing that with kids or setting just like me doing something that I don't know right and so hopefully we can learn a little bit of that today I'm going to jump into some nice and Broad and just let you guys take it from there so please feed off each other and like I said if that was that kind of fizzled out I'll ask the next one was kind of nice nice if you look back at the the new uddi you guys just started off some some of you guys this was you know little while back there you can think back to that getting starting your career in one of us here today are anticipating at work are not too far removed from that beginning of their career so you know what is something that you would just love to you wish you could just go back in time and tell new TV I you you know what what you wish you were cancel this is Karen unlike Nancy who got the start of the School for the Blind I started in a public school and at that time we were called vision specialist consultant vision consultants we really did not have an emphasis on teaching if I could look back because teaching with my passion that's why I went into on the tree go back and tell myself you can still teach because there was not a framework at that time to really cheap until for me to fill hatlen came out with his article in 1995 about the extended forecast and then I sat down and cried thinking oh my gosh I can teach again so before that it's kind of hit-or-miss and I miss that framework for teaching that are still trusted not have per se so I would tell my to hold on and try to think of a sprain work to do what I was passionate about and she did not consult or not just get Pearls of Wisdom which I had none up to anyone so teaching would have been the thing go to tell myself to really focus on well I'll go this is Mary Ann and I also had a little bit of that do you know I think so many different things that kind of come to mine with that question but in the beginning I think it's really interesting to see but we've have accomplished with our materials and instructional pieces in the very beginning it was very challenging you to not have a lot of materials and resources when I first came out light 70 mph American printing house for the blind it was very limited it was below gray puzzles with the hands that you do it's it's become so robust with what we have to choose from in our quota system that we have for it second printing house for the Blind and that's been a huge piece that I think has your really shaped a lot of what we've been able to do is a is a field a beginning started I think the the aspect of what our role was was not real to find I think it's kind of similar to what Karen said that but the TV I roll wasn't well-defined and the the Aztec how do we idea-sharing with our teachers that we had and that we would go into I would go into and and work with I was a traveling I enter a teacher in a in a large area of the southern part of Texas at what I mentioned earlier with Region 2 out of Corpus Christi and trying to Garner all the resources that we needed was very difficult I think what I've learned a lot is that you want to build Partnerships with people in those schools and you find your oties and you find your petees physical therapist occupational therapist and of course in the rain Fidelity colleague of course but usually are going as some separate directions that way but I think I really have that opportunity to build some Partnerships really made a difference and I wasn't all that but I think I learned it pretty fast and it said that my life would be a lot better and that of my students if I would reach out to that larger group and we would come together to brainstorm on how we get the program and going skills or whatever it might be for for children or their resources in the classroom I think that was really that's a that's a big one and I think the other one I've learned I think it's just in maybe it's something that you just find out but listening stopping and listening to what people are sharing is absolutely invaluable and you know we want to try to dispel some of those fears and I think the biggest thing we can change is most beers to Solutions and listening to what families are telling us administrators and teachers and not always chiming in with the right and that particular time but getting their information of what they're concerned about what they need help with I learned a lot I would have probably been a little smoother in the very beginning if I would have known that ahead of time but I picked up on it. but those are those are couple things that comes to that come to mind I don't think I ever remember if he's here in OT and 76 in Nashville with my students I don't think the ads are services at all I was at the service service unique concept and they were part of the the Education Service Center system which is I mentioned earlier like maybe a Bose I don't think too many states I'm not heard much more than New York State and us I said to buy Windows okay that was a real Beauty I have to say I learned a lot it would have been nice to have Nancy Amy go back in time starting off with didn't you have just a single disability or single impairment and as children with multiple are more severe impairment came along our feet holding Texas was slow to accommodate those children with visual impairments and other impairments and I had absolutely zero training from my University program to to teach kids so it took a lot of convincing myself one that I can do it into sticking out training we had milk Smith here in Texas I don't know if anybody remembers her but man she was in the basement at the school for the book in a very old old old moldy building kids with multiple impairments and she was more or less being really really impressive results from her teaching and so I feel very fortunate that pretty early on I at least was exposed to that and I knew I had to get trained in it but embracing the whole gamut one doing is good I have a job for your senior who wants to go to college and with your little two year old who has not learned to sit up yet and still embracing that hole it and enjoying that whole gamut because they are all I think being kid-focused is very helpful and I did get that from this to the teacher student caught with any Langdon it was kind of like a miracle worker in first grade at the school for the blind in Texas so I feel very fortunate that I got that and it helped me stay engaged for decade and see all the decade fight aunt Nathan Millie still the goat still there all the time is she is she really one of my graduate students working with her they're doing webinars still teaching adults then that would be my advice listen to Millie you know what I just asked when I was doing my student teaching you know I had I had two sections regular added and then flashlight and I did it I was able to do that at the school for the blind we could have done it in a resource room or something in a public school but I did that and I had heard Millie Smith somewhere along the line at Meijer see Austin work and I decided I wanted to ask for Ruby by student teacher mentor and that's what that was my original you nor my son still rely on some of those that's those aspects that she taught me many of them glaze anyway and has a wonderful videos go along with that SLK that we use to Sam all of which you can get through the resource answer key talk to me your question Amy you want to answer this one in my life and I'm in graduate school if you feel you can still kind of I did sometimes you learn this and you learn this and you learn this but once you start teaching it it all connects and you see how unbelievably important it is to do your assessments to look up dated I reports to understand the terminology to to know who to collaborate with all of the pieces will come together and it'll all make sense with a little practice eventually yeah I just I remember thinking that I didn't where would all where all the pieces how the pieces would connect and now I can't not see that so yeah I thought I knew certain things pretty well as a first-year teacher in and then I realize looking back I didn't know anything for about three straight year but not meant to be not to put anyone on the spot but I thought there is prospective in thinking about what would you have liked to have done better just go the way I wrote this initially was did you make any quote on quote rookie mistakes as a new TV guy that you would want you know those in the audience. watching two boys or just look out for these moments and maybe not do do things quite the way you know something worked out what some perspective are that you might want to listen as far as a warning or something to look out I think Braille is time-consuming to make it yourself and to plan more time I always would have an idea in my head about how long was going to take to make an assignment for a student to adopt something and it would take me to H longer do to add more time to make adjustments make it out of patience. So graphic learning some quick and easy tips for types of Graphics because you're going to have to make them quickly sometimes and I didn't know those things in the begin I was back in like well I wasn't prepared the way I should have been those types of things and I said before that some of my students through the spider butt know what you don't know and so sometimes I would do no work with students and learn later that I should have done something differently but you know trying to always grow and always learn it think I'll we can do we got to give ourselves some Grace when you start to come have a program and all they can give you the fundamental knowledge they can't give you the specifics of the job you're currently doing text really  balls on the school district's do that we kind of all know that sometimes they forget to sit at the table we don't get training additional training so I can give yourself some grapes and know what you don't know and then try to figure out or find a resource to help you with that I think the thing that bothers me the most every new teacher in the public schools were you know when I have my training for visual impairment it just seemed very obvious that if you can't see them you can't see the board or you can't maybe Nick can see the text book or maybe see what's going on on the Plainfield but people just have no idea what a visual impairment is and if your student is wearing glass absolutely assume that they can see clearly because that's what glasses do so I wish I would have spent more time with the teachers and administrators helping them understand and eventually I started doing that I would do presentations at this is what the student season this is what this simulation and so that means this and that means that and once they get it they give it and it's much easier for the child if people around on them or understanding and I'm not the only one is responsible for that everybody is responsible and sometimes even their parents didn't know their parents really were left in the dark by medical professionals who spoke at them in medical terminology that they had no understanding of so anyway with breaking it all down and making sure everybody about a particular students vision and then how that impacted their life and just to add for Marianne Getz on Mary even had the benefit of being trained by Nelly. and I don't know if most people know this Allen but the field we we bought and sold the kids to save their dishes in the sink did not want Erica's on breaking that changed everything so they have the benefit of knowing from right from the get-go that about the whole spectrum of visual impairment and how you can use your vision even when people don't think you can so I just didn't know if people knew the history of that that was a huge after Natalie bear this dissertation visual functioning I've got the book I don't have it but still be really seeing absolutely right well I think for real. You know just real quick on my the rookie boy I'll tell you there's a Tara number on this like there are a number of think the highlighted stuff in the very beginning we great robust program we thought but you cannot put everything you need to know how many hours is it 39 hours I'm not even sure now and a university program is much as we want so you have to keep doing professional development afterwards and that's really important but we did not have a whole lot in the multi handicap area when I was going through I learned CD I was really not a term used and cortical three buildings pyramid how do we work with those students and I really didn't know a lot about anticipatory calendars routines is a beginning teacher a bra Biblia so she's been part of the deaf line project around the country and she hails from Texas but she's written diph calendar system I think that's really extraordinary but those with some things related to multi handicapped didn't have in the very beginning that I really had to search out because most of our students when I star spur started out teaching and I'm probably continuing now as I I'm back in the teaching Bill the last 12 years a lot of children with dual sensory impairments and CBI and we're paying much more attention and we have so much more resources but I think that is a big one and the other one is the scale of services you know how do we just start to determine you how many hours we see the students you know that is I think still with something we have to really deal with but that did not exist when I came out as a rookie P so we were just trying to see what we both could do and I think now we have much more cyst bike with the visit to be is s i t looking at that Michigan scale is one at the beginning at 2 but the visit is one but I think so those are some of the highlights that as a rookie we just didn't even have in the beginning so we learned a lot as we keep going text Alan okay I'm going to piggyback the the comment you had Marianne about you know PD being critical right because there's only so much should you get in your University programs and things Angel we learn new things or new new with a lot of assistive technology comes out every year and you know we we we start off by saying how in this field it can be very nicely in depending on your setting and how your your teams are set up in a district so what I wanted was you know how what are some strategies or successes in how you unable to find and prioritize collaboration with TBI peers even if you might have been the only TV I and knows how many miles or how have you been able to prioritize and seek TD to know continue to grow as a professional this is Karen in the old days back in the Stone Age we met every week a Metro so we sat down at a long table in Metro we talked about students to talk about strategies and then as time progressed I kept saying that programs weren't doing that anymore because their administrator Warren allowing that time to sit down and really collaborate with each other because you'll fine with your team like there's some teachers that are really good with multiple a really good with Braille have him collaboration to cross-train each other is and we know that there's no standard of practice for program so you not assume that someone coming from one program had the same training is from another program so that's why that so critical to sit down together as a team or find a group of people may be through your Professional Organization that can help you build your practice I have to say teacher in Texas as Mary and said we had and we had a state vision consultant and we had funded money that we could apply for and they also are steak Vision consultant was also responsible for bringing us all together all the cleats and I'm just so grateful for that because there wasn't anybody else where I was and when I first started teaching as an itinerant teacher and so that was a lie professional development a lot of financial resource and a lot of interpersonal support that was available in our state so unfortunately the money is still there but the state vision Consulting is gone so I don't know what's happening in Texas on that level anymore for teachers but I think that was a really really effective way to operate Wichita State Nick Allen correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Nick the state consultant for visual impairment is is that came from Vanderbilt really what are we talking about mr. Trotter yeah he's up I'm part of the this state leadership team and they TA in School for the Blind and he's very much part of that giving ideas and updates and Sin Cara the whole time. But we but we went for years oh absolutely I know I was going to mention that adding to that you do back well in the late eighties and nineties every state had a vision estate vision salted at the state department and that was huge and they would meet at the American printing house for the blind at the annual meeting and that was a huge aspect that they would gain ideas and they would bring back to the state and then for that down to the M & S service center people but they're not all the teachers that are in the area and that's the rental down to Iowa to Magi haven't really looked at lately probably less than seven now but I think for me for it just to save for the professional development that's really very important to me and I think my best Adventures have been with working on committees and I just wanted to mention that I might seem like it's another job but it isn't if you see her State committees that are forming a lot of times through our Professional Organization like a ER that has been a huge benefit to get on committees and I knew the so many different people but then when you work on committees together you really form a real Bond and I think that is very important to take us through our careers is this Bond where you can go away I didn't know that person I can call them and they can give me this idea or whatever they might resource I think the goal is also building stronger communities and that's a huge area for me is how to we parley our ideas and and development of professional skills and what would we call it now I'm not sure why we're changing that but anyway that seems to be what it's called around the South part and but I seen a big part is how do we help our communities know some of these aspects that we have been dealing descriptive language and access program a universal design and one of my favorites is museums and I've always had a real touch for museums and I've been Joyce is fading and helping and supporting various groups specifically art Beyond sight out of New York City with Elizabeth Axel and her group that that's a group that you all should be fine on the website that they have some wonderful programs and support since but I think that's a big pieces you know keeping keeping in touch with one another is huge because that bond is very unique in our field and we can't learn everything at one time I love will you have some I think ATR started some of this was called a p h that's one area have to say Allen I need a lot more help with is all the different apps that we have bailable and you were mentioning that that's a big part of what you do and Technology that's that's a big one I am going to try to get together we call it a happy hour and try to learn a little bit more about what the apps are that we can let you know work with and meetings across the country I think just to put a plug in the next best thing since sliced bread is going to be getting in touch with literacy which going to be December 2023 and I highly recommend is Jamie Bloom and Kay Holbrook in K rats live out of Florida so I hope you'll put that on your calendar December 2020 Florida st. Pete's Beach but that is just another way for all of us to come together and different groups and our Professional Organization AER and our state it might be an extra bit of money but you know that's that's what we support ourselves as our teams that's just thought some for me yo, it's about going to conferences haven't been able to go to a few now and now my rolling go to certain meetings there is nothing that can make you feel this Grandeur sense of belonging and being in a big room filled with hundreds of other Vision teachers especially in a low incidence field where you truly could be the only person in your county or in a Tri-County Quad County area in vision but to then because you're in the same Professional Organization as other other TV eyes across the country in your gathering together and in the most recent your conferences in St Louis and if you happen to be there in all the cylinders what feels like thousands of people that is a really nice and so feeling seem to know that you are not the only person in this world who does what you do and then it's obviously learned from Diamond all the session get to a conference as soon as you can just to understand that other people out there do what you do they they have the same desire for excellence that you do and you know you're not alone Bragg with the virtual that you're working on that gives teachers a chance to even if they can archive and watch your doing a lot of virtually for teachers across the state just fabulous so into brag on thank you dr. Rachel Flats at Vanderbilt program during covid-19 start need to continue to provide options especially when the unity conference in person cannot be held in and you know we pee smell it together and continue to grow and we we plan to continue to do this stuff because this is kind of where we are as a field that education and in visual impairments is the easiest way flexibly to get the information out to people you know I know some of you guys have been on here driving around wild and if anyone asks driving not not virtual paying attention but you know I like like like what was said in his last round of answers it is important for those of us who are in the field where we are how do you say here in Tennessee where you're all local it is important to know who are those places and people that you can go to you could be the only person you're in Tennessee who are the only way but work on knowing for sure who's who someone you trust that you can go to who is couple times over or the neighboring counties tvi or someone you know just he's so I just running back and forth with an OT right now that there's a conference assistive technology that you're going to present that Allen and it is in December and so they may reject and say hey there's a vision components to this do you guys want to go we'll go as a tease and vision together I'm like yes so I mean there's other people to connect with even if you don't have another Vision person there are people who are working with your students for students in the classroom that you're going to be in and those people you're never going to be an island as long as you're willing to reach out that's the hard part you know put yourself out there from the get-go and you'll feel like you make don't make your own little tribe yeah that's great and anyhow it is it is a process to do research on the questions that you have questions about obviously other folks can help you but you don't bad weather and all the learning that is on the internet you know a lot of time I talk to her I think that's your quick Google away from getting your answer we just need to help me find it just a quick plug that you're in Tennessee which most of you guys are in I do somewhat friendly think that the resource center is a good first place for you to go if you've got questions about some aspect of learning we're building up the growing library of this professional development content but also I am going to drop just a quick Lincoln to our resources page for the resource center a lot of First Step places that you can look at or information on a variety of things I'm going to scroll through here quickly you know love the key places that you may already know about a p h a r Perkins the iris Center Vanderbilt Kennedy Center transition resources you know computers for the blind we tried to put a lot of this on there for you to come look through and slowly stink I got kids who can benefit from this and use us as a place that you can go to and ask questions for you know I see it as my job to look stuff up for you if you've got questions I'm going to get back to you but anyways we're going to come back to the the the other panel here I've got some more questions that I want to ask and I'm thinking I'm going to ask maybe like a couple more maybe we'll take a break and then we'll come to a place where maybe those for sure I want can I ask a question or two. we're teachers we may not need a break yeah I was going to make a joke about lunch and not ever going to eat lunch prep Apple in a baby let's let's come back to this let's let's think about you know the do the work of a vision teacher that the actual you know you're with kids when you when you when you think about what you would Catalyst for a new teacher and you a new SUV I or maybe you feel like something is not being touched on quite as much these days don't care I think you mentioned some things over the years what do you see as essential practices are the knowledge that you really want to pass on to kind of a newer generation of TV eyes if it's you know historical perspective or something that was definitely talked about you know a little while back but maybe not so much these days what do you see is some of those skills and practices that you'd really want to share two other TV eyes and I'm sorry I feel like I owe start the conversation this is something I'm very passionate about because everything begins with assessment and I am seeing TV eyes to this day not. I'm not seeing a learning media yes but I don't see Assessments in PCC has been around a lot longer so you and one of the things in 2004 is you know NM is in there as soon as I discussed the batter we're not anywhere and I didn't yet there's nowhere that speaks the cheapest air to buy another pair but we are especially designed so what we teach is expanded Core Curriculum so making sure that we have assessment data to show what the needs of the child are and then have a valuation data to show how they're making progress cuz I feel like if we can't do that what we do makes a difference in children's outcomes then we can be replaced with generic special are so I think it's critical that we do assessment quality instruction and and I'll shut up and I'm going to say Amen to that Karen you know I was that exactly what I was going to say before you said it so I'll say it again I think teachers are our may be sent out into the world not having a complete understanding of how to do an effective assessment for the full range of students oh my gosh from baby you know teenagers and so if I were going to advise a new teacher to do something it would be nail the assessment because if you don't if you can't read and I report a few don't understand what those eye conditions are then that's a huge loss of information that you need to benefit the child and then how to do a really effective functional include in the child's learning environment so this is not you don't take the child down to the library and do it in a little room you do it where the child is and then the learning assessment how on Earth is any child perform if we don't know what learning media is possible for them or effective for them so and then for the children with severe multiple disabilities system learning can't how did they use their senses and how can we tap into that to teach them because they are teachable and where was it what school for the I think it was Iowa School for the Blind I was told by a principal that children with multiple parents couldn't learn sorry Terrence that was a long long time ago before doing a lot of training on how to send some teach children with multiple impairments so don't let anybody get away with that because yeah so anyway I'm just talking on what you have to say Karen cousin well I'll come it's Marianne and I'll add a little bit on those essential pieces well I hope you know assessment is a big one that certainly is a nice one of my most favorite areas in the very beginning is assessment and I think they are building those tools and strategies I think in the very beginning as we've said here is that the functional vision was a big part of that but the learning media really didn't happen until dr. Allen Kane again dr. K Holbrook came up with the learning media assessment pieces and that that was that's you know that's wasn't an ID so you know so that has really changed everything and then course then we added a BCC skill sets and we have to be doing that all together and those aspects we have a little something kind of unique and I don't want to keep talking about Texas but we do have a state law on now with the e c c that we do assess it along with the eligibility pieces as so that is very unique we got that changed and 2015 I believe right Nancy spent two years as a result of the due process which we have a state organization that starred in 1991 a very proud that I was able to start that with a number of people with a lot of consultation and lots of committees app to get that going but we took it from some of the California aspect that is called The Alliance seven for visually impaired Texas a bit and that was the convent Game Changer in some from state laws that really added to the ACC and also in him or in his Mobility is now a part of the initial assessment for for children along with what the bi teacher would be doing but I think assessment the big one I think they expect and I really enjoyed working on committees or through AER with Karen Blankenship we had some extraordinary amount of fun for six or seven years doing the e c c Essentials the areas and that was quite extraordinary but I think the other thing that's really essential in our roles at is again this / 321 that is such a unique opportunity that we have to really delve into getting those transition pieces for our children and our, critical role there are so many different areas that are this stuff besides birth you know 23 we have so many different transition pieces that we children move through not just a graduation or not from three to four to the three to five-year-old program but there's so many other things you do Middle School elementary to middle school and I think the Assassin components really do help support that in some of the functional skills that we need to keep with our students that keep them you know I laid a big part of their program self-determination skills that are so huge I think those are there some of the essential practices I think lesson plans I still am building a better skill set with less of plans I think that's huge and kind of paranoid says it's improving your practice and love the rubric that Vanderbilt George Peabody did on the earlier practice I love that when I I use it all the time the 12 for you and we can always do it for every time right that's what they have to get myself some Grace but is importance that we strive to do the most important pieces of every the best assessments we can do in the best lesson plans but if we don't if we don't quite make it then we try another time I think that's part of the myself the grace piece on that those are my thoughts those are great Thoughts with the birth mandate State when you're serving birthday play why parents would tell you that those transitions are so much better than States like Tennessee's not a birth Monday so you have separate agencies doing these things and I would say first mandate States birthday 1 in non recommended stay so I think that's great good yeah that's important to know Amy Central Park my assessment is kind of the make-or-break whether or not they they give Vision Services one of the things and that it just keeps coming up is the different types of I reports forgetting or vision therapy reports or notes from doctors that say that the child needs Vision I think understanding and being able to spend some time cuz I ready yours is doing research on a lot of the terminology they're using these days I just got one in my email and it's another vision therapy report and it's the same one I get at least once a week differin is named same things and I think one of the things is learning how to respond appropriately and the Scituate they shut them down gently explain does not Vision neurological I can't fix it communication being able to communicate effectively in one of the things border Tennessee that we have to make sure we food is that they're their functional Vision Learning the assessment has to be uploaded into eZip and it's part of their their eligibility requirements for us to include that so making sure that you have effectively communicated and in what you write in a concise way where if it were needing to be read by somebody else it does the job and it does the job quickly that's a huge piece yeah you're right you said since everything is everything I want to see that just thinking about it has been since August. Just doing them and doing them well but I think Stephen diving deeper but I have found over the years is you you hopefully we'll take this mindset of in in the evaluations in the specific things I'm doing do it part of the evaluation if it's the FDA or the Ella Mae what is the meaningful purpose of what I'm doing and you know what I used these specific items because I know this kid is you know fill in the blank Delta Delta kid functionally behaves or division access that for this kid I'm going to really hit home on how well they're using their optical devices to access various times of Prince most precise has been reading a really cheap really try to avoid evaluate things that are being done to check the box of you know it was evaluating and think about I am doing this for Meaningful purpose you know I would want to do it is something that you know this is just getting a little happy butt right way that you would want you had a kid with one parent you would be able to read it and it would make sense and then anyone else who have zero idea about the school administrator a classroom teacher could have meaningful outcomes there are a lot of reports out there that you guys know about and have seen where it's a Dumping Ground of just useless information and inform your report is a great opportunity to distill all the things you've done in two very nice nice concise list of this is what we found in dust here my recommendations right and and so... That's that's the power there and so definitely pushed back on in valuation desert but as truly an opportunity to communicate clearly to folks about a state of a kid's visual experience if your state doesn't require you to upload it into whatever sister do it for the other states because it drives me crazy when the kids moving from Florida and I do not get a copy of their functional and I want it so badly I want to see what the last person saw so take the time to put it system upload everything you're right and me and I have seen report for the cut and paste and put the wrong student in it were they for they pasted into e z i e p and it's not Rewritten into a nice little blurry but it's cut and paste and it's got the wrong his name there I know it is like whoa I don't know I was going to say I'm stood on self-determination we're seeing a back slide on that so making sure that our assessments are up to par it's critical and 4 people listening if you're a Lone Ranger you may not have anyone around you that cares what you do or knows what you should be doing but it's just having that stump has to know that you needed absolutely alright I would say so it's too we got 30 more minutes are we okay to push through like a good old TV eyes and just try to keep going one. You know I'm sure a lot of people think especially when you're a beginning teacher you just informed that a new kid is moving into the school district and they are a braille reader or if they are totally blind how would you advise in your a lot of people you know either it's been years since they were they never had the opportunity to work with a kid like that or you know you just start at all I just learned into into practice how would you kind of advice on someone like you don't breathe do these things and you know take it step-by-step and you'll be OK Google start with brown then we'll talk about some other suits I think invite them in for a meet-and-greet as soon as possible even even if it's not an official testing situation you don't have permission to test that you haven't done any of the paperwork yet but you sure they're moving in invite them to come to the school you know you can meet with him at the conference room for toys if it's a little and try I can get to know the family and hear the back story because I think that's a fact story about how they come they come to be where they are is huge knowing knowing our students experiences if it's a three year old and they were born well how are Mom and Dad are they still grieving what what are we going to need to do the support that family okay if it's a middle school kid lost Vision there's again there's going to be a lot of Grease there too how are you going to support the students family I think building that relationship and they're very informal and comfortable way before there's all the meetings she's really made some Bridge is for families that down now they feel like they can reach out and talk to me about everything anytime I need to English language Learners as well so parents just a dog Aaliyah and how did you breath so having making making connection we have a lot of ton of adoptive family so they've adopted the child and then turns out the child's find they can't fix the vision like this. Or or they adopted them knowing that they were blind and they had some really severe trauma okay well, informed trauma-informed relationship with the family story is huge so getting comfortable talking to people and I really think it's important I feel like staring I Feel Like You cover cover stages of grief I think knowing the stages of grief when you're first starting out and being able to understand when you listen to people where they are and where they're going to go or they'll go back to help me time and time again I have to really agree that reaching out to families of new students has the best thing you can do and I still I just want to piggyback on that because I think you may get so involved in getting the kid into school and whatever that you might not connect with the family but they're going to really appreciate that even if they don't know what time goes on and you don't know how they've been treated the place they were last time in and out you just have no idea if they're making that connection is so valuable and so important I agree don't we don't talk we also don't always know the full extent of what pair I understand about their kids visual impairment and visual experiences I've had several conversations with families where I have gun in assuming and then through like 22 comments in about something okay let's backtrack because what are we on the same page about what we understand about your no prognosis or what their experience is and so it is critical to make those relationships they trust you to scare genuine what what their hopes and dreams are are they going through this grief or loss of we wish our kid could be on this track to go One Direction and and so then you can talk to me. You know there are in many cases ways that your kid can achieve those things it will look different and there's different ways we're going to get there but I just put it out there that angle of the relationship is critical because I think I had a phone call with the young mother who sound like she was still in high school and I was given visual impairments and IDE a 101 lessons to her and so you never know where where where he's coming from the experiences they had in school and if they hadn't experienced the school where you. They didn't enjoy school and they didn't enjoy the process of Education that's a huge one or they automatically assume things well if my child's visually impaired will that means they're going to be like this and then going to this type of classroom and never be able to do the things that I wanted for them and you find out an academic so I think as much as you can find out about the backstory did they graduate from high school are they are they college graduates all of that information and you have to do it very comfortably and informally and if somebody is wearing a college t-shirt so is that where you went to school I mean really naturally families that were illiterate and so I had to keep that everything I said home to them every conversation had to be on a level that I was certain that they could understand so kind so critical I love it you do that well for me this is Mary Ann we were talking at you that's very important getting to know the family so I agree absolutely and we're talking about a suit your Braille in the beginning or whatever that might that age that you come in I think I'm thinking for this particular conversation would be for your early you know your your Pre-K may be a student's but I think having a language-rich environment home it's another way that we can be part of that family life is to really you know I can't go back to the first part of listening you have to listen to where they are and and really not jumping with so much information I have to really watch and I've try to maybe give one piece of information / time I see them you're not overwhelming and because you know I'd love to feel down resources and the you know if there is things like that but I have to be I really try to be careful not being too much to the table but list the weather saying and then bring in that but a language-rich environment you making sure that there's all kinds of things at home and getting them the resources of even though the child's not reading the Braille yet but realizing the Braille in the language and the books go together are from a pH his books and but also National grill press and various place like that way at the twin Vision books I think we have to nurture that and the tackle Focus you know what at home I think that's you know it's extremely important to really emphasize all the Hands-On pieces that are so critical and how much those experiences mean everything you know those Hands-On chances are such an important component and providing those opportunities I think is huge and so we have to encourage our families to you oh don't worry about that you kept a touch you know that we want that opportunity for concrete experiences whole building those unifying experiences so that was one thing that can multiply to the other so it just isn't Splinter skills I think that's important. I think also the aspect of literacy I'm with that right now I have a student from Ethiopia that is pretty pretty his Pre-K and Brielle and she is the cutest little hello Pumpkin you've ever seen and she is she said boy stretch it but that is huge what we come into the classroom and we have to really be a part of change in that environment in and looking at all the books that we can possibly find enough from our colleagues at Banos there was beginning of Braille in the Box beginning of patterns there's so much richness there that we didn't have a early on that this come along its way I love the one on the way to literacy that's an excellent 12 with is at 8 to American printing house for the blind but I have I think that whole aspect of building those tactel and communication to the family about what what the richness just making sure their home environment has all these literacy pieces that's reading and writing so maybe the child's not writing yet but you're writing stories may be with them and that books and learning go together for something fun we can't discard of the aspect of tactile digital talking books or those are extremely important for our kids those are some thoughts to add on to what everyone said Fallout 4 Everybody historically I think you might have told me before has there ever been a number as far as a braille reading speed that would be considered appropriate or like you could say okay if they're above the threshold we can safely say that's a good you're in a good place as far as learning media but if they're too slow or you know we really need to emphasize instruction bear you know I'm sure it's because I feel like we've had this conversation where we want to make sure that you guys have high standards not just my kid knows all the contraction and we're done right and they read at whatever speed they Rita you guys see your sense as a quote on quote acceptable and unfortunately cannot find any research to back that up 150 words of but I can't find a source for that I can't tell you the facts data-driven a new study which is data and research base they had the highest reading child is first grade read 160 words per minute fractions so you have to keep an eye on your radar screen at your always trying to get him comprable to their peers because that's who they're going to compete with the job that's who they're going to have to speed again for jobs and things like that on your radar screen it just not be satisfied with 15 words per minute 25 worse than that cuz that's what I see all the time is 25 words per minute a minute and then I will hear certified teachers I'm sorry to say but they're blind that I can't read that text no they can it's just a matter of really building that fluency once they know the foundations of literacy start working on Felicity they should be getting Braille instruction and nausea them until they graduate working on fluency making sure that they're reading more worth the minute so but and there's really not a lot out there I know there's huge bruise on the field about how many Braille rebuses have but the Braille literacy rate the only thing I see is from the ABC real study and of course the scales are in our LMAO sided kids can read what they can read large print what they can read in Braille to look at but I think always keep an eye on our radar screen and wants him reading with the flu yes what's the here so we've got about 15 minutes left thank you for all these really amazing you know Pearls of Wisdom I want to open it up for everyone who's taking time to join us today I happen to know that you know where all your relatively on the younger end of the experience scale would anyone like ask a question to the panelists who are here today you know something you're dealing with right now or your your students free ask a question I'm telling you you've got some incredibly experienced folks here today otherwise I'll come up Braille Braille r a question but and there's Kelly Karen said something in the chat Alan thank you Information Program Resource Center t a t support with resources for vision in other areas of concern for all my stuff Karen has one of the better ones that you know being contact when you know she's kind of got a question about though so Cumberland county is coming to the unity exciting opportunity to network with each other in the title or that you have kind of been chewing on or curious about some perspective from the field hey this is Kathleen in Kathleen my name is Katie it says Kathleen in there but I can b e t in Washington state and I have a question for you hi for all of you just regarding I'm an itinerant CBI and I work for an educational Service District which I think is kind of like a service center and I work in about five districts and in one of the district's we have new Braille learner who is an academic high schooler and I was just wondering kind of some advice on when you are growing brainless and a district and I I feel pretty good about it like this I need to know for the technology aspects but just any advice on that cuz all of that is pretty new to me on supporting grayless who don't have much experience Freddy are they started by Drew in at Bay or the National Organization they are not yet not yet yes oh yeah make sure that they're connected with the like if you're not aware of that make them aware of those certification test because their competency will be there very process there is a national Braille Association as well that they can look into that that also has regressed programming I think that would be sure that's important because there's a lot that can go into that for sure Roofing aph that meet at anime there's the prison Braille program that meets probably so the transcriber association is it pocket full with information when they go weekly and they go every year and of course it changes from state-to-state but that's an incredibly important place if they can support maybe the district would support them going cuz it does cost you go to apps you know to go out of state but it is some it's chock-full of everything they need to know Katie are you saying that you have a realist that you're working with they're not certified yet so they have taken the Braille test but they have not been certified as bralies but right now it's what we've got and hopefully going to get that certification soon the capabilities to make Braille yourself I'm in the district one day a week and I do what I can but it's started a lot of yeah it's kind of hard who's helping to get materials to the sprayless for this kid we are I mean I I we stand ice on the materials to her digitally so she has digital copies yeah and is she did she respond questions for you or you just lots of questions yes what kind of questions does she have lots of formatting questions about Duxbury so we're doing lots of Googling that's a lot that is that is a lot I think it's maybe get her a an example documents to use a kind of as a something to follow that might be helpful in in like here's how I want it to look oh okay yeah I think a lot of it is yeah so deconstructing with the teachers have sent so she's not she's not recreating the wheel but she's taking things that are not necessarily accessible like things in a table and try and get it to me so I will make sure anything you're going to get to her as much time as humanly possible, she has to make some sort of District Benchmark or exam I would I would have to start communicating with the district getting things to you month in advance if they're going to have anything like that so she has enough time it takes my colleagues and I a week or so it's make you know the district benchmarks which is all four subjects so 550 Pages she's going to need enough time to do that especially if she's trying to sort it out if she does and all the tact or Graphics I don't know if you can do like a meet and greet with her and show her kind of like the quick and dirty Ways to Die text Impacto Graphics that would with tackle tape I'm obsessed with colored hot glue right now if you haven't bought colored hot glue on Amazon buy some it's gold and sticky. Switch we're like you'll die for making marks Graphics so much I used to rely heavily on tactical tape I don't do that as much now that I have the color I love it thank you yeah we used text I love you so I've been I learned how to use it and I've been training her how to use it but but I'm still figuring that out it took me awhile over the weekend to learn it it might not be that this is Marianne but this might not be everything you're thinking of but just to add aph has the tactile Library I think that was up in the things that that's a good one but it also just the Louis system I think that's something we kind of forget about this the Louis system with a pH has a Yoakam work where the where the books are in the around the country and that's that is something I think is a good reminder for all this to to go to and see what might already be there Christmas special for that district and that's going to be unique you know but if it's a material that's already out there and being used with other states that's something to think about to and at the end have to be it's going to have to be formatted properly but it could be accessed with refreshable Braille I don't know we're working on getting that we're going to have a training next month on her professional Braille display but yeah that is one of the things and she's a screen reader user and very good at it so we also rely on we use both but we are working on Alan Caron I just got an SOS call for my daughter-in-law so I have got to run to take care of a child so I put my email in the chat and thank you for inviting me Wonder any other questions that and when might want to ask I got 56 minutes left I did drop a few links into the chat for those who might be interested just you know I see myself as a power gougler and so when I want to give it a topic I like to jump on there and not sit still till I feel like I'm satisfied with what I found and then I share it that's that's my whole job and so it may not be the perp no Solutions but just let something stay put on everyone's radar what's that I don't know if I'm a visitor seems like a pretty well-organized website with a lot of nice nice that package has shared out the other websites were manual for one of the 8th book with some guidelines on type of grass in the t g i l Graphics Library I'm a big fan of the kiosk machine to flash if you just wrote Johnson and paper and traffic is there a little Doodle that that's an excellent my man that doesn't help with the Braille but it's can be a quick piece with some of the castle pieces that we have you don't need to do well I wanted to mention one thing for people if they didn't know is I described and caption the program dcmp if people haven't been acquainted with them they have description and captioning for for over 11,000 multi-media videos that is for teachers and also a huge array of e-learning resources they've been around for all that 26 years federally funded through idea but they have it's a wonderful resource just dcmp. Org I would highly recommend you to take a look at it register is free and what for your teachers that are in the Gen Ed classroom and yourself it would be for any any student that has a disability it's for the Blind and Visually Impaired and hearing impaired and that that child is in that classroom it could be for everyone and it's a tremendous resource and there's a new resource out also for I've called getting a job that is takes Dementors which I think is something we didn't really touch on but I wanted to mention I think having a kids having been tours adults and young children to young people use that are visually impaired that could be a mentor is important aspect of our kids but this is a wonderful Beast also getting a job as one of their key learning areas but you can also take up some quick classes that are asynchronous and you can learn a little bit more about what description really is and build those environments in our classroom and helping Jeanette Peterson other student to know how to describe things and make it more making the visual verbal I know I have to look at this a little more myself in college I was going to date myself but maybe not if you don't know the movie but I went had a buddy who is totally blind and we went and saw the movie Pacific Rim epic sci-fi nerd it's just robots fighting like alien monsters and I I did not do a good job trying to describe scenes then maybe this will help me but I felt very silly trying to do my best when I he was a good sport and mostly just you know went along with it but yeah very very meaningful let me close this out with a question here if you can spare that for everyone who's Nancy Amy Marianne what were some final comments you put out there may be related specifically to you know critical things a TV I can do to you know we don't control everything but that you can do to contribute to you know as positive as possible and good student outcomes you know is if it's helping them get a good job placement or job skills preparing for college something like that what what what what are some things that you would say a TV I can do to contribute in that area transition map I think early especially when it comes to college and talk about what you're going to do with your life we can't wait until they're sophomores and juniors starting you know for 14 maybe that eighth grade and start that transitional talk I feel like it sent me 10 to wait start open mind cuz sometimes kids are passionate to do something and you think gosh that's you know I don't know how that's going to happen but you just never know when a kid thinks their teeth into something they can make things happen that are pretty amazing so I'd say keep an open mind go and I also just and we did not talk about this ahead of time but I would definitely say start early and keep it open mine too but starting earlier I would definitely have a 7th grader this year and we're going to do I think it's webona I have to go back and look at it but a vocation what does interest inventory don't wait until the light later on this was fine. And we're going to do a job is a job shadow we're going to do some of that we're going to go out we're going to do is party Cece and we are fortunate in the district. I think there's some around the area and other states to you can get your school van in go out to do this inside the district area related to some ACC activities and so we're going to do that computer he really wants to be a computer programmer so when are we going to talk about all those different things I think starting early is huge and I really I really do believe in mentors think finding young people and and folks that are visually impaired that have gone through that for them just to casually have conversations I think resource for that part of it and don't make list there's a lot of good resources out there related to making good resources a list for keeping up with what we have to do especially if there's some resume building but also getting kids to volunteer that looks extremely important on resumes when you're trying to apply for Grants scholarships is lot of our kids are going to not going to make it into some of the schools they want I want unless they have some support scholarships so abort or licensure if they don't all have to go to college right so it's of the licensing places that were looking at yes I sleep with the World opening back up I feel like there's been a little bit of a lot and being able to get out and do work job shadowing and back up to re-enter I could you act like you said connecting them with the other young people I think did you get that first kid you launched your first graduate from high school and they're in college state connected with that student so that you can connect that student with future students to need to know that it's doable and you build those relationships that you can keep up with them once they graduate and you can help make those connections that's huge all right well I'm so sorry we're 3 minutes over so I really thank you all your time so so much Mary and Amy and Nancy for being here in here in as well so I'm going to start the recording. This

1:00:31 Bioptic Driving – Adult Perspectives & Tennessee Requirements (Panel Discussion)
Participants: Dr. Joshua Robinson (Vanderbilt University Medical Center), Arthur Humphrey, Joshua Harper
Date: 2/23/2024
TN VIVA 2022-2023
Session Description:
This session will present an overview of considerations of bioptic driving for teens and young adults with low vision. Panelists include a low vision specialist and adults with low vision sharing why they decided bioptic driving was or was not a good fit for them. This session is geared towards teens with low vision and their families, as well as TVIs, O&M specialists, VR counselors, and other transition specialists looking for a background knowledge of how to talk about bioptic driving with students and clients.
Uploaded Feb 24, 2023
1:46:30 Essential Assessments (FVA) Strategies for Students with Visual Impairments and Complex Profiles Featured
Presented by Suzanne Dinwiddie (TN Deaf-Blind Project) on 2/18/2022
Unity Virtual Academy 2021-2022
Session Description:
Project will share tips and
Hear about strategies that TVIs and O&M specialists can use when conducting functional vision, learning media and expanded core curriculum assessments with students with VI and complex profiles, including students with CVI.
Uploaded Feb 22, 2022
56:27 Social Emotional Learning & Crisis Support for Visually Impaired Students
Presented by Andrea Word, MSW (TSB) on 9/1/2021
Unity Virtual Academy 2021-2022
Session Description:
This session is designed for TVIs to learn more about SEL (social emotional learning) for students with VI, learn signs of when a student is in a mental health crisis, and discuss appropriate resources in and out of school to support students.
Uploaded Sep 07, 2021
51:27 Lightbox Stories & Literacy Programming for Students with Complex Profiles Featured
Presented by Dr. Adam Wilson on 2/17/2021
Unity Virtual Academy 2020-2021
Session Description:
Looking for ways to integrate literacy and lightboxes? In this session we will take a deep dive into the creation of lightbox stories and digital books, adapted so they are accessible for students with more complex profiles that include VI. We will also look at opportunities for meaningful engagement for learners so they become part of the story!
Uploaded Oct 14, 2021
1:48:17 Essential Vision Assessment: Tips for TVIs in a Virtual World
Presented by Dr. Karen Blankenship (TSB) on 12/4/2020
Unity Virtual Academy 2020-2021
Session Description:
This presentation will talk about the latest resources to conduct functional vision, learning media, and expanded core curriculum assessments on-site or in a virtual world.
Uploaded Oct 14, 2021

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Hindsight is 20/20: What We Wish We Knew Sooner & Lessons Learned from Experienced TVIs (Panel Discussion with Q&A)

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