This issue was edited by Lyn Robinson, Vision Resource Teacher, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.
We have just had two very successful Professional Development activities at
the SVRC recently. Eighteen people attended our Skill Power Workshop on April
29 where participants spent time learning about the Mountbatten brailler with
Trevor Boyd, the Braillenote with Ramona Mandy and “How to Use the Computer
Without the Mouse” with Lyn Robinson.
Another enthusiastic group attended our in-service for staff supporting students
with vision impairment and additional disabilities. This day was more than a
bit of a juggle because several people who were supposed to be on the program
were called away to other very important meetings. This left Helen, Lyn, Annette
and Marion to "hold the fort" with Geoff doing a wonderful presentation
in the afternoon. Comments on the evaluation sheets were ample evidence of people’s
enjoyment of the day; "an outstanding PD", "best PD I’ve
been to in ages", "educationally entertaining", "plenty
of ‘use-tomorrow’ ideas and fabulous follow-up reading." Annette
said perhaps these folk should get out more, but I think they really appreciated
the sessions. Thanks again to the SVRC team who did the organisational stuff
to make the day possible and smooth.
Researchers are taking targeted exercises one step further and looking at ways to retrain the brain, as well as the body. We used to think any damage that wasn't repaired within a few months of a stroke would be permanent, but it now appears that carefully targeted exercises can help the brain to rebuild even years later.
However, while the brain can make these kinds of changes, it won't necessarily
do it by itself.
"It is a little lazy – it repairs what it has to for survival and
then leaves it at that," says Australian neuroscientist Krystel Huxlin,
a researcher at the University of Rochester in the US. "However, if you
push it, the damaged brain is capable of relearning many of the functions it
has lost."
Huxlin and colleagues have achieved dramatic results in restoring sight to people
whose visual cortex has been damaged. In the latest edition of the Journal of
Neuroscience, the researchers reported on seven stroke patients who were effectively
blind in at least part of their visual field – despite having nothing
wrong with their eyes – because their injured brains were unable to process
visual information.
Participants did daily exercises on a computer over several months. Every few
seconds, a group of about 100 small dots would appear within a circle on the
screen and move either left or right before disappearing again. The participants
had to say which direction the dots were moving in, with a chime giving them
immediate feedback on whether they had guessed correctly or not.
"The patients can't see the dots, but they're aware that there is something
happening that they can't quite see," Huxlin explains. "They might
say, 'I know that there's something there, but I can't make any sense of it'."
At the start of the study, most people typically guessed the right answer 50
per cent of the time, rising to 80 to 90 per cent after weeks or months of training.
Eventually, as they became consciously aware of the dots, guesswork stopped
being a factor. For several people, the improvement was so impressive that they
were able to return to driving.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the work is that the participants, aged
between their 30s and 80s, had their strokes up to 40 months before the program
started, raising hope that recovery may be possible even years after the original
injury.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2009/04/16/2544377.htm
Also hear ABC Radio National All in the Mind broadcast “The Power
of Plasticity” http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2008/2359328.htm
Approximately 94,000 Australians each year experience either a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Up to 30 per cent of these have an associated vision impairment that is rarely diagnosed. Many people are not aware of the nature of vision loss associated with brain injury, nor are they aware of the assistance that can be provided to alleviate the problems that this significant vision loss can cause.
The Royal Society for the Blind, South Australia (RSB) is pleased to announce the release of its publication "Neurological Vision Loss, A guide for people who have a Homonymous Hemianopia". This booklet, available in PDF, text and MP3 formats, is designed to provide information about vision deficits associated with a brain injury. It describes how messages from our eyes are processed by the brain and how injury to parts of the brain can affect vision. It also explains how to identify signs and symptoms of neurological vision loss as well as treatment options and support services available. To obtain a copy of the new RSB booklet: Go to http://www.rsb.org.au/News/NeuroProject.html
Following the decision by Vision Australia to close the Burwood Education Centre
Visiting Teacher Service at the end of 2009 the Department has worked closely
with Vision Australia to ensure that all students in Government schools who
currently receive a Visiting Teacher service from Vision Australia will be supported
by the Department’s Visiting Teacher service from 2010.
It is important that staff are informed about the progress of this work and
a number of actions have taken place to ensure that there is ongoing and clear
communication with Visiting Teachers. This update is part of that communication
process. Mark Tainsh from the Department’s Student Wellbeing and Health
Support Division is working with the Statewide Vision Resource Centre and Vision
Australia to ensure a smooth transition process.
Last term, Mark and Sue Coull from VA attended a state meeting of Visiting Teachers at SVRC to give a summary of the transition work underway and answer questions about the changes. Mark and Deb Lewis have also met with staff at Burwood and the Vision Australia Visiting Teacher Service to provide a summary of the transition planning process, DEECD employment conditions and answer questions from the group.
Mark and Deb have visited every Region and spoken with student services leaders and visiting teacher staff about the specific transition plan for their region. The group varied for each region and if you would like more information about your region’s meeting please speak with your Region’s Student Wellbeing Manager.
A merit based selection process will be undertaken early next term to recruit additional DEECD regional Visiting Teachers for a start in January 2010. This process will be undertaken by a state panel with representation from SVRC, regional leadership and the DEECD Visiting Teacher Service. It is hoped that all positions can be finalised by the end of that term.
If you have any questions please forward them to Deb Lewis and a Question and
Answer update will be provided in our next Bulletin. If it is an urgent question
just give Deb a call on
03 9841 0242.
As part of this program, we are lucky enough to have Dr Alan Johnston coming to speak to us. In his email to me about his presentation Alan said, 'While magnification is easily specified for low vision monoculars and other small telescopes, field of view is more mysterious. In this talk I show how field is limited by lens apertures and the way in which telescopes are used. I review all of the parameters that contribute to practical outcomes when prescribing telescopes." Sounds fascinating, huh?
Also, we hope to update all Visiting Teachers (DEECD, Catholic and Vision Australia) about the transition process currently being undertaken, caused by the closure of Vision Australia’s school and VT service in December.
Make sure you register now for this important day in your termly calendar.
Please call Dianne to let us know that you are coming, we need to order lunches.
Phone 03 9841 0242 or email diannesk@svrc.vic.edu.au
In this month's issue of JVIB, the year-long celebration of Louis Braille's
Bicentennial continues with an essay by Marc Maurer, president of the National
Federation of the Blind, who shares his personal history with braille and relays
the significant role it has had in his life. He writes, "Louis Braille's
reading and writing system for the blind is the most important invention ever
created for blind people. . . ." Also in this issue is an instalment of
the This Mattered to Me series, in which Sunggye Hong discusses the ways in
which a seminal article by Emerson Foulke, originally published in JVIB in 1979,
influenced his doctoral studies and continues to have an impact on his work
as an assistant professor at San Francisco State University. Subscribers to
JVIB Online are provided free access to Dr. Foulke's classic article.
This month's articles and features include:
• Does Knowledge of Spatial Configuration in Adults with Visual Impairments
Improve with Tactile Exposure to a Small-scale Model of Their Urban Environment?
Delphine Picard and Rene Pry
• Effectiveness of Assistive Technologies for Low Vision Rehabilitation:
A Systematic Review
Jeffrey W. Jutai, J. Graham Strong, and Elizabeth Russell-Minda
• A Study of Multifunctional Document Centers That Are Accessible to People
Who Are Visually Impaired
Lee A. Huffman, Mark M. Uslan, Darren M. Burton, and Caesar Eghtesadi
• Filling the Gaps for Indoor Wayfinding
David A. Ross and Gary W. Kelly
• The Effect of an Educational Program for Persons with Macular Degeneration:
A Pilot Study
Theresa Marie Smith, Kimberly Thomas, and Katherine Dow
• Unique Considerations for Assessing the Learning Media of Students Who
Are Deaf-Blind
Amy R. McKenzie
New fee structure for JVIB explained, from the American Foundation for the
Blind (AFB) website:
Effective immediately, AFB Press will offer all professionals a new US$25 individual
subscription fee for online access to the Journal of Visual Impairment &
Blindness (JVIB) and US$65 for a combined print and online subscription. To
allow for a new subscription process to be put in place following the AER decision
to terminate JVIB as a member benefit, AFB Press will provide continuous access
to JVIB during the months of April and May to our readership. Readers can log
on using the generic "AER, AER" user name and password.
During the month of May, JVIB's readership will be invited to join the JVIB
community by contacting AFB Press directly and taking advantage of the new,
reduced subscription rates for individual subscribers. At that time, AFB Press
will provide additional information about how readers can formally sign up for
their new subscriptions. In the meantime, please contact afbpress@afb.net
with any questions you might have. If you have questions about your AER membership
or your JVIB print subscription, please contact the AER office directly.
Thank you for your support of the journal, and we look forward to continuing
our relationship with you, our valued readers.
AER is an international professional association for people assisting in the education and rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired. Find out more about AER at http:www.aerbvi.org/
South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI) is an international association
for educators working with students with vision impairments in this region of
the world. This group provides opportunities to bring together people working
in different agencies to share ideas, wisdom and resources. The international
body organises a conference every two years, the last having been in Adelaide
in January 2009. It also distributes a very informative magazine. The Victorian
branch has three councillors as your representatives (Garry Stinchcombe from
Vision Australia, Dean Johnson from Guide Dogs and Marion Blaze from SVRC).
This branch has termly 'gatherings' and runs a Professional Development day
traditionally on the first day of Term 4. This year it will be at Vision Australia
Kooyong on October 5th.
All these benefits can be yours for $110 for two years. Membership forms are
available from http://www.ebility.com/spevi/join.php
The NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) and the Multicultural
Disability Advocacy Association (MDAA) have released a series of fact sheets
explaining disability terms. These are available in the following languages:
Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Dari, Dinka, Farsi, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Macedonian,
Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese.
The fact sheets can be viewed and downloaded in PDF version on the DADHC website
at
http://www.dadhc.nsw.gov.au/dadhc/People+with+a+disability/Disability+Terms+-+Fact+Sheets.htm
The Program and Registration details for the 2009 Round Table Conference being
held in Sydney commencing on Saturday the 30th May 2009 is now available.
This information is also available on the Round Table website at http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable
Should you have any queries or require the documentation in an alternate format
please contact:
Tammy Axelsen - Round Table Administration Officer
PO Box 229, North Hobart 7002. Phone: 0417 101 418 or 03 6265 1519
From Marion:
This awareness and celebration day was held on April 29th. Here are four facts
which I have 'borrowed' from the local Fairfax paper:
• Guide dogs are allowed into all public places except zoos and operating
theatres.
• It is a case of discrimination if a guide dog and its handler are refused
access to any other public place, including shops, restaurants, hotels and taxis.
• The rights of guide dog users are covered under Section 7 of the Domestic
Animals Act 1994 and Section 9(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- both of which override the Health Act, which prohibits dogs from entering
food premises.
• Not everyone is aware of the legal obligations, which can lead to some
guide dog users being unnecessarily inconvenienced, embarrassed and hurt by
refusal of access to restaurants or food outlets. Others have been left stranded
in potentially dangerous situations because a taxi or bus driver didn't understand
the law. For more information go to http://www.guidedogsvictoria.com.au
Education week is May 18 to 22, but we are inviting children to attend a special Education Week activity after this on Monday, May 25th. That way they don’t have to miss out on Education week activities in their own schools.
To commemorate the 2009 bicentenary of the birth of Louis Braille, we are having a "Louis Day". Any students are invited to come dressed in their "olden days" or "dotty" best to participate in a day of historical and braille-related activities. Students do not need to be braille users, themselves. The program is being organised by the ever-creative Abbey Dalton and her VT Lea Nagel, (with assistance from SVRC staff).
This day will take place at SVRC, between 10am and 2pm. BYO lunch and morning tea will be provided. The full program and registration details will be forwarded to VTs and schools soon. We will definitely need registration forms signed by parents, because Manningham Leader is covering this event for their newspaper, and parental permission is required for photographs.
While searching for new goodies for the 2009 version of the Toolkit, I came
across this typing program. It apparently works with JAWs or MAGIC software
and has demo software available to try from the website.
TypeAbility is a program that teaches the entire computer keyboard in 77 user-friendly
lessons. By the end of the lessons, the student will have mastered all the letters,
numbers, punctuation, as well as basic navigation and editing in text documents.
TypeAbility is great fun for all ages!
TypeAbility 3.0 for JAWS, is compatible with JAWS 6 and higher. Conveniently,
you can use either a full version of JAWS, or the free JAWS demo. TypeAbility
is also compatible with the screen magnification program MAGic. With MAGic,
the partially sighted can not only listen to, but also see their typing lessons.
There are User Preferences that allow TypeAbility to conform to each students'
needs. However, there are not such a bewildering number of esoteric options
that learning how to use TypeAbility would be a mystery and chore. It's a cinch!
Even though TypeAbility is very simple to use, it is both the most advanced
typing program for the blind on the market, and the most fun to use.
To download a trial version of TypeAbility 3.0.31 for JAWS or TypeAbility 3.0.27
for MAGic go to: http://www.yesaccessible.com/typeability.html
A copy of TypeAbility demo software will be available on this years Toolkit
which will be featured in the next Skill Power Workshops on Tuesday 13 May.
Don’t forget to register if you or any staff form your schools intend
to come to one or more of these workshops.
Please remember to bring your own lunch and laptops!
Skill Power Workshops for Visiting Teachers, Teachers, Aides and Students, Tuesday 13 May
1. WindowEyes – 10.00am to 11.30am Ramona Mandy, Humanware
2. MAGic – 11.45am to 1.15pm Trevor Boyd, Quantum Technology
3. Introduction to the SVRC "Tool Kit" – 1.30pm to 3.00pm Lyn Robinson, SVRC
Five new Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) audio interviews with
professionals have been added to the Audio Library section of Family Connect.
These messages, from June Downing, Jim Durkel, David Brown, Millie Smith, and
Linda Mamer, are for parents and families and highlight the following ECC areas:
Sensory Efficiency, Self-Determination, and Compensatory Skills/Communication.
Dr. Downing discusses sensory efficiency and tactile communication skills for
deafblind children; Mr. Durkel discusses sensory efficiency and effective listening
skills for children who are blind or have low vision; Mr. Brown discusses self-determination
skills for deafblind children; Ms. Smith discusses communication skills for
children with visual and multiple impairments; and Ms. Mamer discusses compensatory
skills and communication skills for deafblind children.
To listen to these audio interviews visit http://www.familyconnect.org
The ECC audio interviews are in the featured topic area "Education."
The CINAL
The International Committee for the Commemoration of the Bicentenary of the
Birth of Louis Braille - CINAL – aims to focus on the coordination and
organisation of local, national and international events designed to honour
the memory of Louis Braille during the commemoration of the bicentenary of his
birth during the year 2009.
We recently received this delightful email from the CINAL so consider yourself invited to the International Congress of Visually Impaired to be held in Paris in June:
“In the framework of the celebrations planned in France in 2009 for the
bicentenary of Louis Braille's birth, the CINAL and the French Federation of
the Blind and Visually Impaired are jointly organising an international Congress
on 18-19-20 June 2009, in Coupvray at Disneyland, Paris Convention Centre -
France. See more on the CINAL website at http://www.cinal-dv2009.com
that is now available in three languages: french, english and spanish.
You will find on the website all usefull informations. Regarding the registration
forms, you will be able to download them directly from 2nd April 2009 with some
reductions on the level of the registration fees until 27th April.
Could you be kind enough to put this information on your own websites, newsletters,
magazines, and to spread the information through your own networks?
Thanking you in advance for your help and cooperation to make of this event
a great success.”
Vincent MICHEL
FAF and CINAL Président
A TEACHER swears to us that she was introducing her class to computers, and one of her charges typed: “Whatisthelongbuttonatthebottomofthekeyboardfor?”
From Marg Moloney Visiting Teacher:
I saw the benefits to vision impaired students, of having a dog in schools (Pets
as Therapy) when I taught in Cambridge, England during my International Teaching
Fellowship year in 1998.This year, with the encouragement of our Regional Director,
my young Border Terrier, Tawny, has accompanied me on my rounds of schools in
the Hume Region. She travels in an airlines crate as we drive around over 300
km a day in the government car to visit our vision impaired students.
Here are a couple of examples of the benefits we have experienced this year:
Tawny is helping the students traumatised by the recent bushfires. One of the
students I support is Matthew. His school was destroyed. The students and teachers
were relocated to Epping Views P.S. along with other fire affected schools.
I was asked to go down there and take Tawny with me.
When we walked in and the students saw that Tawny was back with them, they were so pleased to see her. The way they snuggled their heads into her and talked to her was such a heart warming experience. There were nearly as many social workers, councillors, and psychologists as children and parents. At one stage, I stood back and watched these professionals standing around with smiles on their faces as they observed the way the children related to the dog. One psychologist then said, "this is what they need." Matthew led Tawny around and shared her with others, even those from the other schools. The Herald Sun was there and took the photos I have sent. I always knew she would benefit the students I work with, but never anticipated the extent of her value. When I told the students that we would have to leave as I had to go up to Alexandra P.S, they asked me to come back next week, as I did last year. I think that it is Tawny they need right now, I am just the sidekick!
Another example of Tawny's positive influence is at a secondary school where a year 7 student with a vision impairment is enrolled. I was to visit him weekly, however, of the nine times I visited the school last term, only once was he there. He was either school refusing or suspended the other weeks. During that one time, I wanted to work on some maths activities. I was told that he would not sit still long enough to do this. I put Tawny's lambskin down beside the student. Tawny knows that the lambskin means she has to sleep on it while we work. The student slipped one hand down and fiddled with her rough hair as he settled into our activity. We completed the maths successfully. Those involved with the student in the school were amazed at how contact with the dog enabled him to stay put and concentrate on the work at hand.
These are but two of the many situations I see the benefits of having a dog as part of my Visiting Teacher kit. I did start Tawny off as a two month old pup in getting used to classrooms. She is a breed which is very calm, even as puppies. I sent out information letters and gained permission from our Region and each school we would be visiting.
I checked for any pet allergies in the classrooms we would be visiting. I talked
to each classroom to explain how to behave around dogs and that she was not
to distract them from their school work.
Tawny has her own "paw stickers" which we give to students for good
efforts.
Tawny does have a life outside schools. The dog shows she has entered (which
are not her or her owner's thing), she has won every time. She is also a "tracking
dog" where she follows trails. She loves cooling off and swimming in our
dam. She also enjoys exploring the bush around the High Country where we live,
chasing foxes, rabbits, kangaroos, deer and wombats.
I would be happy to talk to people who are thinking of incorporating a Pets
as Therapy dog in their work in schools.
Matthew and Tawny – courtesy of the Herald Sun
Biggest Morning Tea
Tayrn is organising the Biggest Morning Tea for the SVRC on Tuesday May 26th. Our team is called Royal-T and if you would like to join us please feel free to come along. We have a colour theme so wear something pink or purple.
If you can’t come but would like to make a donation to the cancer council you can go to the website and click on the “search for morning tea” link then enter Royal-T and donate. The Biggest Morning Tea website is at http://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/
Thanks to Marion Blazé, Mark Tainsh, Marg Moloney, Taryn Shilcock, Deb Lewis, and Hector McLean for contributing to this edition of The Bulletin. Thanks also to people who helped collate this bulletin and get it out to our readers.
Lyn Robinson-who can be emailed at lynrobin@svrc.vic.edu.au
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