TRANSCRIPT - Parent TSVI Perspectives 

>>Donna: Alrighty, good afternoon everybody. This is TSBBIs Technology T time. We welcome everyone. Visiting today to. Share and enjoy our CBI from a parent and TSVIs perspective. We're welcoming Belinda Fayard who is going to lead our discussion today. In the spirit of our goal, even though we've switched formats, we still want you to ask questions so we can support each other while we're out in the field. You can drop any comments, questions, etc. In the chat. Or in the in the questions and answers. And I am sorry, I shared the last one, not to everyone, but to us in the panel. So thank you, Media, for sharing out our handouts to everyone. And I'm going to hand this on over to Belinda so she can fill us in on the unique perspective. Of CVI from a parent and TSVIs perspective.

>>Belinda: Thank you, Donna. Hello, everyone. I am Belinda Fayard. I am in my seventeenth year as a teacher for students with visual impairments. I've been itinerant for most of my career. And this fall I joined the outreach team at Texas School for the Blind and visually impaired as part of the transition team. So I'm happy to be here. I also happen to be a parent of a young adult now with a visual impairment, specifically a cortical visual impairment. So, I'm bringing that perspective, you know, she's, my number one student, right? She's the reason that I became a VI teacher. So that I could figure out how to help her best. And I think that some of the things that I've learned will be helpful. To. Many of my other students and maybe some of yours as well. So talk a little bit about my daughter Megan. She's in she's pictured here in front of Texas A and M. This was in May of last year. She graduated from the 2 year program called Paths. It's a, a program and A and M for students who are interested in becoming a teaching assistant. Direct support professional or those who want to earn a certificate to be a child care professional. Sounds very work oriented, different from their 4 year program, AGEE, if you part of that one. And, talking, I'll give you a little bit of background for her medical history too. Megan is a twin. She was born early. She suffered an interventicular hemorrhage at birth. And that was a grade 3 and a grade 4 she had the hemorrhaging on both sides of her brain. And as a result, she developed hydrocephalus. She's a VP shunt. She has left Hemi Pleajat or cerebral palsy, which really impacts her left side. And she has pair of entricular Luca Malaysia you may you may have seen some of these diagnosis for a lot of your students with CBI. Who have a significant brain injury. And then her visual diagnosis are cortical visual impairment, nastagmis, and optic nerve, atrophy. So that hydrocephalus really compacted her brain, but the fluid that built up really caused a lot of damage and, and so her object nerve is very small and very pale. But now Megan has, she's worked very hard and she is working as a teaching assistant. In a pre K classroom in RAM. And she lives in an apartment that's within walking distance at her job. So she and her guide dog Finn are traveling to work every day and working with a classroom of 17. 4 and 5 year olds. Not something I'm sure I could do every day, for sure. Alright, next slide. So I I wanted to start off with a little story that I think that we can probably all relate to. This is my front yard. I live in like a country subdivision and this beautiful book has been chasing the ladies like all winter in our neighborhood. I'm not a hunter, but I understand that he's quite the prize. He's a really big guy. So we've been very excited, you know, keeping a look out for him as as we're traveling through the neighborhood. And just a few days ago, my husband and I were leaving the house. We're sitting in the driveway. Right in front of the house about to pull out and we spot him. Right here watching us. He's in the trees. You can see, I mean, he's really well camouflaged with the dapple, you know, sunshine, shade. The branches, makes it kind of difficult to see his antlers. And just gorgeous, just gorgeous, right? So I'm like. Before he ran off, I'm thinking, oh, I gotta get a picture. You know, you have to get a picture for Facebook, Instagram, for family to show this beautiful deer. And so I'm trying to rush. I'm trying to grab my, purse that I have on the floor trying to get my phone out. Then you know, fumbling for the phone, trying to get to the camera app and all the while I'm thinking, oh no, hope the card doesn't scare him off. Hope he doesn't hear us talking in the car. I hope my husband doesn't move the car any closer. All the while, you know, I'm thinking these things and still, you know, rummaging through my purse, you know, trying to, this is all happening very quickly, trying to get the person out. And then I finally. Grab my phone. And I turn to my husband, I'm gonna snap him, turn off the radio so I can see him. And, oh, oh, okay, yeah, turn off the radio so I can see him, right? We've all done that when we're driving down the road and we're like, let me turn down the radio so I can read the street signs better. Or let me turn it off so I can concentrate better on this route. So we joke about that, we joke about needing that support. Maybe because we're getting older, but really part of getting older means that maybe our brains aren't quite as fast as they used to be at processing all of this input. So I had all that happening in my brain while I'm physically, you know, rummaging for my camera, trying to get the app open, looking at the super busy picture image of this deer and hoping he doesn't get away. So even though it's really great. Positive things happening in my brain. It's, a lot to process and that's kind of how CVI is for our kids, right? Sometimes our students and children can't process or slower at processing visual input. Series already so much taxing their brain, right? We've got a really busy classroom. Lots of children talking, moving, highly decorated walls. Maybe some itchy tags, you know in the back of the shirt Perhaps it orthopedic issues of cerebral palsy. And that's all can make it very difficult for someone with CBI to process that bombardment of information. Whether it's exciting, fabulous information. Or it's just a math blessing. It's still work, right? They're working way harder. Then anybody else in the room. So my goal is to share my experience of the parent and a TSVI. Trying to figure out that processing mystery. So I'll talk about some of the challenges we faced and how I worked with her TSVIs and comms as well as her teachers at school to come up with strategies and accommodations that worked well for her. Next slide. So we know we start with our babies in ECI, right? We, we as the VIs and Calms are coming into the home. Parents have a new baby who just come home probably with a lot of medical needs because we know nearly all of our students with CBI, we're gonna have some additional medical issues. And you know they're seeing the eye doctor maybe 15 min every 6 months. And it's just not enough. It wasn't explaining what we were seeing functionally with Megan. Like our doctor, I remember the day that he told us she's blind. And I went home to my husband thought. Well, that doesn't make sense because She's finding the ceiling fan or the light and every single room we went into. She responded to things. Visually that were bold colors. Or that were black and white. Things that were lighted. And then in her case, things that were yellow also. That was a key color for her. And then other times we were baffled because she appeared to not see things that were directly in front of her. And we thought, oh, you know, why is she missing that? It doesn't make any sense. So the TSVIs are really a lifeline for information for us. We were like a sponge. My husband and I just Trying to absorb everything that we could. This often that this child was the first person I never met who had a visual impairment so I had no background, no, nothing to compare it to or learn from every single day. We are learning something new. So, and I would ask you to remember too that these parents are bringing home these babies and they are morning, right? They're mourning the child that they expected. And they're being bombarded with the medical issues, the developmental issues. And every time. The VIs leave the home or the comms or physical therapists from ECI, occupational therapists. Every time they leave, they're leaving us with some homework, right? So mom, dad, caregivers. They've got homework that they're supposed to be working on. They're mourning their child. And they've also, you know, they're probably dealing with a little bit of guilt and isolation that they're trying to figure out. So just remember, you're that link to the information to the outside world. Try to invite them to conferences they're not just for professionals right so that's how i became inspired to become a TVI is that my fabulous, well, Megan's fabulous VI teacher. Invited me to some of these trainings and I thought, oh, this is great. This I need to, I need to take this information and help other families now. And invite them to maybe your region has baby stay out. But connect them with other families so that they can get these resources. And learn from one another and just. You know, just share information and bond too because it's It's kinda scary and overwhelming. Alright, next slide. So, could have scary and overwhelming. This is Megan. In, you know, obviously. Oh, little little one still being served by ECI and I use this picture to sort of demonstrate. Things were not easy for us when she was little. She at the time i don't think that we understood that she was really in sensory overload a whole lot of the time. And I think that this can hold true for a lot of our students who have a critical visual impairment. Because they have so much bombarding them and so much to process. Meg intended to get overwhelmed when we were in places that were unfamiliar, that were loud. Crowded restaurants, busy malls, and what we thought at the time was we just got a fussy kid, right? She's tired. She leaves a nap. She's maybe she's getting sick. And it took a long time for us to understand. That this was really a sensory overload. I mean, when I look at the pictures now, this is this is her in a parade sitting in grandma's lap and she's trying to cover her ears and get to her eyes too because it's just too much in Grandma's trying to give her her watch to. You know, what you would do with any child, distract them here, play with my watch. But it was just too much. So help your families. Understand that maybe some of the behavior that they're seeing is really communication about being in distress, being uncomfortable, maybe having a plan. Help them figure out if you're going to go to see world. And there's a chance that they're gonna get splashed right at the show, bring some extra clothes because you and I might think it's fun to walk around with wet clothes and get cooled off in the Texas summer heat. But that may be what sends this child over the edge and is done for the day. And now everybody is going home from Seaworld because we're done. And you know, plan for a quiet place. To get away. Even at the mall, you'd be surprised the places that could be overwhelming with all of the visual. In. And trying to keep up with family. Cause remember too, they're looking for mom, you know, they're walking, they're trying to keep up. There's a whole lot going on. And that brain that for you and I. You know, it's not a big deal. It's a fun exciting thing. But it can be overwhelming for them and overwhelm and an overwhelmed parent. May not recognize. That it's just overwhelming for the kid out too. Next slide. Okay, so I'll talk a little bit now about that transition to school. Right, so it's really important. We know as professionals we're already building a relationship with the kiddo at home. Because we're asking them to do hard things at home already, right? But it's important to maintain that and continue to build it when we're talking about a transition with school. And I think it's really important to also think about building over relationship with the classroom teacher. The administrators at the campus and the other service providers. Because this kind of visual impairment is so different. Then maybe something they've ever experienced before, you really need to have an open relationship with them where they can come to you with questions and you can give them feedback that they take to heart. And use. So, there's some things to think about, take time to orient your student to the classroom. When it's empty and allow exploration of that space. Those, you know, meet the teacher nights. It's great to come to those, but boy are those overwhelming. And for a kiddo with CBI, that can make school seem kind of scary. When that's the first, introduction is that noisy, crazy, meet the teacher night. So find another time to do that. And, whether the kiddo gets O and M or not. I think that a child with CBI could benefit. From becoming familiar with the campus, right, from like. A structured, systematic exploration. The cafeteria, the playground, the nurses office, the route for dismissal, emergencies. Now I know a little ones are not going to be traveling alone, right? But working on. Gaining that mental map of the school and places that they're frequently traveling can alleviate some of that anxiety or. Really work that they're doing when they are traveling. So, and you can identify travel hazards that might come up, right? If you're doing that exploration with them. And maybe, you know, if they're not getting O and M, you're thinking, well, who's going to do this? It could be the VI teacher. And it could even just be the parent. Right? If you have that relationship with the family, the teacher, the staff at school, you can facilitate that access to the building. Cause that's important to, that the parents aren't just gonna have access to get into the building. It's empty, but you as the VI the columns can help them get access. And, and it, maybe, maybe they do get O and M, they do this with their columns, but then they follow up and practice some more with mom or dad or whatever caregivers in their life. And available. That's something that we always found to be super beneficial. Jen, the more familiar Megan was with the place, the more it helped her be comfortable and start to think about owning her travel and being in charge of that. And I think it's really important to, to teach the staff about CVI in a way that. You know, is, meaningful for them in a way that, that shows them that they can take this idea and directly apply it to class. So. It's important to have that kind of relationship where you can do that. Alright, next slide. I'm gonna show you one of those travel hazards that we encountered. And Blackman Prairie Elementary. So we're using this photo courtesy of, who I, 1, one of the people I think is the best assistant principal. On the planet period. He's the smiling die in the bottom left corner. His name's Mark Fleming. And, this is that front entrance to Black and Prairie Elementary. Where it's a great school with tons of family involvement as you can see. We have all these families showing up in drows like every day for all kinds of activities, right? And even just pick up and dismiss all can be crazy packed like this. So, after my kid, I imagine, you know, your student with CBI. Is going through their day, working so hard, they're. Using their vision and they're pretty maxed out by the end of the day and now they've got to come out. The front door into this crazy. Wow and find you know whoever's picking them up mama jab And that was pretty overwhelming for Megan. We didn't want to have her with, a paraprofessional guiding her out the door every day because that's not what everybody else is doing. And so our goal was to make her. Be as independent as possible even when she was little Betty. And the way we figured out how to make this work is to, first I always stood in the same place. On the right side, there's a bench that you can't see that just passed the bench. I would always stand on that right side for her. And then, Megan's favorite color in the color that she saw best is yellow. So I got a yellow umbrella. And so I would be standing with my open yellow umbrella every day after school and she could see that umbrella above this crowd and come and find me pretty easily. And she got really good at it that by. The end of the school year, I didn't even need to have the umbrella open anymore. She knew I still stood in the same spot. And she could come right to me. So. That was really nice to see how it progressed and how independent she came. So, your families might not think about these things when they are in big crowds and that's, you know, one of those times when things can get pretty overwhelming. So. The other thing that we do, in, in let's say we're going to the mall or we're going to a park or. The state fair is that you can't always carry the big yellow umbrella inside the mall right that would be Unusual. Not feasible. So I would wear a brightly colored shirt. Red. It didn't have to be yellow. If you can see in this picture here, the gentleman in the red shirt at the center. He kind of stands out. So if you knew you were looking for someone in a red shirt, you'd probably spot him. And there's another person in a red shirt too, but your eyes would skip, you know, you could skip the other people who aren't in red to look for them. So, I would wear a brightly colored shirt, red, green, purple, whatever it was. And then I would have a conversation with Megan when we arrived and, you know, one on one, get her attention and say, Look, I want you to notice. That I'm wearing a green shirt today, a bright green shirt. So when you're looking around for me, you're going to look for the bright green shirt today. So that allowed us to give her a little bit of freedom. She could, you know. Be 5 feet away from me. 10 feet away from me in the grocery store go get you know her favorite snack and turn around and spot the green shirt and be able to get back to me without. You know, feeling anxious or. Working even harder to use her vision to get back to me. Maybe just a little bit easier to took the pressure off. So that's something that you can talk to the teachers. When they go on a field trip. The kids in the teachers are probably all wearing the same colored shirt, you know, the bulldog blue sure glass shirt. So in that case, what you can talk to the teacher about is maybe a hat. Maybe. They're a long horn span. They can wear their orange hat, Texas TAC, Red Raiders, whatever it is that works for them. It's not so important unless the kiddo is lower, you know, in their ability to, pick out colors, pick up, use their vision officials efficiently. But

>>Donna: Belinda, this is Donna. I love the use of. The umbrella or the hat. That is since we're in an in tech T time and kind of making that connection. That is using that thought of taking something directly off the shelf and putting it to a purpose of this is my little low tech device. It is my identification umbrella. And you know using it as that target for them. I think that was an amazing use of what your kid needed at that point to be able to get through her day. So that's an awesome awesome way to use that. Thank you.

>>Belinda: Thank you. It works well too. It really does. So you know the hats for the teacher carrying umbrella on the field trip works well too, but the key is to also have that conversation to say today you're going to be looking for the orange hat. Mrs. Smith is wearing the orange hat when we're in the museum and you're turned around the look for me just look for that. So, it really works well. I will say the one, you got it, you gotta plan this in some cases though. I wore the red shirt at Texas OU Day at the State Fair. So I was in a sea of orange and red that didn't go so well. Megan wrote the wagon a little bit more held my hand a little more that day, but the family still remembers that when it was it was hilarious when we arrived and saw everyone wearing red and orange. But when you know what when you expect to know what to look for you have an expectation for a color or something that's going to stand out, you can find it easier. Next slide. So this is something that you can show to teachers, right? We all have a jump drawer in our kitchen or where we have, you know, all these things just kind of thrown in there. And you probably all have experienced opening that drawer looking for your favorite spatula and can't figure out where on earth it is. Is it in the dishwasher? You go check there, you look in the sink, you come back, there it is right on top. You just, your eyes. You know, physically looked at it but your brain didn't process, that's what it was. So what we have found works well for Megan. At home and then in classrooms as well. Organizing things so we have some little dividers like we have the measuring cups for example. That are in a separate little square. And you can see the colored ones we switched out the black measuring cups in the picture on the left. With the coloured measuring cups. With the picture on the right and that yellow measuring cup, the red measuring cup. They really stand out so much better and they're always going to be in that same spot. So that's something you can show to teachers. They can relate to shown parents also. They can they can understand this as well. And use this sort of organization or color coding to help find things in the home. And then I would I would say too you can think about. The student's place on the carpet, you know, in that early elementary class. You can use, a different colored square if it's like an individual. Carpet that they're putting down or they can use yellow tape to like mark their spot or red tape. Whatever it is for that student that works best. You can use that color coding.

>>Donna: Well, in this Donna again, I'm just thinking the caddy on their desk. There's so many different places we could use this. Where the kids share. Kind of equipment and things like that that we can that would be great for this technique.

>>Belinda: Exactly. Yes. And, we've done it on the locker to to mark that. We, on the edge of a table. Tim Mark. The spot where she sits so that she could find it a little easier. And you know, it doesn't have to be yellow duct tape, but that's something that we used a whole lot or you know red or silver or whatever it is it could be a smiley face. You know, maybe, me on purple is their color. And they have a purple smiley face on their locker or heavy or their spot at the table or their spot on the floor, whatever it is. You'll work with the student and the teacher to figure out what's gonna work for them. All right, next slide. So middle school and high school, what did we run into there? So schedule schedule schedules, right? That's always a challenge before the first day of school. Getting those schedules ahead of time and practicing. So, it's really huge that alleviated so much. I don't wanna say anxiety, but it's the. Just worries, you know, everybody is nervous with their new schedule, but it's just a little bit more for a kid with CBI who, is gonna have a little bit more trouble processing that schedule and how to get around in that crowded. We like to create a large print and or tactile map that was really simpleified so it only had key information on the map like you know just the hallways and just their rooms or the office cafeteria. Take one of the maps that the school already has and really simplify it, but work with your students to figure out. What they need on the map. We like to create a large print schedule and I'm gonna show you an example of that. So it was quick, easy to whip out, read it on the go. And we like to, you know, she would take a picture of it with her phone also. In case that large plant paper version got lost. But that's not always something that, the teachers. Where the campus thinks about because, you know, there's right now everybody schedule and it's about like 10 point font on pink paper you know to show that it's the newest version. But remembering to check in with your kiddo and see how they need it and provide it in that format is really important. And then what was important for Megan too when she was walking her schedule. Is to, use some yellow duct tape. To mark the classroom. So, so she would put the tape around like the teacher's name and like the room number that's next to the door. That helped her and she's coming down the hall to be able to spot it and know she's she's coming to the right place. And so she didn't have to work so hard, you know, counting doors. And remembering how many doors it was from, from each hallway, just, made it a little bit easier for her. So I'll show you an example of what that can look like. On the next side you can see a picture and I just did this at my, at the office. So no, it's not a hallway, but you get the idea. The picture on the right has yellow tape around the name tag for the cube and in the picture on the left doesn't. So as you're moving down the hall, that will kind of stand out to you. And then the next slide will show you a little bit closer out. What that looks like. It's just, it's just simple. It's just tape. But I will say you're gonna want to work with your campus. This is where that relationship comes in because some campuses are gonna say whoa whoa whoa you're not putting duct tape on my halls this leaves is freshly painted right So that's okay, if that's not gonna work. There's painters tape that's gonna leave like, you know, no residue. You might have to replace that a little more frequently. But, painters tape, Sometimes using like a command hook and hanging something that's visually kind of unique that's in their favorite color like a yellow sunflower. Or I Superman, you know, a symbol, whatever it's gonna be that works for them. Maybe that would be. Acceptable for the school. But generally, they're they're pretty open if you explain what it's for and use a form that's not going to damage the walls. You know, and generally the schools will also, they'll pay to staff or let you put duct tape on a step that's you know, a little bit tricky or a handrail. They really do tend to work with you if you talk to them about what's a challenge. And sometimes we've even used among critical places to turn on a route. So definitely Ducktake was our best friend in high school and middle school. Alright, on the next slide I'm gonna show you an example of that large print schedule. This is how we, adapted the, you know, 10.5 on the pink paper that they're handing out to give the kiddos a schedule. And we just kept this and popped in the new, classes and room numbers. Each year so we didn't have to reinvent the wheel. This was, you know, printed out in 18.5 and the yellow and white alternating Rose helped Megan track. And read it easier on the go as she's going down the hall. And she's a kid I would like to know the times too. Percent that might not be important that might be too busy to have the times on their schedule. Go for others, you know, they need it. But, I will say too, this reminds me that lunch was always a challenge, a challenging time. It's, it's another place where it's really loud. And your student may do well finding the table when you're doing a dry walkthrough and it's quiet. Or when they're going in with their class all at one time, they go through the line and then they just sort of follow everybody to their table. But something to think about is what if they need to go to their restroom during lunch or go to the nerds? And when they come back. They're coming from a different direction. It's really crazy loud and busy in a cafeteria. Helping in that situation, figure out something that can, can get them back to their table without. Causing a little bit of distress is important. And you know, we talk about counting tables. You know, how many are you from the end or putting them putting maybe their classes at an end table? But that yellow duct tape can also be helpful to put on the end of a table to show, all right, you're getting close to the right one. And remember too that the staff if your student isn't using a cane and the cafeteria sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Staff might not be aware the people in the cafeteria might not be aware that they're a student with a visual impairment. Who operates just fine the rest of the time, but. Coming back from the restroom in this noisy environment. They're lost. You know, and maybe not know that the student needs help. So giving them the tools to be able to find their table on their own is really important. And find their friends, right? Help them talk about. You know a consistent meeting place with their friends so they're sitting they know where to set they can find their friends and and have that conversation at lunch that they all need. Alright, next slide. Okay, this is a work sample. An actual work sample from middle school. And I wanted to show this because I think it's a reminder again of that critical relationship between the BI and the teacher. And making sure that they do understand CBI really well and know the tools that the student needs. So this is Megan's work on the left. She typed it, printed it, turned it in, she was advocating for having dogs. At school and teacher gave her some feedback at the bottom and and you can, so it's written in regular PIN. And then, she has some correction within the work that's like a regular pen, which is what she would have done on anybody else's paper, right? But then working with the VI teacher. She helped her understand that's not accessible to Megan. She can't read that feedback or see those corrections. And the example on the right. Is what she needed like on the go. You don't because I know the teachers are busy and they're not always going to be able to type this, print it out, go to the printer, pick it up and bring it back for her feedback. And that's okay. That's that's just not always. Available in their busy busy days. So giving the teacher the same tools that you're giving the student this bold line paper, the markers so that they can get feedback to the kit or write things for the kito that are accessible to. Now, you know, of course a lot of it's digital, so they may be giving the feedback. In an electronic format, which is great as well. That's COVID has changed so much for the better in that sense. But don't forget that the teachers need these tools too. To be able to get feedback to our students in an accessible format. I'm going to show you a little video next to Megan talking about. Her experience, what works for her.

>>TSBVI Media: Hey Megan, do you think that you can tell us a little bit about the things that worked well for you in elementary, middle, and high school. Yes. The stuff that worked a lot for me best was using a marker instead of a pencil in school because I could see it more even also in math. For the like graph. Stuff and calculating it. And I also really liked that I got to walk my schedule early like a few days before school started. With putting yellow tape so I could see and could tell that it was my classroom. And I also liked using large print as well and I still do that. Can I ask you about the yellow? Yellow tape you mentioned. So where did you put the yellow tape? Just around the like numbers of the classroom where it normally is it's cool. Is yellow and color that that stands out for you. Yes. Yeah. Hey Megan.

>>Belinda: Thank you. Yeah, so these are, she mentioned some of these tools. And I wanted to list them here for you. The CCTV is something that, she loved the Da Vinci. And both line workers even in math as she mentioned, you know. It's tricky. I know you can't a race, but she's tried the dark pencils, you know, they kind of leave a smudge after you're raised and she could see that. And we've tried just about every kind of pen there is. And, the visa v is the one, I mean, of course you love the 2020, the old school 2020, Can't you, IS what she found to work well after that. And then I listed these other tools here. The audio books are really important, continue to be super important issues moved on out of school now and is an adult. She listens to books on bookshear and audible. Every single day that's a wonderful wreck leisure activity for her. And, you can see the other, the other tools there that we mentioned, but I wanted to say a little bit about a CCTV and large print. And just to sort of. Remind everyone that, you know, we want our. Students to use. Low vision tools when possible so that they are independent. Out in the community and as adults, right? Large print is not going to be provided everywhere. Completely recognize that. But I also think that from our experience. Recognizing that sometimes kids who have motor issues. Like cerebral palsy and then cortical visual impairment. That's one more thing for them to process when they're also processing some really difficult work because you know in Megan's case she was not on grade level for her reading writing or math. So she's struggling with the content. She's struggling to see it. She's struggling with the motor skills when, you know, using the CCTV or using the magnifier. So in some cases, we really found that, you know, this is a really, this is a really hard class. We're just gonna get her large print and we're gonna take away those additional tasks that we're asking of her. But for a class where it's just maybe reading. That's a great place for her to use the CCTV and, access the article, for example. But then like, for example, we kind of used a combo system. She would use the, which has the camera for distance and then you could flip it down and see your near work also. Well, she loved that so much because it would let her sit back. She didn't have to be at the front of the class anymore. She couldn't see the board anyway. She was setting up the front of the class. So the Da Vinci let her flip that camera to see what the teacher is doing as she's doing the work and now it's on the screen. But then Megan also has a large print paper. So she's taking notes or doing the work and following along while keeping the camera aimed at the teacher for the distance view. So that's a situation where large rent and the CCTV work really well together. So sit in on your kiddos classes, I think is is my. My, the wisdom that I want to share from our experience. Is sitting in on the classes and talking with your student and really, and the parent because they see When this kid is maxed out at home. What they're saying about their day also. And figure out what is working for them. And and know that, you know, it might not be the same thing in every class. You may have to adjust and have one school in one class and and something else in another. I'm also a really big fan of writing tablets like the welcome that let a student do that on a tablet next to a laptop. So there's a lot of things you can explore. Megan likes the notability. For editing PDFs. But you know, trying, trying a bunch of different things and comparing them. It's like a good feeling important. Alright, next slide. So things that. I would hope you would take away. So these kids are maxed out with that physical aspect of what's going on with their body and processing all the visual input. Keep that in mind when we're sending things home for them or if we're seeing them at the end of the day or just when making their schedule as the day goes on. Everything you're doing is work. So keep that in mind. That behavior is communication. So really trying to figure out when you do see some issues with. Their behavior that they're communicating something to you and working with parent and school to figure out what that is. Building your relationship, you're gonna have that communication if you have that relationship with everyone. And, I would add to something that was super important for us. Is recognizing that. When a student knows you're coming when you've made an appointment or you have a specific time. That, really helps them be in charge of their day and their schedule. And participate better. But when someone. You know, showing up to like, you know, this is, I have an opening in my schedule and I'm showing up at one today, even though it's not my typical time and the student doesn't know you're coming. That that can be distressful for them. They may have just been starting, you know, a Plano activity that they've been looking forward to all morning. And now you're showing up to do a lesson and they're you know they're If they have a relationship with you, they're probably gonna be kind and polite and go along and do what you've asked them to do. But know that that can be frustrating and may make them less present and less able to engage. You also may have some, gonna be outright. Upset. So. Be respectful of their time. Let them know when you're coming. Try, try to make that a part of their schedule so they know to expect you and prepare to participate. I can show some pictures of some of her favorite equipment on the next slide. And then if anybody has questions, I know that was a lot. But if you have questions, I would love to try and answer them for you.

>>Donna: Linda, thank you. I think it's wonderful sharing your perspective and and pointing out just some of the little things that we can do to make things easier for our kiddos and the the notability and good notes debate is real. Which is the best for our kids and it can be very different depending on the on the student. And those 2 apps are Always back and forth of which one is better at which time. So it's really neat to see that she uses the notability. And likes it and it works well for her. Alright, so we're gonna open up to questions. So if you have any questions, drop them in the question and answer or in the chat your choice. And we will. Have a little chat.

>>Belinda: And I will say too while we're waiting just as a VI teacher too, I've done an activity with a student who, also like to use the PDF editing tools on the iPad. And like we made that a whole game where we created a chart. And he you know categorized what he liked about one versus the other so that he could really use this scientific mind. Very smart young man. So that he could compare the tools. And decide which one was gonna be the best. For him.

>>Donna: All right, Belinda, it looks like Judy has a question. Do you have any tips, parent or TSVI? For social development.

>>Belinda: Yes, I, you know, I think the biggest thing in our lives has been to, get Megan involved. So, I mean, the more you practice, right? Social interactions, the better you're gonna get at it. So take advantage of things like summer camps at the school for the blind. Your education service center may have some special ECC activities going on depending on where you are around the state. Get encourage families to let their kiddos participate. Or in your districts, maybe, you know, to be able to drive your students there to participate. And then in my last district, we really did, some cool things with getting smaller groups that students together for joint lessons. So, we would have, for example, friends skipping where we all went, took all of our middle and high school students to a campus that had a big kitchen. And we worked on, you know, we're working with our peers who also have visual impairments. And we're cooking but we're also talking about ediquette and you know appropriate manners with with using the space and working with peers. And behaving socially, we did white cane day out in the community. We went to like the chamber of commerce and so we talked about how to be respectable of our political leaders and how you might talk to someone like that who's a professional in your community differently than a peer. So setting up those. Those kinds of lessons those opportunities for kids to get together and but also to go into different kinds of situations to practice different kinds of manners and social behavior.

>>Donna: Those are some great ideas. I love meeting with our local schools and our local libraries. And seeing what clubs meet. And you know saying, okay, can I come and see what the dynamics of the club is and maybe see how if it would be a good fit for our canoe and then, you know, trying to get. Some of those other clubs that are maybe outside of our very structured VI. Lessons as well. So yeah, there's so many community resources. That are available for clubs and things like that that are still small groups. Depending on the interest of our kinos. All right, we have about 8 min if anyone else has any more questions.

>>Belinda: Yeah. And we can show the next slide that has my contact information as well. I am the transition specialist and outreach for the VI side of things. There's another transition specialist for the deaf blind side. Her name is Heather with Roe. But we're both here to, you know, if you have questions, looking for programming. For your students. For, you know, getting ready to, what happens? After high school, we're happy to help. I'm super excited about the paths program that my daughter benefited from. And can share you know what that process was like with TWC, you know getting their support and funding. And. What she learned from it.

>>Donna: And Brendan can you tell us a little bit more about that path's programming and and what it what it entails? Yeah, so it's 2 years now and, they're really the first year they're taking classes 4 days a week on the A and M campus. And they're living off campus. It's a little bit different than that Aggie achieved that I mentioned. Those students in the four-year program live on campus. But paths lives off campus. So they learn how to use the bus system. To get to campus and to get all around campus. They learn how to use the bus system to get around the community. I mean, they're doing phenomenal things like really, O with them kind of skills and they're doing them well. For example, they have to, find a route, a bus route that will take them to a local grocery store. They have to document the route. They have to ride the bus on the route, take a picture of the grocery store, you know, document the bus number that got them there and the times that it runs. And they have to do all of this for other things too like a pharmacy. A place you would go to buy clothes, a doctor's office that takes your insurance also. So really good, real life stuff. And then they're also working on, what do you do, you know, to make to get a job first and then how do you keep the job. And then they go into, you know, specific skills for their. Certification. So in Megan's case, the, the paraprofessional or teaching assistant. They go through, you know, all of the things that are required to do that job well. And it's very, it's module based, so there's a lot of online learning, but there's live lecture as well. And when they are doing the module, some of it's in class with their peers and then there's there's a lot of homework. They're spending time at home working on too. And then on Friday is that first year they go to an internship. So they have them placed in a job. Where they're, well, they're volunteers typically. Some of them got paid, got paid. But the first year it's like one day a week that they're working the second year they flip it and they're going to work 4 days a week and going to classes at A in a one day a week. And then, you know, the instructors are coming, checking in on them at the job site, giving them feedback, just like we would be assessed in our job. So doing the same thing. And, and Megan's case, she was placed at a, daycare. Called Charlotte Sharpe Children's Center. It was phenomenal. They were just amazing. One wonderful learning experience for her. And she had to take the bus to get to work every day. She to manage the apartment on her own. In this program, they do not come check on your apartment and make sure. You know that you're taking care of business and keeping it clean and that you have food in the fridge. Your student needs to be independent enough to do that on their own. And, I would recommend we did this the first year, but not the second. I would recommend living at the apartment complex. That most of the students live at so they have that built in buddy system and an available roommate. The second year she, wanted to live more on her own. And so we went to a totally different apartment complex. So just I'm, in retrospect, I would have put her back at the apartment without her friends, but my dad she was like, I want some space. But it worked out well. She was great. I just sometimes wish she had somebody else to run the bus when it's 9 o'clock at night In a late class that. That's real life.