Louise Cooper’s student Alfredo, was recently awarded the Aussie of the Month award for being ‘friendly and kind and having a great appreciation of the environment’.
Statewide Vision Resource Centre
Number 13, Friday 25th August 2000
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Combined Agencies Networking Day – St Paul’s School | Monday 2 October |
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Mountbatten Users’ Discussion Group | Monday 23 October |
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Spectronic & Zygo Conference (see Bulletin 5) | Wed-Fri 8-10 November |
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SPEVI Evening Discussion and Christmas Drinks | Monday 13 November |
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World Blind Union and Exhibition of Adaptive Equipment and Services at Melbourne Town Hall | 19-23 November |
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SVRC Mini Expo | Monday 4 December |
Student Information Update Form
Visiting Teachers: Please complete the attached form when a student’s details change – eg change of home address, school, year level or Visiting Teacher. Send/fax completed forms to Yvette or Annette. We hope that this new procedure will reduce the time we all have to spend on maintaining our database. Thanks!
SD&I Application Process for 2001
Circular 242/2000 was sent to all principals and schools on Friday 18 August 2000 and outlines the process for Applications for the Program for Students with Disabilities and Impairments who will be attending DEET regular and specialist schools in 2001. Schools will be receiving folders that include a copy of the Handbook, Application Form, Program Support Group Guidelines, Educational Planner, and the Principal's Checklist. Regional directors will advise schools of the process for obtaining additional folders. Additional copies of the information included in the folders can be downloaded from SOFWeb at www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/welfare/disabil.htm/. Applications must be received by Friday 20 October 2000.
Unless notified that funding will cease at the end of the 2000 school year, resources for all existing students on the Program for Students with Disabilities and Impairments will be maintained for the 2001 school year.There is no need to resubmit an application for these students.
Students transferring between schools, including between primary and secondary schools, will have their individual resources transferred to the new school. This includes allocations made prior to 1995 (Phase 1) and during 1995 to 2000 (Phase 2).
Please call Deb Lewis to request a print or email copy of Circular 242/2000.
| Inside This Issue | |
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PD Program, Student Information Update Form, SD&I Funding for 2001 |
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Term 3 VT PD Day Report |
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Prize-Winning Student, Student News |
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Student News (continued), Olympics – Companion Card |
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Fact Sheet – Challenging Behaviours, Brailled Texts for Human Relations Education, Kid Glove Keyboard Skins |
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Bernadette Carries the Torch |
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Student Information Update Form |
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Informal Residual Vision Assessment – The Red Book |
Term 3 Visiting Teacher PD Day Report
There just never seems to be enough time to catch up with everyone during our information-packed professional development days!
Staff of the Statewide Vision Resource Centre and Kay McQualter have put in many hours researching, discussing, (arguing!), compiling and presenting the next phase of the Learning Media Assessment – the testing tools – for students in years 5 to 8. Annette Godfrey-Magee presented our material which includes sustained reading tasks, research/comprehension tasks, worksheets, maths activities, graphs and maps. Where relevant, tasks have word counts and comprehension questions (with answers) and are presented in a number of print sizes. The kit will also include an original copy of one of the reading tasks and assessment is to be completed in conjunction with low vision aides where applicable. The kits will be available for DEET Visiting Teachers by the end of term. Feedback for all our hard work, blood, sweat and tears was very favourable!
Louise Cooper shared the results of a Learning Media Assessment conducted recently with one of her students and the interesting observations she had made. She had also prepared some visual activities/questions for The Red Book which many Visiting Teachers have in their resource libraries. (Fox, J., The Red Book, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney, 1993.) A copy of Louise’s activity sheet is attached.
Meredith Walsh waxed lyrical about her experiences with the Masters course in vision impairment being run from Renwick College in Sydney and we heard two very interesting and complex case studies from Helen Caldow and Pam Smedley.
Marion Blazé spoke about teaching students to use their magnifier for reading and viewing graphs etc. This presentation will be available with The Bulletin some time in the future and will also be published on our website – www.svrc.vic.edu.au/.
Di Ralph updated us on services offered by Vision Australia Foundation and the Low Vision Clinic. John Gaeth from Micro Marvellous showed us some CCTVs and CATS (Complete Affordable Talking System), a complete computer system with speech, large print and a range of software included in the package. Finally, Claire Tellefson whizzed us quickly through accessibility options for students with vision impairments and I think we had better get her back for a hands-on session!
All in all, another great day!
Audio tapes of the following sessions can be purchased for the cost-recovery price of $2.75 (including GST) by contacting the SVRC:
Louise Cooper’s student Alfredo, was recently awarded the Aussie of the
Month award for being ‘friendly and kind and having a great appreciation
of the environment’.
Student News
From Kylie
Kylie’s family will soon be travelling to America! She writes:
On August 27th my family and I are going to America for a holiday. While we are there we will be visiting Los Angeles. I think it will be fun at Disney land. I think it will be very hot over there. In Disney land we will be going on every ride. We are going to Knox berry farm and Universal studios. We are going on a 13- hour bus tour to Mexico. We will be staying in Los Angeles for 10 days. Then we will be staying in Los Vegas for 4 days I think. We are staying in a hotel in Los Vegas called Circus Circus. The hotel is a casino. It has a big dome that has all these rides in it. One of the rides is a roller coaster.
Attached in the print edition of The Bulletin is the large print illustrated version of her story.
From Ian
Denise is very pleased with Ian’s typing. Ian recently typed:
In Australia’s Funniest Home Video show it’s quite hilarious! The dog was barking trying to get out. And the baby fell over and broke its leg at the beach! And the Australia’s Funniest Home Video show guy bounced in a chair.
We are going out on the weekend me, Rachel, Dad and Mum.
Typing Stars
Kylie and Jaimee, have both completed the T-Taps typing course. They are
our first faces in the Statewide Vision Resource Centre ‘Wall of Stars’.
Congratulations to both Jaimee and Kylie!
Kristen Turns 18
Our famous Space Camp 1999 Disneyland navigator Kristen recently turned
18 and his VT Jeni Blake organised a surprise party for friends and fellow
students at Playhouse 8 Ball and Snooker Club in Parkdale. The photo below
shows several party revellers including Cherie, Cathy, Kate, Jeni(VT) and
birthday boy Kristen (right).
Olympics – Companion Card
The Mordialloc-Chelsea News, 7 August 2000 recently reported:
People with disabilities will have an equal chance to watch sports after
the announcement of a $100,000 grant to establish a Companion Card scheme.
The Companion Card will allow free access to sporting events for carers of
people with disabilities. Funding for the project has been provided to the
Victorian Network on Recreation and Disability.
Fact Sheet – Conduct Disorder/Challenging Behaviours
Conduct Disorder refers to a persistent pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights of others or major societal rules, given the particular age of the child, are violated. Conduct disorder is one of a triad of Disruptive Behaviour Disorders often referred to as challenging behaviours. It is the extreme end of the spectrum of difficult and challenging behaviour. A copy of ‘Conduct Disorder and Associated Challenging Behaviours in Children – Fact Sheet for Health Professionals’ which was produced by the Department of Human Services is available from the SVRC.
SVRC Brailled Texts which have Tactual Diagrams for Human Relations Education
Denise has scoured the braille book shelves of the SVRC looking for brailled texts which have tactual diagrams for human relations education. She has come up with the following list:
Kid Glove has developed a soft, flexible cover for your computer keyboard
which protects the keyboard but does not interfere with typing. It is available
in upper or lower case letters with white on black, black on white or black
on yellow letters etc. It is fitted with Velcro and comes with full fitting
instructions. Costing £24.50 it is available from:
Kid Glove Ltd
St Andrews, The Belfry
Colonial Way
Watford, Herts. WD2 4WH
Email info@kidglove.co.uk
Website www.kidglove.co.uk
And Finally
Sorry for the delay with this edition of The Bulletin – I’ll blame it on the camp… The next edition of The Bulletin will be a newsletter produced by the staff and students who attended Adventure Camp last week. An excellent time was had by all and the students are lobbying us to organise it again for them in term 1 next year… >sigh<
Date (of this form completion): __________________
Visiting Teacher: _____________________________
Student name: _______________________________
DOB: ____________________________
EVAC (most recent date): __________________________
School (including address): ________________________________________________________________
Year level: _________________
Materials borrowed from the Statewide Vision Resource Centre (tick box):
A: audio !
B: braille !
L: large print !
T: tactual !
O: other !
Region: _______________________________________
Type (ie. state, catholic, independent): _____________
Home address:____________________________________________________________________________
Informal Residual Vision Assessment
By Louise Cooper
Resource:
Fox, J., The Red Book, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney, 1993
Visual Figure Ground Discrimination
This refers to the ability to isolate a particular object from the background
or surrounding stimuli.
Activity: Identify by pointing to coloured items in a picture.
Pages 3 and 4. What's red in this picture? Sun, Bus, Fire Engine, Fire Siren,
Car, Traffic Light Signal, Train, Spots on a Jumper, Letter Box, Bank Sign,
Stripe, Stamp, School Bag, Dog Collar, Roses, Icy Pole, Icy Pole Wrapper, Hat,
Flowers, Kite, Apples, Flags, Shopping Buggy, Cap, Shoes, Necklace, Door.
Visual Scanning
This refers to the ability to search for a particular visual
stimuli among other visual stimuli.
Activity: Pages 25 and 26. Can you find a Square Shape? A Star? A Triangle?
Visual Memory
This refers to the ability to store and recall past experiences and integrate
these with the present to identify aspects of the environment or relate one
aspect to another.
Activity: Pages 5 and 6. Days of the week. Say them in the correct order.
Visual Tracking
This refers to the ability to follow with the eyes and/or head the movements
of visible things, with the body stationary or moving.
Activity: Pages 21 and 22. Follow the dirt road. What do you see along the way?
Visual Discrimination
This refers to the ability to make distinctions between and within visible things.
Recognise objects similar/different in nature.
Activity: Page 20. One of these things is not like the others. Which One?
Recognise familiar objects.
Activity: Page 19. Let's go to the shop.
Recognise Photos.
Activity: Pages 25 and 26. What's behind the windows and door?
Classify pictures according to category.
Activity: Pages 15 and 16. What lives where?
Identify detail in pictures.
Activity: Pages 17 and 18. Looking for objects in different rooms of the house.
Answer the questions at the bottom of the page.