Lesson 19 - Learners With Difficulty Seeing

LEARNERS WITH
DIFFICULTY SEEING
Learning Outcomes:
Define visual impairment.
Differentiate the types and

causes of visual
impairment.
Create a learning plan with
the application of Universal
Design for learning.
Learning Outcomes:
Demonstrate orientation
and mobility in assisting
learners with difficulty
seeing.
Write a short story using
basic braille.
Activity !
Activity !
Instruction: Think of your favorite sport on

television or your favorite sports character.
Perform (without equipment) your
character’s favorite action. Pretend to push
the button to replay it on “fast forward”,
“slow motion”, or “backward”.
What did you see first? A hat, an elephant or a
snake?
What did you see first? Old man and woman,
two musicians singing or a chalice?
How many faces do you see
in this picture?
Analysis
After you succeed in the previous activity, retrospect and answer the
following questions:
• During the picture observation, have you noticed first the
whole picture or the details of it?
• What made you notice first the mentioned subjects in
each picture?
• The correct answer for the third picture is ten. Was your
answer below or beyond 10? If your answer is incorrect,
what do you think is the factor for giving such an answer?
If your answer is correct, what helped you to look for the
exact number of faces?
Abstraction
Visual impairment, vision loss or low vision - refers to any loss of ability to gather information by seeing
might be considered a visual impairment. The absence of sight leads to the reorganization of the sensory
mechanisms. Blindness makes the person dependent on other senses like audition or hearing, feeling or
touch, olfaction or smell, and gustation or taste.
Total blindness - is the inability to tell light from dark, or the total inability to see. It is a severe reduction
in vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and reduces a person’s ability to
function at certain or all tasks.
People who are born with severe visual impairment commonly caused by genetic and/or birth
complications are called Congenitally Blind.
If a person has a normal vision during birth and acquired severe visual impairment at the age of two, they
are called Adventitiously Blind.
Other leading causes of blindness include:
• Macular Degeneration
• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Infections
• Vitamin A deficiency
Refractive errors are the inability of the lens to focus an image accurately. These include
the following:
• Myopia (nearsightedness) occurs when the eye is too long and the rays of light from
distant objects are not focused on the retina.
• Hyperopia (farsightedness) occurs when the eye is too short and the rays of light from
near objects are not focused on the retina.
• Astigmatism occurs when a person is suffering from blurred vision caused by uneven
curvature of the cornea and lens. This curvature prevents light rays from focusing
correctly on the retina.
Color blindness is the reduced ability to perceive or distinguish between certain colors,
usually red, green, blue, and yellow. It is a hereditary defect that is more common in
males than females.
Contrast sensitivity - describes the ability to distinguish
one object from another. A person with reduced contrast
sensitivity may have problems seeing objects in the fog
because of the decrease in contrast between the object
and the fog.
Many types of visual impairment are inherited and cannot be prevented. However, some visual
impairment can be prevented. These are some tips on how to avoid acquiring such impairment.
• Students should be educated to never throw stones, sticks, or other small or
sharp objects at other children.
• Students need to be educated about keeping chemicals such as lime, cement,
petrol, and other cleaning products away from their hands and eyes.
• Students and parents need to be educated about hygiene, especially keeping
eyes, faces, and hands clean.
• Children should always be taken to a health clinic if they have any kind of
eye problem or irritation.
• Children and mothers need a diet that is rich in Vitamin A.
• Girls should be vaccinated against rubella (German measles)
The learning needs of blind and visually impaired children can be divided into
three categories:
• Needs that are met by adapting the curriculum;

• Needs that are met by changes in methodology; and
• Developmental and educational needs that are unique to these children.
Once the primary medium of learning has been selected, teachers should keep in
mind that some children can use both tactile and visual materials and that all
children can and should use auditory materials. In other words, a Total
Communication Approach for children with visual impairments should be
employed.
When assisting a learner with visual impairment, the orientation and mobility
skills should be applied. Orientation is the ability to mental map people have to
move through the environment and mobility refers to the ability to travel safely
and efficiently from one place to another. Orientation training involves teaching
learners with visual impairments to understand their environment and to recognize
their surroundings and their relationship to them.
Assistive devices such as eyeglasses, contact lenses, and a cane are also a great
help in assisting learners with visual impairment. The Braille System is used as a
writing tool by a lot of teachers who are teaching learners with visual impairment.
An example of braille system alphabet is shown in the picture.
Classroom practices and routine activities should be observed when handling
learners with visual impairment. Some of these are the following:
• Speak to the class about entering and leaving the room or site
• Call the student by name if you want his/her attention.
• Give verbal notice of room changes, special meetings, or assignments.
• Offer to read written information to a person with a visual impairment, when appropriate.
• Identify yourself by name, don't assume that the visually impaired student will recognize you
by your voice even though you have met before.
• If you are asked to guide a student with a visual impairment, identify yourself, offer your
services and, if accepted, offer your arm to the student's hand. Tell them if they have to step up
or step down, let them know if the door is to their left or right, and warn them of possible
hazards.
• Orally, let the student know if you need to move or need to end a conversation.
With the advent of inclusive education, more learners who have visual impairments are enrolled in
regular classes. A special education teacher should work closely with the regular teacher so that the
child can fully participate in class activities. These following rules will help you in making your
learners with difficulty seeing feel comfortable in both regular and self-contained classroom settings.
1. Do not hesitate to use the words “look”, “see”, “see you later” or “look here”. It may sound odd
but for learners with difficulty seeing, those words connote either by manipulating or touching
an object or looking very closely at it with the use of other senses.
2. Encourage them to socialize with other students. Let her introduce her/his self in the way he/she
is comfortable with. Instruct the other students to talk directly to them and not through you.
3. Include the child in all class activities. Ask the special education teacher in your school on how
to effectively modify instructions and activities for the child to have full and active participation
in class.
4. Leading the class gives integrity and pride to the students. Extend that opportunity to them.
5. Do not excuse the child from school rules and regulations and even in-classroom disciplinary rules.
6. Encourage the child to move around the classroom to get the materials he/she needs. You may assign
a student buddy to assist him/her in-class activities.
7. Give verbal instructions and prompts. Do not just nod and say “yes” instead. They cannot see your
facial expressions.
8. Provide space for his/her extra materials like stylus and slate, cane, braille typewriter, and others.
9. Open topics about visual impairment and inclusion in the class. You may integrate it with the other
subjects. Your acceptance of the child will serve as a positive example for the other students.
10. The child may exhibit mannerisms like rocking, flapping the finger in front of their eyes, or poking
their finger into the eye. Consult a special education teacher on how to deal with these behaviors.
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LEARNERS WITH

Differentiate the types and

Instruction: Think of your favorite sport on

• Needs that are met by adapting the curriculum;

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