BVI Program - Orientation to a New Environment

Orientation to a New Environment

a. Compass/Clock/Cardinal Directions

Cardinal Directions: Main points on a compass (North, East, South, West)
- Sighted children don't fully grasp cardinal directions until 8-10 years old, but children with visual impairments learn these earlier because they are more meaningful.

b. Applying Positional Concepts and Laterality (next to, across, left/right, etc.)

Laterality refers to the location of left and right from the student's perspective. Directionality refers to understanding the location of objects in relation to one another or the fact that when you face someone, your left is the opposite of their left.

c. Using Landmarks and Clues

Environmental concepts are important. Shapes of a room and typical arrangements of furniture are important to understand. Traffic patterns and neighborhood block layouts are also very important to understand. Environmental awareness and the ability to identify and use a landmark to reorient with one's environment helps an individual travel as safely and as independently as possible.

d. Tactile Maps

img description: Wheatley Tactile Diagramming Kit from APH

e. Teaching Suggestions/Observations

Use blocks or other tactile materials to create a tactile map or explain concepts such as a city block prior to encountering or walking a block
Embed instruction into daily routines to provide short, frequent, low stress exposure. (ex. Songs such as "The Hokey Pokey" or "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"; Naming body parts while dressing or bathing.
Use of mnemonics such as "Never Eat Stinky Worms" for North, East, South, West
Create a tactile map to preteach/familiarize a child to a new environment

f. Concepts Needed for Orientation to a New Environment

Body Concepts
- Major Body Parts
- Smaller Body Parts
- Less Defined Body Parts
- Functions of Body Parts
- Movement of Body Parts
Spatial Concepts
- Laterality (Left to Right)
Directionality (Left to Right of others; Positional Concepts; Cardinal Directions)Environmental Concepts
- Nature Concepts (Sounds as clues, sun as a clue, etc.)
- Indoor Concepts (shapes of rooms, layouts of furniture or appliances, etc.)
- Outdoor Concepts (Blocks, street fixtures, traffic patterns, traffic control systems, etc.)
Time and Distance Concepts
- Hours; Minutes; Seconds
- English units: Feet; Yards; Miles
- Metric units: Meters; Kilometers
- Informal Measurements: Length of a city block; Number of steps
Concepts to Minimize Risk
- Safety commands such as stop, no, and wait
- Environmental dangers such as cars or drop offs
- Society dangers such as stranger danger
- Body language that indicates you are not a victim