The Bulletin
Statewide Vision Resource Centre
Number 6, 4th April 2003

The following issue of The Bulletin was prepared by Deb Lewis (Co-ordinator, Statewide Vision Resource Centre).

Inside This Issue

- Professional Development
- Educational Support for Vision Impaired Students with Additional Impairments
- Educational Vision Assessment Clinic in 2003
- Support Group for Parents of Children who have a Progressive Condition
- VAPVI
- BCA Australian Youth Forum
- Sport and Recreation: 'Come and Try Day' - Deferred
- VCAA Briefings
- SPELD Professional Development Sessions
- Activities at the Melbourne Museum
- Audible E-Greetings
- ABA Meetings
- Report: VCE Weekend
- SVRC Borrowing Lists Staff News

Professional Development

Professional Development: Educational Support for Vision Impaired Students with Additional Impairments

The annual 'Educational Support for Vision Impaired Students with Additional Impairments' will be held early in term 2.

When: Wednesday 7th May - registration from 8.30am
Where: Statewide Vision Resource Centre 370-380 Springvale Rd, Donvale
What: sessions will include simulation activities, implications of vision impairment, supporting students with additional impairments in special or integrated settings, and classroom strategies. Professor Hector Maclean will present a session on paediatric ophthalmology.
Cost: $30 (including GST and lunch) - please make cheques payable to Heatherwood School
Parking: please park at the Donvale Sports Complex - 360 Springvale Rd, Donvale

For further information or for your copy of the flier, please call - 9841 0242.

Educational Vision Assessment Clinic - EVAC

Following discussions with paediatric ophthalmologists Professor Hector Maclean and Dr Susan Carden and Executive Director for Clinical Services at the Eye and Ear Hospital Dr Robert Grogan, the Educational Vision Assessment Clinic will continue its assessment and screening service for students who have low vision. EVAC has a new referral form which is attached to the print edition of The Bulletin. Dr Maclean will continue to serve as the ophthalmologist for term two and Dr Susan Carden will continue in term three. Term four is being discussed between the two ophthalmologists. Students who attend Catholic and Government School are still required to attend this clinic to establish eligibility for both Visiting Teacher support and access to the resources of the Statewide Vision Resource Centre.

The forms and further information about the referral process are available on the SVRC website: http://www.svrc.vic.edu.au/evac.html#Referrals

Support Group for Parents of Children who have a Progressive Condition: Recent and Future Activities

Through the diligent efforts of Judy Bowen and Leigh Heaven, past and present parents of our students, an afternoon tea was organised for children who have a progressive condition to meet and play at Hays Paddock at Kew on Saturday 23rd March. It was a damp afternoon with rain falling intermittently throughout the day but this did not seem to influence the amount of interaction and laughter created by the kids. In the past this group has tended to concentrate on providing information for parents but following the success of this afternoon we have decided that it will become an annual event. (Preferably in sunny February.)

The Support Group is an opportunity for parents to come together, share experiences and information and develop friendships. The program for next term is to get a speaker from the Law Council to inform parents about the Disability Act and how it impacts on the children at school and work. Date to be fixed. Term three we hope to organize a panel of employed low vision adults to provide some positive models for the children and some hope and optimism for our parents, and in term 4 paediatric ophthalmologist Dr David Mackey and RVEEH Registrar Dr Jon Ruddle will talk to the group on 13th December to inform parents of the latest research in retinal dysfunction. If any VTs have any families they feel would like to be involved in this group please contact Annette Godfrey-Magee 9841 0807 so they can be added to the mailing list.

VAPVI: Association of Parents of Vision Impaired Children: Upcoming Meeting

The Association of Parents of Vision Impaired Children is a relatively new group of parents who meet on the third Thursday of the month at RVIB from 8.00pm. All interested parties are welcome at their meetings. Their first AGM was held on 20th March with all office bearers elected un-opposed. Their projects, at present, are:

- to get feedback from data-base members about the role of the Association
- to work on getting a website up and running
- to link in with other agencies rather than overlap or redo what they already do so well
- to research possible fund-raisers that will keep the Association financial

The next formal meeting of the Association of Parents of Vision Impaired Children will be at RVIB on 15th May at 8.00pm. In the meantime they would appreciate feedback by letter or telephone from members on what the members see as the role of the Association. What issues would they like the Association to tackle and how do you see it placed in the web of agencies for the parents of sight impaired children?

They are looking into email access via the local libraries, so please enquire about the availability of the email questionnaire - email: silesmi@bigpond.com
Address: PO Box 638 Box Hill, Victoria 3128
Tel: Gayle Skinner (03) 9431 2678 or Rod Pritchard (03) 9754 7308

BCA: Australian Youth Forum

Source: Maryanne Diamond, Blind Citizens Australia

Blind Citizens Australia invites you to attend a 3-day youth forum being held in April this year. The forum has been organised to further BCA's commitment to skill development, and to provide an opportunity to discuss issues facing young people who are blind or vision impaired in Australia.
The process will not only give you valuable leadership skills, but will also assist BCA to set aims and objectives for the Australian youth, and will provide a platform for Australia's contribution to the Asia Pacific youth forum to be held at the World Blind Union Pacific General Assembly in September this year.

Though the exact program is not yet finalised, we can still give you the following general run down.

Day 1: Leadership skill development seminar facilitated by Darren Fittler, a young blind man who participated at the World Blind Union Asia Pacific leadership training seminar last year.

Day 2: The morning will see a continuation of the leadership development seminar. During the afternoon we will begin work on raising and discussing issues relevant to young people in Australia who are blind or have a vision impairment.

Day 3: During the morning we will pull together the various issues raised on day 2, and turn them into aims, objectives and strategies. During the afternoon we will explore the best way to move forward and to further the aims and objectives developed during the morning session.

Evenings will contain a mixture of free time and non-compulsory activities.

When: Tuesday 23 April to Thursday 25 April 2003.
Where: BCA National Office, 87 High Street, Prahran Melbourne.
Accommodation if required: BCA has booked a number of 2 room apartments close to BCA's National Office and just a walk from shopping and restaurants. The cost for accommodation is $75 per night which will give you one of the rooms in the two room apartments. (All apartments have a full kitchen and dining area).
Registration: $50 which will include all handouts and leadership materials in the format of your choice. And includes morning/afternoon teas and lunches. Other meals are not included though you are free to use the kitchens in the apartment, order take way, or go out to one of the many local restaurants.

If you are interested in participating in this forum, please contact Deb Lewis or Maryanne Diamond ASAP. Registrations to the BCA by 28 March 2003 (or 11 April for those not requiring accommodation).

Contact: Maryanne Diamond mdiamond@bca.org.au or (03) 9521 3732.

Sport and Recreation: 'Come and Try Day'

Unfortunately due to changes in staffing at Vision Australia Foundation, the planned Sport and Recreation: 'Come and Try Day' has had to be 'deferred'.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this causes students, parents and Visiting Teachers.

If you require further details, please contact: Deb Lewis 9841 0242 or deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au

VCAA Briefings on Changes to Special Provision

If you would like copies of the notes which accompanied the recent briefings from Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority on the changes to Special Provision including changes to Consideration of Disadvantage for VCE, please call Lyn Robinson or Deb Lewis on 9841 0242.

SPELD Professional Development Sessions

The following upcoming sessions may be of interest to parents and teachers:

Auditory Processing & School

How can children with Auditory Processing delay be recognized and helped? The implications of Auditory Processing difficulties will be discussed. Strategies that are effective for improving learning and behaviour will be suggested.
When: Monday 28th April 7.30-9.30pm
Cost: $35-$45

My Child Still Can't Read or Spell

Learning Difficulties explained and more! What does an assessment involve and how to make it most effective for your child. When is external help necessary? Find out great home-based strategies.
When: Tuesday 20th May 7.30-9.30pm
Cost: $35-$45

'Through the Maze' - A Panel

An panel consisting of an Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Special Education teacher, Psychologist and Behavioral Optometrist explain what they can do for the child with a learning disability.
When: Saturday 14th June 10am-4pm
Cost: $70-$80

Choosing VCE Subjects Wisely

This session will focus on issues VCE students are likely to have difficulty with, eg time management, meeting deadlines. Secondary students welcome.
When: Tuesday 15th July 7.30-9.30pm
Cost: $35-$45

Computer/Educational Software

How Information Technology can support learning for students of all ages with literacy difficulties. Demonstrations and discussion of helpful software that can be useful in the classroom or at home.
When: Saturday 23rd August
Cost: TBA

Visual Processing

The effects of training visual information processing skills in learning disabled primary school children.
When: Tuesday 21st October 7.30-9.30pm
Cost: $35-$45

For more information about these sessions, contact SPELD on: (03) 9489 4344, email: speldvic@bigpond.com.au or website: www.vicnet.au/~speld

Activities at the Melbourne Museum

Jeni Blake recently visited the Melbourne Museum and spoke very highly about all the exhibits - but one in particular caught her attention.

The Valiant Roamer allows students to become "robotic engineers". They decide how the Roamer should look, what it should do and how it should behave. They invent, build, program, then test the result and decide whether or not they like it, and if it meets their specifications. Such activities stimulate and sustain a wider range of educational outcomes than can be attained with far more sophisticated technology. As an educational tool, it can be used to complement basic literacy and numeracy work for junior school students. At the other end of the age scale more senior students, including students from TAFE and ACFE providers, can write and test more sophisticated programs involving routines, changes of scale, varied sound pitch and more. This can be done on screen with a PC then downloaded into the Roamer. Roamer can also be purchased from the Museum.

For further information, visit the website: mmeducation@museum.vic.gov.au

Audible E-Greetings

Source: E-Access Bulletin, March 2003

A set of audible 'e-greetings cards' accessible to people with vision impairments has been launched by the UK Audio Network, a free resource created by accessibility enthusiast Bill Teale. Go to: http://www.yrguk.com/poetry

Users can choose from 25 poems grouped by themes such as 'humour' and 'birthday', which are played using the Real Audio standard and are compatible with major types of screen reader software. Using number keys for navigation, audio instructions lead the user through options, which include sending a personalised message with a poem.The UK Audio Network site also provides links to online radio stations, news, sports commentary, interactive audio quizzes and games for visually impaired people. Go to: http://www.yrguk.com

In 2002, the site and was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for accessible interactive entertainment, to the astonishment of Teale, who runs the entire operation unfunded, from his bedroom in Halifax.

Australian Braille Authority Meetings: Come Along!

The Australian Braille Authority is a surprisingly interesting and informative group which meets four times a year to hash out issues related to braille. Of recent times, some of these issues have included:

- independent voting for blind people (an issue which was resolved for the last election with four, booths across Victoria providing accessible to braille-reading voters)
- braille signage in buildings - from 1st January 2002 all new public buildings must include braille signage for toilets, main entrances and pathways
- difficulties regarding access to library services for braille readers - with the merging of state braille production agencies into a national service (NILS) and the housing of the majority of the braille collection in NSW, Victorian readers are now unable to browse for books

Meetings often include demonstrations of new technologies (eg BrailleNote Millenium) and guest speakers from a wide range of aspects pertaining to braille provision and usage. Overall, the meetings are always interesting and informative and offer the opportunity for consumers, producers, distributors of technology and other interested people to meet.

So VTs, parents and others in the industry - come along to the next ABA meeting!

When: June 16 at 5.30pm
Where: Vision Australia Foundation 454 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong - in the library

Report: VCE Program 22, 23 and 24 March, 2003

Source: Dean Johnson, Rachel Morgan, Linden Woodruff, Sharon Taylor and Sam Kidston, Children's Mobility Service

The 3-day, 2-night VCE Program based at the Guide Dogs Victoria campus in Kew provided an opportunity for students in years 10, 11 and 12 to meet to discuss Orientation and Mobility, Daily Living Skills and educational issues. The opportunity for the 12 students who attended to meet and socialize with their peers was also an important focus of the weekend.

The program included several guest speakers who spoke to the students and provided them with some valuable and informative information.

Deb Lewis, Co-ordinator Statewide Vision Resource Centre, Jeni Blake, DE&T Visiting Teacher, Southern Region and Sherry Cunningham, Senior Visiting Teacher from The Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind each presented a session.

Issues discussed in the sessions included:

- Special considerations for exams
- Alternate formats for written materials
- Self advocacy skills
- Professionals who can provide support and assistance to students completing VCE studies
- Social and recreational outlets to balance study demands
- Study in a tertiary education setting

A student who successfully completed VCE in 2002 also spoke to the students about her experiences. Her presentation offered participants an excellent opportunity to hear about how challenges were met and overcome and learning opportunities maximised.

The Orientation and Mobility sessions were aimed at providing the students with an opportunity to review and extend a variety of skills. The students worked in small groups and used a map of a tertiary education setting to answer a number of questions.

The skills reviewed and extended included:

- Map reading
- Problem solving
- Compass directions and their usefulness to aid orientation
- Decision making
- Analysing travel options in terms of safety and efficiency

Kim Hazeldine the Occupational Therapist at Guide Dogs conducted an OT session focussed on 'life beyond school'. The following questions were posed:

- What do you hope to do in the next few years beyond school?
- What will you need to be able to do on a day-to-day basis to achieve this?
- What strategies could you use to manage these tasks?

A lively discussion followed around topics such as moving out of home and travelling overseas, how to set up a home, shop, handle money, cook, pay bills, carry out basic first aid and make new friends.

Many thanks to the students for their enthusiastic participation in the program and to Deb, Jeni and Sherry for their contribution to the program.

SVRC Borrowing Lists

Attached for Visiting Teachers is the very first borrowing list utilising our new system - RIMS. Dianne is keen for feedback - by the end of term - so please take a look and give her a call - 9841 0242.

Staff News

Marion Blazé, currently our 0.6 Education Officer, will be leaving for the warmer climes this weekend. She and husband Kevin have accepted positions teaching in the Northern Territory and will be there till the end of the year. We wish her and the family well up north and look forward to hearing of her adventures - hopefully some will make their way into future editions of The Bulletin

Meredith Walsh will be away from work until 23rd June and Elizabeth Chapman will be visiting her students during her absence in term 2.

Finally

Thanks to Annette Godfrey-Magee and Jeni Blake for contributions to this edition of The Bulletin. Thanks to Dianne Skillern for proof-reading it.

If you have something you would like included in 'The Bulletin', please contact:

Deb Lewis (who can be emailed at deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au).

Top
Home