This book is aimed at the mainstream class teacher who has little or no experience of providing effective learning experiences for children with visual impairments. It is designed both as an introductory guide to assessment and provision. It also has a strong focus on social interactions, since many teachers are confused as how to help children with visual impairments make friends. The book sets out the basis for addressing the individual with a wide range of visual impairments. Chapters cover: the identification and assessment of aspects of vision visual impairment and individual needs practical advice on the development of concepts, language and literacy and social skills the use of low vision aids, appropriate decor and physical layouts, lighting and IT educational policy and the Code of Practice Drawing on very recent research, this book presents new insights into the needs of children with visual impairments as learners, arguing that it is the quality of the child's social interactions which promotes play, language and learning.

"This book expands upon the knowledge base and provides a compendium of intervention strategies to support and enhance the acquisition of social skills and children and youths with visual impairments ... Part 1 ... addresses social skills from a first-person perspective. The second part ... examines how theory seeks to explain social development and influences assessment and practice ... Part 3, ties personal perspectives and theory to actual practice. Finally, Part 4 ... offers numerous examples and models for teaching social skills to students who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabling conditions."--Introduction.

Young children who are visually impaired and have additional disabilities need to learn to use their sense of touch effectively to promote their growth, development, and ability to communicate. This manual provides teachers, early interventionists, and parents with critical information about alternative communication methods not based on the use of vision as well as countless practical strategies. Topics include assessing a child's skills, planning interventions, and selecting appropriate tactile strategies to meet the child's needs.

Early intervention services are essential for infants and toddlers who are visually impaired and have some functional vision that they will be able to use for everyday activities--not only to ensure their early development but also to help them learn to use their vision with maximum effectiveness, right from the start. Everyday Activities to Promote Visual Efficiency offers guiding principles for early intervention with very young children who are visually impaired and who may also have additional disabilities. This important new resource provides simple activities that can be incorporated easily by families and service providers into the everyday routines of a baby or child to facilitate early visual development and use of functional vision.

Foundations of Low Vision: Clinical and Functional Perspectives, the ground-breaking text that highlighted the importance of focusing on the functional as well as the clinical implications of low vision, has been completely updated and expanded in this second edition. The revised edition goes even further in its presentation of how best to assess and support both children and adults with low vision and plan programs and services that optimize their functional vision and ability to lead productive and satisfying lives, based on individuals' actual abilities. Part 1, Personal and Professional Perspectives, provides the foundations of this approach, with chapters focused on the anatomy of the eye, medical causes of visual impairment, optics and low vision devices, and clinical low vision services, as well as psychological and social implications of low vision and the history of the field. Part 2 focuses on children and youths, providing detailed treatment of functional vision assessment, instruction, use of low vision devices, orientation and mobility, and assistive technology. Part 3 presents rehabilitation and employment issues for working-age adults and special considerations for older adults.

When children and adults apply for disability benefits and claim that a visual impairment has limited their ability to function, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to determine their eligibility. To ensure that these determinations are made fairly and consistently, SSA has developed criteria for eligibility and a process for assessing each claimant against the criteria. Visual Impairments: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits examines SSA's methods of determining disability for people with visual impairments, recommends changes that could be made now to improve the process and the outcomes, and identifies research needed to develop improved methods for the future. The report assesses tests of visual function, including visual acuity and visual fields whether visual impairments could be measured directly through visual task performance or other means of assessing disability. These other means include job analysis databases, which include information on the importance of vision to job tasks or skills, and measures of health-related quality of life, which take a person-centered approach to assessing visual function testing of infants and children, which differs in important ways from standard adult tests.

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.