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NARRATOR: The name "Perkins" carved in stone.
Below a gothic tower, a boy navigates with a cane.
A title:
When I turned nine years old and the first day of school
in the fourth grade I went into my classroom
and sat down at my desk,
and the teacher started writing on the chalkboard,
and I looked up and I couldn't see what she was writing.
In fact it didn't look like there was anything there
or it was like a couple of dashed lines.
And I thought, "What's wrong with her chalk?"
And it never occurred to me that there was something wrong
with my vision.
The deterioration in my retinas occurred very slowly
over the summer, and I was pretty active outside
and so I wasn't doing a lot of reading or detailed tasks.
That was the first time I began to experience
having a vision impairment.
What I didn't know is that my acuity had already fallen
to 20/200, which is the level of legal blindness.
And it wasn't very long after that first day of school
that I could no longer see my textbooks in school
or worksheets, chalkboard, overhead projectors,
all that stuff.
Basically almost all print became unaccessible
at that point.
NARRATOR: A school photograph of Marla Runyan
at about age nine is shown.
She wears a purple shirt with a line of embroidered flowers
down the front.
Initially, in my home school district there were no services.
And this is going back to the late '70s.
The laws were brand new in terms of least restrictive environment
and I ended up changing districts.
And by the time I was middle school,
and that was the first time...
by the time I reached sixth grade,
that was the very first time in my life I actually had
a teacher for the visually impaired supporting me
in my academics.
I had a... I was in a mainstream sixth grade classroom,
and for one hour a day I would go to the VI resource room
where my TVI made sure
that I had all of my materials accessible,
would help me get caught up on schoolwork
because I was very slow.
What was really important for me was that that I had a person,
I had a teacher in my life who understood what it was like
to be visually impaired.
And that in itself was so personally significant
that it was like when you are the only student
in a school of hundreds or even thousands,
where you were the only one who is visually impaired,
or there's only a few other students who are,
you feel that you are misunderstood
or that no one understands what it's like.
And then to have this teacher in your life
who not only is there to help support you academically,
but is someone who understands what you're going through,
and, in a way, it's a comfort and it's that time
to just be myself and not feel like
I have to pretend I can see, I can just be myself.
And that was really-- the role that that teacher
played in my life for the three years in middle school,
he had a very significant role in my life.
NARRATOR: Fade to black.
What people don't realize is how much knowledge
about the world that a child... a fully sighted child brings
to the kindergarten grade level when they first enter school--
what they've learned just through visual observation
of their world.
They've watched their mom or dad make dinner.
They've watched the routines of the day in their home.
They've traveled, they've seen...
they've witnessed and learned
through that visual observation so many things,
including social skills, including communication skills
and language skills, and it goes on and on.
NARRATOR: In a photograph, a young boy who is blind
is being taught how to set the table for lunch.
A teacher watches as the boy places a green plastic plate
on the table.
This is an example of a task that a child who is sighted
would encounter through incidental learning,
something that must be specifically taught to a child
who is blind or visually impaired.
Then you have to think about how that information plays a role
or how it impacts their participation
and success level in academics.
So if you don't have a concept for something,
you don't have that as a reference point
for the vocabulary word that just came up in class,
or how many times I can think of
a student had a list of vocabulary words,
fourth grade level, and she says, "What is that?
I don't know what that is."
Because it wasn't that it was never taught to her,
and it wasn't something she could ever see.
So there's all these little pieces of missing information
that the TVI understands that that's going to impact
that child's learning.
And so that's why that TVI is so crucial
is coming in and being able to spend direct service time
with that student and figuring out
does this student have all the conceptual background knowledge
to understand this list of spelling words?
Does this student have all the background knowledge
to understand this story that's taking place in another country
when she's never seen a map?
She doesn't know the shape of the country
or what the world looks like.
So we come in and we say, as a TVI,
you're looking at what knowledge and what foundational concepts
might be missing or lacking for this student
that's going to impact her success in the classroom.
And that's such a significant role that I think many
other educators or administrators overlook
that it's not just teaching Braille,
it's not just making the literacy accessible,
it's not... or let me rephrase that.
It's not just making the curriculum accessible,
it's not about just putting things into Braille
or large print to access the education,
it's about filling in the conceptual framework,
the conceptual background
that is going to help that child learn.
NARRATOR: We see in a photograph Marla working
with a teenaged boy who is blind on some concepts in science.
On the desk between them is a device that holds
two plastic cups on either side of a fulcrum,
much like a small seesaw.
The device can be used to determine the relative weight
of liquid or dry measures that are placed in the cups.
In order for the student who is visually impaired
in the general education setting to really have access
to her education, have meaningful instruction,
it's the TVI's role to also educate and inform
the general ed teacher,
as well as every member on that IEP team
about how this vision impairment is really impacting
that student's ability to learn.
So not only are we working directly with students,
not only are we consulting,
we're part of the collaborative team,
and it's a team effort that requires a lot of teaching
of other teachers.
NARRATOR: Fade to black.
From my experience I think we focus a lot
on the accessible curriculum part for a student
who is visually impaired.
So we think immediately do we have it in large print?
Can they use their globe magnifier
or their close circuit television,
or if it's a Braille reader do we have that in Braille?
Are they going to use technology?
Are we going to do it audio?
So we're thinking formatting, we're thinking format,
we're thinking accessing material,
we're accessing the actual books, and worksheets,
and posters, and all of the concrete curriculum
that exists in the classroom.
That's where we kind of think about that first.
NARRATOR: In a photograph, three high school-aged students--
two boys and a girl-- are gathered around a table
on which iPads and other tablet devices are displayed.
In this lesson about money, students who are blind
are using some of the accessibility features
of the iPads to access information online.
The girl wears headphones that are plugged into
one of the devices.
On the table are scattered bills of various denominations.
But what we also have to think about,
which is equally, if not more, important,
is the instruction meaningful to the student?
So if we're going to teach the class
a lesson on the metric system, and you have sighted children
and one blind student in your class,
well, what's a meter?
What's a centimeter?
What are these concepts?
What do we need to bring to that lesson
to make it meaningful to the student who's blind?
We've got to bring the real thing,
we've got to bring objects.
We can't learn through pictures, and videos,
and PowerPoint presentations, and document cameras.
We have to bring real objects that that student
can put her hands on, and learn, and develop.
I'm going to hold this bottle, and this bottle holds
one liter of fluid.
Okay, now I have a concept for what this amount is.
You know, and so that is a huge part of teaching our students
and ensuring that they understand the concepts
in the classroom because just reading it,
we've made the books accessible and they can read it, great.
But now we've got to make sure that instruction
for that content is meaningful.
And that is a big part of what the TVI can support.
NARRATOR: In a photograph, a young boy
who is visually impaired and wears glasses
is sitting at a table with his TVI.
They are in a greenhouse surrounded by plants.
As part of a classroom curriculum involving plants
and plant growth, they are working with soil,
seeds, and pots that will eventually produce seedlings.
For a student who's visually impaired,
whether a student with low vision
or a student who's totally blind, they need time.
They need time to learn the information in a meaningful way,
and they need time to process that information
and apply the knowledge and skills that they've learned.
And in general education, it's a race.
It's like the gun has gone off and off those kids go.
I've had students, you know, a 20-problem math worksheet
every sighted child in the classroom is finished
and my student's on number two.
It's not that she can't do it,
and it's not that she can't access it,
it's that she doesn't have the time to do it.
And so our students need that time,
they need time to learn,
they need time to apply their skills.
I've gone so many meetings and tried to educate
other educators on tactile learning,
tactual learning versus visual learning.
And that as... if you are fully sighted
you are seeing the whole picture, the whole thing,
and then you can zero in on the parts.
For a tactile learner, they see the parts,
they see only what their fingers can touch,
and they have to keep moving their hand,
and moving their hand,
and then they construct a whole based on those parts.
Which process do you think is faster?
Obviously being able to see the whole picture first
is much faster.
So a tactile learner in particular needs that time.
It's not that she can't do it,
it's not that she can't learn it,
but she needs the time to process and apply her skills,
and practice those skills.
NARRATOR: Fade to black.
There's more to learning than the fact
that we got your book in Braille for you.
(chuckles)
Can we understand the concepts in that book?
Is there an experience that student can fall back on,
or is that content reliant on having visual observations
of your world?
And so the parent can really advocate for having the TVI,
maybe in some cases, have a more active
and direct service role for their child
to help them build those foundational concepts
that support them not only academically,
but then branching into domains of the expanded core curriculum
and supporting social skills, technology use,
recreation leisure, all of those components of the ECC
is the role of the TVI to support.
The emphasis or the focus is often on
the hard concrete curriculum
being books, worksheets, and materials.
And what is often forgotten or neglected is...
is the meaning... is the instruction meaningful
and also supporting instruction in the expanded core curriculum?
So that is where the TVI plays a major and significant role.
NARRATOR: We see in a photograph a young boy who is blind
holding a Wiffle bat and taking a swing
at a multi-colored piƱata that hangs from a rope
in front of him.
Behind the boy, his TVI positions him
by gently holding his shoulders and orienting him
towards the target.
If you think about it, what is the purpose of education?
And if you think about it... for everybody.
And the purpose of education is to prepare our children
for their future as adults.
And so if you think about a student who's blind,
and all we've done is make sure that worksheet was in Braille,
and we've made sure their books were in Braille,
and that's all we do,
have we prepared that child for his future?
And does that child have knowledge about mobility?
Can he get where he wants to go?
NARRATOR: In a photograph, we see an adolescent boy
who is blind navigating the hallway of his public school
on the way to his locker.
The boy holds his mobility cane in his left hand
as he passes a wall of green lockers.
The next photo shows the boy smiling as he stands
next to his own locker.
Does he have the... does he have independent living skills?
Does he have... can he make his own lunch?
Can he go to the store?
Can he ride the bus?
Can he make a phone call?
Could he use a computer?
So when you get right down to it,
by the time you're 18 years old, what's most important?
What is the most important skills you need to have
to be an independent, successful adult?
NARRATOR: A photograph shows a young man who is blind
loading the dishwasher in his apartment.
And so many of those skills fall within the ECC.
And that's why we can't neglect it,
we can't neglect it.
Because it's great that that fifth grader
did his math worksheet in Braille, that's great,
but, again, could he get his lunch?
Could he carry his tray in the cafeteria?
Could he sit... does he have a friend to talk to?
Does he have an after school activity to participate in?
These are the big pieces of our education that we can't forget.
NARRATOR: Fade to black.
Your challenge is your time, your time is limited.
That's all it comes down to.
As an itinerant you are traveling
school to school to school.
You're not based in any one location.
And so the time you have for each student is very limited.
And there might be days when that student
needs your service more.
But you have six more students to see that day.
And so you have to make these decisions like, "Okay, off I go.
"I've got to go to another...
I've got to go to another school."
NARRATOR: In a photograph,
we see an adolescent boy who is blind and hearing impaired
sitting at his desk in a mainstream classroom
among his sighted peers.
The teacher stands at the front of the room to the boy's right
in front of a board with notes and assignments written on it.
The teacher wears a microphone on her collar,
and the boy is using his Braille note taker
to record the instructions for an assignment
that she is about to hand out.
And when your caseload is larger than it should be,
maybe because, again, the policymakers above you
or your administrators above you aren't fully understanding
the significance of your role, then it makes it
really difficult to really provide the service
the students need.
It becomes very frustrating because as an educator,
you want to provide that service.
But you've got five hours in a school day to do it.
And you've got 12, 15 kids you've got to get to.
So you feel like there are compromises
that shouldn't happen.
So part of what parents can do is truly advocate
that their child is receiving
the level and frequency of service that their child needs.
And understanding and communicating that
to their district.
And so that they're ensuring that the TVI is providing
that level of service.
NARRATOR: A photograph shows a young girl
who is visually impaired and wearing glasses
working one-on-one with her TVI.
They work together at a desk to create a calendar
with all of the dates positioned
under the correct day of the week.
Another photograph shows a boy who is visually impaired
peering closely at the screen of his Perkins Smart Brailler.
The boy wears glasses and we can see his hearing aid.
His TVI is visible in the background of the photo,
sitting beside him at the desk.
Parents need to know as advocates for their children
that the services their child receives
should be based on their child's needs.
That's what it comes down to.
And a lot of people will have different opinions
as to what that child needs.
So sometimes deciding whether the service
is direct service, or consulting service,
or whether it's once a week or daily, is...
I don't want to say it's an arbitrary decision,
but sometimes it's a subjective decision.
And that's why, you know, parents can advocate
for the level, type, and frequency of service
for their child should be based on their child's needs.
And certain children need more support than others
based on their individual needs.
It's not a standardized formula
for the amount of service delivery
or type of service delivery.
It can't be standardized.
It's individualized for each specific student.
And that's what parents need to know and advocate
for the appropriate service for their child.
NARRATOR: Fade to black.