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Home-Based Services

The home offers a natural environment where services are embedded within the child’s everyday routines. Vision strategies address the areas of development that the vision loss has impacted such as communication/language, cognition and play, fine and gross motor, social-emotional, and daily self-help skills. Adaptations of tactile, contrast, size, lighting, color, shape, listening, smell, etc. are utilized in assisting your child to maximize any remaining vision and compensate for loss of vision. Strategies are offered in support of the parent-infant relationship, activities with instruction to teach vision and compensatory skills are modeled, and resources of information are provided. 

Orientation and Mobility Services 

The early concepts of movement, spatial awareness and environmental sound cues will be introduced and taught by the Early Intervention Vision Specialist, and when appropriate, an Orientation and Mobility Specialist. These services will be offered in all the environments that are typical for you and your child such as the home, the backyard, the neighborhood playground, and other local community places that you go. 

Toddler/Playgroups 

Toddler/playgroup classes offer children ages 18 – 36 months an opportunity to learn in a group setting, to socialize and practice communication/language, and to interact with peers. Individual goals for toddler group are goals which cannot be met at home such as peer interaction, school readiness, or navigating an unfamiliar environment.  The classes allow children to function in a more predictable world and to generalize their knowledge to other environments and situations. Toddler classes provide the child with visual impairments opportunities to begin to explore and learn with other equipment and  modalities that are not available in the home environment such as a CCTV, other optical devices, electric braillers, etc. The Toddler/Playgroup class also provides the parent with opportunities to play and work with their child on specific center-based activities as well as networking with other parents. Parents will receive instruction on specific topics of interest to the group. Topics may cover such issues as sensory integration, emerging literacy, visual motor, etc.

A typical toddler group includes free play centers, circle time, art, gross-motor play, and snack.  During those activities we work on following a routine, interacting with peers and teachers, individual toddler group outcomes, general developmental skills, and the expanded core curriculum. We also have lots of fun!!  

Siblings under 5 may attend Toddler Group and all children who attend must submit registration and immunization information. 

Toddler groups are currently taught at the Ogden USDB campus, OEC Salt Lake City Campus and at our Springville Campus,  Follow this link for more information about Toddler Group.

General

Preschool services at USB are for children ages 3 to 5 years old who have low vision and blindness and need intensive vision services to meet the goals their education team (which includes parents) has outlined.   Other services such as occupational and physical therapies, orientation and mobility services, nursing and speech services are also available for those children who need them. 

Locations

We have preschool classrooms on all three USDB campuses (Ogden, Salt Lake City and Springville). The students attend school for 4 1/2 hours each day Monday through Thursday.  We do our best in preschool to prepare students to return to their home districts as soon as possible, even if not quite by kindergarten. A placement at Utah School for the Blind is not meant to last the length of a child's educational career. 

Instruction

In each of the preschool locations, classes serve children with a variety of abilities and needs. While focusing on play, communication, and interpersonal relationships, academics and IEP goals are embedded throughout the day into all of the activities. The daily schedules will include lunch and snack, music and movement, guided and free play activities, literacy activities and direct instruction as needed. 

Typically developing peers, when possible (based on enrollment) are included in preschool groups.  Often, children learn best from each other, and in our classes children with special needs and children who are typically developing learn a great deal from each other.