A Parent Perspective
When parents, teachers, and school administrators use the National Agenda and its goals, blind and visually impaired children can receive an appropriate education.
What is the National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths With Visual Impairments, Including Those With Multiple Disabilities?
The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths With Visual Impairments, Including Those With Multiple Disabilities (Corn, Hatlen, Huebner, Ryan, Siller, 1995) is a grassroots effort to change the way visually impaired and blind children are being educated. Even with IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) the fact remains that children with visual impairments do not always learn enough in school to get a job or live independently after graduation.
The National Agenda is the result of parents, teachers, and administrators working as partners to make changes for students with visual impairments. These partners have looked at the most important things needed to make education better for visually impaired and blind children. These things make up the eight goals of the National Agenda. We believe that working toward these goals can make a difference in the lives of students with visual impairments.
Why is the National Agenda important to parents of students with visual impairments or blindness?
The National Agenda is important because sometimes months or years go by before someone, usually a parent or teacher, realizes that a child can't see well. More time may go by before the child receives the kinds of services that are needed to learn well. Children with blindness or visual impairments may receive an inferior education because there are not enough teachers and specialists who can meet their special needs. Often children with visual impairments are placed in schools or classrooms that are not right for them, without thought to where the child might learn best.
As parents, we believe using the National Agenda will help our children learn what they need to know to be successful. When parents, teachers, and school administrators use the National Agenda and its eight goals, blind and visually impaired children will receive an appropriate education.
The eight goals of the National Agenda, followed by questions parents may want to ask themselves, follow. Although some answers are included, ours is not an inclusive list and you and your family may want to consult local resources for additional information.
National Agenda Goals
1.Students and their families will be referred to an appropriate education program within 30 days of identification of a suspected visual impairment.
If you have a young child (birth through age 5) have you been referred to an educational program?
Were you given a range of choices regarding placement options?
New parents - If you live in the U.S. and your answer is no to either question, you may want to contact your State Department of Special Education Early Intervention Services (EIS). Contact information is available by calling the Lighthouse International Information Service & Call Center at 1-800-829-0500.
Experienced parents - You may want to advocate on behalf of other parents and their children for early intervention services or simply breathe a sigh of relief that you no longer need worry about this point.
2.Policies and procedures will be implemented to ensure the right of all parents to full participation and equal partnership in the education process.
- Did you receive information about parent involvement from professionals working with your child?
- Do you feel that you are an equal partner in the formal educational process as it applies to your child? If not, what would you do to change that? What would have to change in the system?
- Were you given information about resources outside of the special education system such as parent support groups, consumer advocacy organizations, and so forth?
In the formal educational process (i.e., during IEP meetings, transition planning, etc.) equal partnership roles may change as the child gets older - with younger children, parents are more directly involved, with older students, the student becomes the partner.
In order to be a full and equal partner in the formal education process, parents must be involved in the entirety of the educational process from initial assessment and planning through implementation and continuing assessment.
3.Universities, with a minimum of one full-time faculty member in the area of visual impairment, will prepare a sufficient number of educators of students with visual impairments to meet personnel needs throughout the country.
- Are you aware of the critical shortage of Teachers of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Instructors throughout the country?
- Does your state have a college or university program that prepares Teachers of the Visually Impaired and Orientation Mobility Instructors?
- Does your school district hire certified Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) and Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS)?
You can help address this critical shortage. Please contact your state National Agenda Coordinator or state parent organization, addressing the needs of children with visual impairments.
4.Service providers will determine caseloads based on the needs of students and will require ongoing professional development for all teachers and orientation and mobility instructors.
- Do you feel your child receives disability-specific services from a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) and/or a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist (COMS) frequently enough?
- How many students does your child's Teacher of the Visually Impaired have to teach?
- How many students does your child's O&M Instructor have to teach?
- Is there a limit on how many children your child's teachers have?
5.Local education programs will ensure that all students have access to a full array of placement options.
- Did you receive information from your child's current school about alternative placement options available to you? Do you know the pros and cons of each?
- Do you feel that your child can enroll in the placement option you feel is most appropriate?
- Do you feel you can change the placement option according to the educational needs of your child as he or she gets older?
6.Assessment of students will be conducted, in collaboration with parents, by personnel having expertise in the education of students with visual impairments.
- Have school district personnel assessed your child? Did the assessment team have experience with children like yours?
- Were you involved in the assessment process?
- Does your State have resources for assessment or have staff experienced in assessing students with visual impairments including those with multiple disabilities?
Assessment includes:
- initial assessments to determine eligibility for special education services;
- assessments to determine specific services;
- routine classroom assessments (including Braille proficiency, speed of Braille reading, use of the abacus, etc.);
- standardized testing.
7.Access to developmental and educational services will include an assurance that instructional materials are available to students in the appropriate media and at the same time as their sighted peers.
- Does your child receive his or her textbooks and instructional materials in the appropriate medium (for example, in Braille or large print)?
- Does your child receive his or her textbooks and instructional materials at the same time as sighted peers?
- Does your child have the correct adaptive equipment (for example, closed circuit television set (CCTV), computer with speech or enlarged print, or adaptive software, tactile measuring devices, manipulative and accessible science equipment etc.) to participate fully in classes?
You may need to advocate for both textbooks and instructional materials, including assistive technology such as electronic note takers or speech access to the Internet for your child.
8.Educational and developmental goals, including instruction, will reflect the assessed needs of each student in all areas of academic and disability-specific core curricula.
- Do you feel your child's school program addresses his or her disability-specific needs (for example, use of low vision devices, Braille, O&M, assistive technology, instruction in sign language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social skills, activities of daily living, career education)?
- Does your district, region or state mandate that children with visual impairments receive instruction in disability-specific skills as well as standard academic content?
- Have you heard of the expanded core curriculum for students with visual impairments and do you use it when developing your child's IEP goals?
Although the National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Multiple Impairments currently contains only the eight goals reviewed above, many parents and professionals believe another goal concerning the importance of Transition Services also needs to be considered. In some states, the local stakeholders have added such a goal to their state agendas. This is certainly an option in your state if you and other parents and professionals believe it can strengthen your efforts on behalf of students with visual impairments.
How can the National Agenda impact the lives of you, your family, and your child?
Knowledge is power. With the knowledge that parents and professionals from all over the United States developed and support the eight goals of the National Agenda, you can use them as tools when working with your child, in your district, with school administrators, teachers and support staff to guarantee that your child's educational program meets his or her needs. The eight goals of the National Agenda provide guidelines to consider for your child's successful educational outcomes.
Some of the goals may not seem related to your child or your situation. However, consider this example. Your child is blind and needs Braille instruction; the district cannot provide a teacher of the visually impaired because although they have advertised, they are having difficulty finding a certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired. Goal 3 is Teacher Preparation; this does affect you, your child and your situation because your child is not receiving services. Perhaps in the larger picture you can affect change for your child by bringing this issue to your state representatives and senators, or your State Board of Education (SBOE).
Reprinted with permission from The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths With Visual Impairments, Including Those With Multiple Disabilities, which was printed with financial support from the American Foundation for the Blind and the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
National Agenda Steering Committee Members
Parent Co-Chairs: Donna Stryker & Brunhilde Merk-Adam
Professional Co-Chairs: Kathleen M. Huebner & Karen Wolffe
Dr. Anne Corn, Nashville, TN
Dr. Phil Hatlen, Austin, TX
Dr. Kathleen M. Huebner, Elkins Park, PA
Susan LaVenture, Watertown, MA
Donna McNear, Cambridge, MA
Brunhilde Merk-Adam, Southfield, MI
Dick Pomo, Madison, WI
Mary Ann Siller, Dallas, TX
Dr. Susan Spungin, New York, NY
Donna Stryker, Las Cruces, NM
Dr. Karen Wolffe, Austin, TX
References
Corn, A. L., Hatlen, P., Huebner, K. M., Ryan, F., Siller, M. A. (1995). The national agenda for the education of children and youths with visual impairments, including those with multiple disabilities. NY: American Foundation for the Blind.
Hatlen, P. (1996). The core curriculum for blind and visually impaired students, including those with additional disabilities. RE: view 28, 25-32.