Family Network on Disabilities (FND)
I chose to include the Family Network on Disabilities (FND) website in my resource collection. Sensory learning is essential for students who have visual impairments or blindness. According to our text, "Students with severe visiual impairments may rely on the tactile and auditory senses rather than the visual sense . . . these students need to hold and feel three-dimensional objects to obtain a sense of their characteristics." (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018) Hands on activities are extremely important in shaping the students educational experience. When students with severe visual impairments are able to explore items by touch, they are creating a mental picture for themselves using their own observations that they can use for future use.
The FND provides a link to information about sensory learning. Some information on the website states that, "Hands are a primary information-gathering tool for children with visual impairments. So are the senses of smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Until the child holds the “thing” to be learned and explores its dimensions—let us say, a stuffed animal, a dog, a salt shaker, or a CD player —he or she cannot grasp its details. That is why sensory learning is so powerful for children with visual impairment and why they need to have as many opportunities as possible to experience objects directly and sensorially." (FND)
Additionally, visually impaired students will most likely need part or all of their instructional materials, environment, and instruction adapted to their educational needs. The Family Network on Disabilities website provides a link called, "Educational Considerations." This link lists examples of adaptations and would be helpful to use when thinking of how to do this in my own classroom. These adaptations woud also be considered when creating my differentiated lesson plans.
Resources
Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (6th ed.). Pearson.
Visual impairment, including blindness. Family Network on Disabilities. (2021, November 8). Retrieved November 27, 2022, from https://fndusa.org/knowledgebase/visual-impairment-including-blindness/