This issue was edited by Lyn Robinson, Vision Resource Teacher, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.
The next parent support group meeting is to be held at the Statewide Vision Resource Centre on Saturday 20th June. Please let any families who might be interested in coming along know about this meeting.
Siblings and Vision Impairment
Speakers: Geoff Bowen, Educational Psychologist with the Statewide Vision Resource Centre, will explore the affects of having a vision impaired sibling. Abbey Horsborough, sister of John, will give us her unique insights in living in a family where one member has vision impairment. Stay for afternoon tea and a chat after Geoff and Abbeys' talk.
Further details contact: Annette Godfrey-Magee 98410807
When: Saturday 20th June at 2:00 PM
Where: Statewide Vision Resource Centre, 370-380 Springvale Road, Nunawading
Dr Mike Steer, RIDBC Renwick Centre and The University of NewcastleMany people, parents, family members, and professional educators are unaware of the nature of vision loss associated with brain injury and what assistance can be provided to alleviate the problems that this type of significant vision loss can cause. Our ability to see and make sense of what we see is a complex process that involves not just our eyes, but many parts of the brain as well.
An estimated 40% of the brain is devoted to visual functions; more in fact than any other single function, so visualising; forming pictures in the mind's eye, is one of the most, if not perhaps the most effective tool for storing information in our long term memory (Berne, 2006). It’s not surprising, therefore, that a large proportion of those who suffer brain damage will have visual problems of one sort or another.The type and severity of vision loss depend on which area of the brain was affected and to what degree. In some cases, the impairment may improve with time – for example, children with vision loss due to acquired brain injury tend to experience improvement as they grow older (Better Health Channel, 2009). In Australia annually; over 27,000 individuals are hospitalised with traumatic brain injury, more than 52,000 diagnosed as having had stroke and a further 15,165 with acquired non-traumatic brain injury (RSB, 2009). An estimated 30% of Australians who have a stroke, or a traumatic brain injury have an associated vision impairment (RSB, 2009). Most people who have a stroke are aged over 65 but anyone can be affected, even children or unborn babies (Vision Australia, 2009).
Homonymous hemianopia is a visual field defect involving either the two right or the two left halves of the visual fields of both eyes. It is caused by lesions of the retrochiasmal visual pathways, ie, lesions of the optic tract, the lateral geniculate nucleus, the optic radiations, and the cerebral visual (occipital) cortex (Biousse, Kedar, Xiaojun & Newman (2009). Affected people often feel as though the problem is only in one eye, but checking each individual eye shows that half the side of each eye is not functioning properly. In many cases, despite significant changes in the way an individual is seeing, the problem is often not obvious to the person. For example, there is surprise when others keep bumping into them on one side, or when they fail to notice that there is still food on half of their dinner plate (RSB, 2009). As a consequence of the injury, they might be at risk when crossing a road, since they are not aware of cars approaching them on their affected side. In addition, there are often problems with such everyday activities as dressing themselves, finding dropped objects and reading.
Primarily because of the prevalence of homonymous hemianopia, and its increasing importance to individuals and families, the Royal Society for the Blind of South Australia (RSB), in line with its international reputation as one of Australia’s oldest and most respected vision impairment service provision agencies, has recently produced an informative publication on the topic. The publication was produced with the support of the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Health and Ageing, National Eye Health Initiative.
The publication’s title is: Neurological Vision Loss: A Guide for People with Homonymous Hemianopia. It provides much useful information for individuals, health professionals, families and carers on the vision loss that can be associated with brain injury.
The book can be downloaded from: http://www.rsb.org.au/News/NeuroProject.html
It is available in PDF, text and MP3 formats. Print copies can be obtained by contacting the RSB at GPO Box 1855, Adelaide, SA 5001.
International calls: 001 61 8 +8223 6222.
To Celebrate the Bicentenary of Louis Braille's birth 49 people who use braille as part of living life fully and independently have been interviewed and their stories published in a book called
"BLIND and BUSY: Life Stories of People Who Use Braille" From school students to professionals, and older adults, interviewed by proudly braille-dependent writer, Rebecca Maxwell, this book will be launched at Guide Dogs Victoria (in Kew), on Thursday June 18 at 4 pm. You and your family and friends are invited to attend to celebrate Louis Braille.
RSVP appreciated: to Becky on 03 9427 7579
The book can be bought at the launch, or (from June 1, 2009) through the publisher: The cost is $24.95
Phone 03 8892 4410 or http://www.palmerhiggsbooks.com
The City of Yarra is pleased to announce the start of a new soccer program for children with a disability. The program is a partnership between the City of Yarra and Richmond Junior Soccer Club and starts on Saturday the 23rd of May 2009.
The program is designed to give children with disability the opportunity to play at one of the City of Yarra’s strongest clubs and be part of the football family!! The Richmond Junior Eagles Soccer Program is a program for boys and girls aged 8-15 yrs old with a disability who wish to play the world game.
Learn the skills of the game in a small group environment, where the focus is on fun, participation and making new friends.
When: Saturdays, 1.00pm-2.30pm
Where: Bastow Oval, Kevin Bartlett Sporting & Recreation Complex (Melway Ref: 59 A1)
Cost: $80 for 8 weeks (includes your own Richmond Junior Soccer top)
For further information please contact Peter Mitten, Access All Abilities Officer Phone: (03) 9205 5756, Mobile: 0400 845 562, Fax: (03) 8417 6666
Email: Peter.Mitten@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Sticky is an exciting new project by the award-winning theatre company rawcus. Attached to this bulletin is a flyer inviting children with a disability and a family member to participate in the Sticky theatre workshops.
Held every Saturday from 13 June to 18 July at Northcote Town Hall, the free workshop program will culminate in a small-scale performance for family and friends on Saturday 18 July 2009. The project will provide a creative space for a family member and their child to come together, to create, and share new experiences within their community. Workshop places are limited, with bookings now open through the rawcus on 03 9209 6530.
For further information contact Jacque Robinson, Company Manager, rawcus
Phone: 03 9209 6530
Mobile: 0421 103 877
Email: jrobinso@portphillip.vic.gov.au
Web: http://www.rawcus.org.au
This site has been created to build and share talking PowerPoint books. The books have sound and simple animation in a PowerPoint format. From the Talking Book Library website: “Talking Books come in many different forms and can be used in many ways. This matrix contains the start of a talking book collection that we hope will continue to grow.” You can upload your talking PowerPoint books to share with others if you like.
I have downloaded some for the SVRC Little e-book collection. The following titles are available:
• The Birthday – Leo and his mother go shopping in preparation for his birthday party. Making lists, following directions and basic concepts such as “next to” form part of the story. Suitable for Prep to Year 2 students.
• Spike the Porcupine – Spike the Porcupine needs to go to school so his mother gives him directions. Animation and directional words such as “under”, “over” and “through” feature in this story. Suitable for students from Prep to Grade 3. Good for orientation and mobility concepts.
• Shapes – a story which has clear, colourful graphics featuring common shapes such as circles, triangles, squares, rectangles.
• Captain Clean and the Giant Germ Gang! Very topical! Suitable for students in primary schools. Teaches students about germs and how to protect themselves against them!
• Solar System Sleepover – clever story about two boys who end up looking at the sky instead of the TV and discover the planets in the solar system. Basic but fun story for primary age students.
• A Trip to Outer Space – intended for older students, Years 5 to 8. Provides more detailed facts about the solar system.
• Chasing Balloons – follow the story of a balloon tracking team, from setup, launch, flight and landing of a hot air balloon. Suitable for students from Years 3 to Year 6.Please let me know if you would like to try any of these talking ebooks with your students (students need a Microsoft XP version of PowerPoint) or you can try them out for yourself from:
http://www.talkingbooklibrary.net/Matrix.htm
At a recent VT PD day I spoke about a new typing program which works with JAWS called TypeAbility. Apparently it is available here in Australia from T&T Consultancy in Sydney. Please contact Scott Erichsen if you would like to know more. His email address is: scott.erichsen@tandt-consultancy.com.au
A single user licence for TypeAbility is $150 including delivery.
Source: Tim Connell, Quantum Technology reported in It’s Vision Time Newsletter
Audio Description Project has developed a set of standards for the production of audio description in its various formats, including film. If you would like to access these draft standards then visit the Audio Description Standards Wiki to review the current draft and make any edits or changes that you feel are necessary.
http://wiki.description-standards.dreamhosters.com/wiki/ACB/ADP_Audio_Description_Standards
Dr Scott Hollier is the Project Manager, New Media for Media Access Australia. Website: http://www.mediaaccess.org.au
One of the biggest issues when providing assistive technologies to students with low vision is the cost; schools and itinerant teachers work hard to try and provide the best student outcomes, but often this is a time-consuming and expensive process. Recently, though there have been a number of developments within contemporary technologies which are starting to bridge the gap between everyday computing and specialist products and services. The aim of this regular segment is to highlight some of those current and emerging trends that are free or low cost, yet provide another option to itinerant teachers in meeting the needs of students.One of the most significant things that will happen in the area of affordable accessibility in 2009 is the introduction of Windows 7, the new Microsoft operating system designed to replace Vista.
The final preview release has just been released to developers, and the final version is currently tipped for a release in October. The reason why Windows 7 is so significant to itinerant teachers that work with students with low vision is due to its significant accessibility improvements, arguably the most significant since the release of Windows 2000 nearly nine years ago. The key new feature in the operating system is the inclusion of a full-screen magnifier, very similar to ZoomText or MAGic.
As with these products, the magnifier can zoom in and out, allowing a vision impaired user to scroll around the Windows desktop. The feature can be operated by holding down the ‘Windows’ key and pressing the '+' key to increase the zoom, and the '-' key to make it smaller.
Although the built-in magnifier isn’t as feature-rich as Zoomtext, it works better with multimedia applications due to its incorporation wit the Aero graphical interface. It also provides a translucent window to let the user know where they are in relation to the larger desktop. The benefit of having this feature built into Windows is clear; as Windows 7 gains acceptance, students with low vision will be able to use any computer in a classroom and easily activate the new magnifier feature.
Also Windows 7, unlike Vista, will run happily on the small ultraportable ‘netbook’ computers, such as the Asus Eee PC, meaning that an overall solution can be more
affordable. However before trying to convince a school of a Windows 7 upgrade, it’s worth noting that there are some issues with it. Firstly, the smoothing isn’t as good as a specialist product so ZoomText will still provide a better quality of zoom when set to high magnification levels. Secondly, the full-screen magnifier doesn’t work at this stage with the high contrast colour schemes, meaning that if a student with low vision were to turn on a colour scheme like High Contrast Black, it will drop back to the old magnifier strip at the top of the screen.Overall, it’s encouraging that Microsoft are working on improving the accessibility of Windows after a long drought, and it’s exciting that students will soon have the ability to enable such features. The new Windows 7 full-screen magnifier may not suit all students with low vision, but it will be enough for many.
Source: It’s Vision Time Issue: 11 Term 2 2009
More information about Windows 7: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx
Giving voice to the experience of living life as a blind person, Tom Sullivan is a motivational speaker, musician, actor, writer and film-maker. Tom Sullivan is an amazing talent, he lost his sight as a baby to Retinopathy of prematurity and amongst other things he is the author of a book called “Adventures in Darkness” - soon to become a film. If you have not had the opportunity to hear Tom speak and preform then you might like to go to a webcast of his keynote address at the recent Perkins School for the Blind Conference.
http://support.perkins.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Webcasts_Adventures_in_Darkness_Tom_Sullivan
Source: Insight eNews - Perkins School for the Blind Newsletter
From Lea Nagel:
The Skill Power Workshop was as usual valuable and interesting. Sessions offered personalised training in the areas of JAWS (Lea Nagel) and the PacMate (Danny and Trevor Boyd). Each participant was able to advance their knowledge in the use of technology for students with vision impairments.The final session took on the form of a convivial high tea, complete with “Crazy Lady” Royal Albert tea sets, lace tablecloth and scones with – dare I say – jam and cream! Wish you’d been there?? A week in the life of a VT was discussed, adding clarity to the role and administration of a DEECD Visiting Teacher for Vision Impairment.
From Lea Nagel
Perky Duck is a great little program that is available for free from the Duxbury website: http://www.duxburysystems.com/products.asp
To change the font size for printing, with Perky Duck open, go to Global ... Fonts ... then un-check the check box Auto-determine point size for printed output. Once this is unchecked, you can alter the print and Braille fonts for screen display and printed output. To print a font size that is pretty close to the font size produced by our embossers and the Perkins Brailler, for Braille/SimBraille font point size for printed output, choose size 23
ANZ are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workforce. ANZ believe it is important to understand their customers, and as over 20% of the Australian population currently have a disability, they are striving to reflect the makeup of the communities in which they operate.
As part of ANZ’s broader diversity initiatives that centres on an inclusive workforce, they have put in place some measurable targets to ensure that hiring people with a disability forms part of the overarching plan. ANZ plans to recruit 35 people with a disability into their organisation by 30 September 2009 and are well on their way to achieving this target.
ANZ would love to hear from people with a disability who have an interest in working for their organisation. For a confidential discussion about the Abilities Program, what it’s about and to discuss current professional opportunities that are available, please contact:
Joel Kilgour - The ANZ Abilities Program Manager Phone: 03 8685 5368 Email: Joel.Kilgour@anz.com
If you are looking for some ideas for visual perceptual skills then here are a couple of websites which offer some activities.
The first is Edhelper.com they have worksheets for the following:
• Visual Discrimination: Matching Letters and Shapes
• Visual Closure
• Visual Motor Integration
• Visual Discrimination
• Visual Spatial Relationships
• Visual Figure-Ground
• Spatial Awareness
This site has both online activities and visual discrimination worksheets which can be printed out.
You will need to evaluate whether or not these sheets are suitable for your students. Some sheets may need adapting i.e. either enlarging or modifying in some other way.
Website: http://www.edhelper.com/visual_skills.htmEye Can Learn is another website which has visual skills activities and games. There is timely reminder to parents and teachers from the website that these activities are not a “cure”: “These activities are offered as a fun way to help sharpen "learning-related" visual skills that are critical for success in school. If a child has deficits in visual information processing, these simple exercises alone are not sufficient to correct a problem.” Areas with activities include:
Perception
• Discrimination
• Visual Memory
• Figure Ground
• Visual Closure
• Form Constancy
Tracking
• Peripheral
• Jumps
• Number Saccades
• Line Tracking
• Pursuits
Eye Can Learn Website: http://www.eyecanlearn.com/
From Braillables by Marie Porter from “So what about drawing?”
Directions:
1. Space 3, s, space twice, ED, 4 “c”s, n.
2. Space 3, FOR, space 2, dots 4-5-6, space 4, l, space 12, IN, 9 “c”s, EN.
3. Space, OW, p, c, v, hyphen, number sign, space 4, l, space 12, l, space 3, FF,
colon, DD, space 3, dots 4-5-6.
4. Space 2, l, space 8, l, space, p, 8 “c”s, TH, space, l, space 3, l, space, dots 4-
5-6, space 3, dots 4-5-6.
5. Space, ST, v, IN, c, EN, 2 hyphens, IN, c, EN, r, colon, v, IN, c, EN, 2 hyphens,
IN, c, EN, number sign, colon, v, IN, c, EN, 2 hyphen, IN, c, EN, hyphen,
number sign.
6. Write ST, space twice, e, hyphen, i, space twice, e, hyphen, i, space 3, e,
hyphen, i, space 2, e, hyphen, i, space 3, e, hyphen, i, space 2, e, hyphen, i.
Source: It’s Vision Time Issue: 11 Term 2 2009
Clinical psychologist and newly published author Dr Samantha Seymour talks to Tina Luton about her new book, and what causes children to feel anxious and angry This is an extract from that interview:
Q: What makes children feel worried or sad?
Just like adults, children experience a range of emotions for a whole range of reasons. For instance, feeling worried and shy can come from dealing with new situations, such as starting kindergarten or the beginning of the new school year. It is not necessarily a bad experience but it can be daunting; the unknown can be scary, the ‘what ifs’ – what if I am not okay, what if I don’t like it, what if they don’t like me, and so on. All those questions can cause children to feel anxious. Feeling angry is about not knowing how to channel a negative feeling. Often the best or only way that children know how to deal with feeling angry or frustrated is to fall into a screaming heap. More specific things that can trigger these emotions, including sadness, are significant events such as a divorce or death in the family or the loss of a pet.Q: Tell us about your new book.
Sometimes I Feel… is a picture-style book designed for parents to read with young children aged between two and seven. It combines sensitively photographed stories of children who feel worried, shy, angry or sad, with information for parents on ways to help their children acknowledge and handle these feelings. Teachers have also been reading the book to small groups of students and one-on-one, and I have had an excellent response from crèches. Children can really relate to the emotions portrayed in the photos because they are of real children.Q: Where did the idea for the book come from?
I’ve been a clinical psychologist in private practice for the past six years, and I deal with children and adolescents with a range of emotional issues. I love what I do. Helping children to solve some of the things that can cause so much grief and heartache is very rewarding. Research shows that children who can understand and cope with emotions do better in school, form stronger relationships, have fewer behavioural problems and generally lead happier, healthier and less stressful lives. Emotions are all quite different and you deal with feeling sad differently from the way you deal with feeling angry or worried. Most adults can recognise the difference, but children can find these feelings confusing.
To contact Dr Samantha Seymour, email sseymour@postoffice.utas.edu.auSource: Shine May 2009 Issue 04. A publication of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
You can buy the book for $24.95 in most bookshops or it can be bought online at the following link:
http://www.finch.com.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?art_id=279&nav_cat_id=220&nav_top_id=70
The May 2009 issue of the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB) is available online! You may view the Table of Contents of the issue by going to: http://www.jvib.org
This month's issue of JVIB features another installment of Jane N. Erin's Practice Perspectives. Dr. Erin's introduction presents the results of an informal survey on the use of tactile maps, and two practitioners discuss some unique ways in which such maps can be used by individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Also in this issue, the year-long celebration of Louis Braille's Bicentennial continues with an essay by Mary Zabelski, of the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, who shares her journey as a parent raising a child to learn to be a confident braille reader.
Eccentric Viewing Training in the Home Environment: Can It Improve the Performance of Activities of Daily Living
Meri Vukicevic and Kerry FitzmauriceEmergent Literacy Supports for Students Who Are Deaf-Blind or Have Visual and Multiple Impairments: A Multiple-case Study
Amy R. McKenzieMethods of Reading Information on Labels of Prescription Medications by Persons Who Are Visually Impaired
John M. McMahon and Amy CurtisA Wheelchair User with Visual and Intellectual Disabilities Managing Simple Orientation Technology for Indoor Travel
Giulio E. Lancioni, Mark F. O'Reilly, Nirbhay N. Singh, Jeff Sigafoos, Francesca Campodonico, and Doretta OlivaPlus Editor's Page: Louis Braille Celebration, A Parent's Perspective on the Importance of Braille for Success--Mary Zabelski;
Practice Perspectives: Traveling by Touch: How Useful are Tactile Maps?--Jane N. Erin;
Design of a Map and Bus Guide to Teach Transferable Public Transit Skills--Cheryl Besden; Huseby Zoom Maps: A Design Methodology for Tactile Graphics--Lisa Yayla;
From the Field; News; and Calendar.
At this stage Car Camp 2009 will not be going ahead however if any visiting teacher is interested in running it please contact Deb Lewis at the Statewide Vision Resource Centre 03 9841 0242.
After 50 Years, Space Monkeys Not Forgotten
In Huntsville, Alabama there is an unusual grave site where, instead of flowers, people sometimes leave bananas. The gravestone reads: "Miss Baker, squirrel monkey, first U.S. animal to fly in space and return alive. May 28, 1959." Fifty years ago, when Baker made her famous flight, she had some company in the nose cone of the Jupiter ballistic missile: a rhesus monkey named Able. Able and Baker were shot about 360 miles up into space and experienced about nine minutes of weightlessness. Their safe return occurred two years before any humans flew into space, and it made them huge celebrities.
Read the story….hear the broadcast….watch the movie of the intrepid space primates at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104578202
Vision Australia, Essendon, is running a games day on Thursday 25th June at the Essendon Centre, Corner of Albion Street and Lawson Street Essendon between 11.00 am and 2.00 pm.
Games Day Includes:
• Bingo
• Safety Darts
• Ten Pin Bowls
• Carpet Bowls
• Cards
• Board games and much more
$10 per person includes lunch. Please call 03 5831 3555 for more information and to RSVP.
Three New Graduates of the Braille Correspondence Course:
Congratulations to Anita Platten from Kilsyth, Natasha Jellett from Geelong West and Lisa Zarb from Drumcondra for successfully completing the SVRC Literary Braille Correspondence Course.If you are interested in starting lessons in braille please contact Zhi at the Statewide Vision Resource Centre on 03 9841 0242. There is no charge for this course.
Working towards a Duke of Edinburgh Award
Alexia, as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award, has finished re-formatting a large number of electronic texts from word documents to PowerPoint books to add to our ever popular Little Ebook collection. These books will be available soon so let us know if you want some new Little Ebooks for your students. The Little Ebook Collection ranges from VELS Level 0 to 2.75.Art Exhibition
Michael Donnelly, who most of you know as the Art Teacher at Vision Australia School, is also an artist in his own right and is having an Exhibition of his works at the Glen Eira City Council Gallery. Entitled Michael Donnelly “Other Lands” Recent Paintings and Drawings, the exhibition opens on Wednesday 8th July and runs until Sunday 19th July. The Glen Eira City Council Gallery is located on the corner of Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads.
For Further information you can phone 03 9524 3402.
Thanks to Kym Gribble, Lea Nagle, Mike Steer and Annette Godfrey-Magee for contributing to this edition of The Bulletin. Many thanks also to the staff who helped to collate this bulletin and get it out to our readers.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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