July 2015 Duncan McGregor

 Who?Duncan McGregor, Ed.D.  What?O&M with a little ILS and PE  When?Monday, July 13th – Monday, July 20 th 9:00 am to 4:00 pm 9:00-12:00 – theory 1:00-4:00 – fun and games!  Where?401 Evaristus Hall, and out and about on campus and in the community

 To give us an appreciation of O&M from the perspective of a student who is blind, or who has low vision  So we can act as a sighted guide for our students who are blind  So we can monitor and reinforce O&M skills taught by a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS)  So we can teach and accommodate instruction in some of the other areas of the ECC Because it’s fun!

 Here’s where we take a look at the course outline. ***** Remember it’s going to be fun!!!!!!

 (Stop me if you’ve heard this already)  Even if you have, here a little review:  Students who are VI need to be taught directly many of the skills and concepts sighted children learn incidentally.  ECC: Expanded Core Curriculum, which is what we, as TVIs teach our students  (TVI: Teacher of students who are visually impaired)

 First mentioned by Phil Hatlen in the mid-1990s  National Agenda (US)

 Canadian National Standards for the Education of Children and Youth who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Including Those with Additional Disabilities (2003) - officially recognized by some provinces (including NS, NB, PEI) but not others (Ontario) 

 Compensatory or Functional Academic Skills, Including Communication Modes  Orientation and Mobility  Social Interaction Skills  Independent Living Skills (ILS) and Personal Management Skills  Recreation and Leisure Skills  Career and Life Management Skills  Assistive Technology  Sensory Efficiency Skills  Self-Determination

 Travel skills for people who are visually impaired (blind or with low vision)  Orientation: knowing where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there  Mobility: the physical process of getting there  The skills and knowledge necessary for a person who is visually impaired to travel within their environment safely, independently, purposefully, and gracefully.

 Concept development  Sensory development  Orientation and mapping  Travel techniques  Communication, personal safety and advocacy From BC Ministry of Education

 Some people who were blind have used canes to help them find their way around for centuries  Often used support canes which are quite short  No formal training or methods of using canes  So, most people who were blind didn’t get around much, but there were exceptions

 Schools for the blind France – 1780s (Valentin Haüy) United States – 1832 (Perkins) Canada – 1871 (Halifax), 1872 (Ontario)  Taught special skills and techniques (tactile reading and writing, chair caning, piano tuning)  Travel skills and other skills related to living without sight were left up to the students themselves to figure out

“Blind Jack of Knaresborough”  Road builder  Ran a stagecoach line, and drove the stage himself  Legendary traveller on foot  Used a cane Check out the length!

 First blind man to circumnavigate the globe (1832)  First tried in suspected by the Czar of being a spy  Darwin’s source for info on the flora of the Indian Ocean  Also used a cane which he tapped on the ground

 Dog guide Schools: Germany, after WWI Seeing Eye (US) –1929  Still no formal training for cane travel. That took another World War.  Valley Forge Army Hospital and Hines Veterans Hospital (US)