BRCC Disability Services: SHORT PAGE NAME

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Blue Ridge Community College Disability Services: Faculty Handbook, College Drive - Flat Rock, N.C. 28731-9624 - www.blueridge.edu

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Students with Blindness and Low Vision

There are varying degrees and types of blindness and low vision. The spectrum includes having difficulty reading regular print, to tunnel vision, to total blindness. A student who is blind or has low vision is faced with many challenges. The majority of students who are blind or have low vision have partial sight loss and do not use canes and guide dogs. This does not eliminate the need for academic accommodations. One challenge is the overwhelming mass of printed text encountered - textbooks, class schedules, campus newspapers, tests, etc. There is also an increased use of visual material in the classroom (films, videotapes, PowerPoint, and overhead projectors) that adds to the difficulties experienced by many students who are blind or have low vision. The instructor must be prepared to provide any written materials (i.e. syllabus, handouts), in advance or on disk. Most students will use a combination of methods to assist such as large print, audio taped recorded books and lectures, readers, or Braille books. Modern technology has made other aids available for persons who are blind or have low vision such as talking calculators, paperless Braille machines, Braille computer terminals and reading machines.

Typical accommodations for students who are blind or have low vision may include:

Use of a scribe or note taker.
Location (close to the chalkboard or screen).
Tape recorded lectures.
Taped texts.
Large print class materials.
Extended time for tests.
Alternate test format: e-format, oral, Braille, or large print.
Use of a voice or large print output computer with word processing software.
Extended time and alternate locations for examinations.
Use of a closed circuit enlargement system.
Extended time for research requirements.

Using Visual Aids in the Classroom

In class, an important adaptation for students who are blind or have low vision is presentation of visual aids. It is important to remember these tips when using visual aids in your classroom:

Anything on the board should be read out loud clearly and precisely.
Do not use "this and that" phrases. For example "the sum of this and that" or "the lungs are located here and the diaphragm there." Precise verbal descriptions should be given.
Raised line drawings of grafts, geometric designs, or mathematical equations can be obtained through Services for the Blind with advanced notice.
Consider making copies of overhead material presented in class for use by the student who is blind or has low vision. These can be used to follow along or used for review later.
Using large print on the blackboard, or the use of enlarged print on an overhead projector may be helpful to partially sighted students.

Testing Accommodations

Many students who are blind or have low vision are able to take exams on their own with additional time and enlarged print. Some students who are blind or have low vision may need a sighted person to read and record test items for them or they may prefer to use JAWS and a word processor on a computer to answer test questions. These services can be arranged through the Learning Center or the faculty member may want to select someone familiar with course terminology to administer the exam. Another method that may be used to administer the test is audiotape. The student who is blind or has low vision either answers or records answers orally onto a tape recorder once the questions have been read to them from the printed text.

Guidelines for using a reader to administer a test are as follows:

Allow the student and the reader to work in a room where others will not disturb them.
Repeat questions as many times as the student requests (this is equivalent to a sighted person rereading a question as often as needed).
Repeat completed answers as often as the student requests.
Long questions and answers on multiple-choice tests may be particularly confusing. Reading the question and pairing it with each choice may help reduce confusion.
Since oral administration is more time consuming than written administration, extra time should be allowed. The instructor and the student should reach a mutually satisfactory agreement on the time limits prior to a test. Generally up to double time is allowed when tests are read to a student.

Textbooks and Other Assigned Readings

Many students who are blind or have low vision use audio taped textbooks. Recorded texts are borrowed from national agencies as available. In either case, processing tape requests typically takes from six to eight weeks. Because of the amount of time required, it is essential for a student to find out from the professor prior to the beginning of the semester what books will be used. Delays in book selection place students who are blind or have low vision at a clear disadvantage to their sighted classmates. Until the tapes arrive, the sole method of learning the materials is through a reader, which is far more time consuming, inconvenient and expensive. When ordering new textbooks, please ask for a copy of the text in e-text. Most publishers now offer this service.

Other Tips for Working with a Student Who is Blind or Has Low Vision in the Classroom

For students with severe visual impairments, a general layout of the classroom should be provided.
A guide dog accompanies some students who are blind. Since the dogs are highly trained and disciplined, they will not disrupt the class. As tempting as it may be to pet a guide dog, the dog is responsible for guiding its owner who cannot see and should not be distracted from that duty.
Inform the student if the furniture has been rearranged.
When offering a seat to the student, place the student's hand on the back or arm of the seat and allow the student to seat him or herself.
Clear pathways of obstructions.
Once a student who is blind is oriented to campus offering to "guide" the student by a different route can be deleterious to the orientation. However, walking "with" the student will not mar the orientation.

Possible accommodations by area of disability for students who are blind or have low vision:

Area of disability	Available accommodation
Increased sensitivity to glare.	Darkened room or workstation. Reversed polarity (white letters; black screen).
Inability to see small text and graphics.	Large monitor (17 inches or larger). Screen reading program with speech synthesizer and headphones. Large Print Software. ALT tags on websites.
Blind, with no light perception.	Books on audio tape. E-text. Screen Reader with speech synthesizer and headphones. Scanner with optical character recognition (OCR). Braille notetakers. Tape recorder with indexing capability.
Mobility that ensures safe travel.	Wide aisles without obstacles. Braille signage.

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