Arlington
VA
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the Virginia Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) are pleased to present the 2017 Joint AFB Leadership and Virginia AER Conference, which will cover the most pressing and relevant topics in the field of blindness and offer many opportunities to learn from the best and brightest minds in our field, make new connections, and reunite with old friends while earning ACVREP and CRC CEUs.
Held annually, AFBLC attracts established and emerging leaders in the blindness field. Conference attendees include technology experts, corporate representatives, university professors, teachers of students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility instructors, rehabilitation professionals, and parents. They come from diverse organizations and institutions spanning the public and private sectors, including school districts, schools for the blind, Veterans Administrations, hospitals, private agencies, and universities.
EI Sessions:
Autism and Visual Impairment: Using a Collaborative Model to Develop Goals and Teaching Strategies through the Lifespan (Parts 1 and 2)
Presenters: Valerie Alvarez, Blindness Trainer Coordinator, Texas Workforce Commission, and Linda Hagood, Speech Language Pathologist, Washington State School for the Blind and NLCSD Doctoral Student, Portland State University
Description: The growing population of individuals with combined diagnoses of autism and visual impairment has presented new challenges for service providers. In this two-part presentation, strategies from the field of autism will be introduced, and adaptations for individuals with visual impairment will be demonstrated.
Part 1: Focus on Children
In Part 1, Linda Hagood will introduce the Better Together curriculum model, which blends methods from the fields of autism and visual impairment. Activities for teaching specific social-communication skills will be discussed and skills and strategies for dealing with common problems (e.g. prompt reliance, rigidity, echolalic speech, and restricted interests) will be demonstrated.
Note: A question and answer session will be held the day after the presentation to focus on questions related to the Friday autism presentations and will provide video demonstrations and opportunities for hands-on practice in some of the activities and strategies introduced on Friday’s sessions.
Toddler Canes: An Innovation in Addressing the Mobility with Vision Impairment Needs of New Walkers with Congenital/Early Onset Visual Impairment
Presenter: Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Ed.D., COMS, Hunter College of CUNY
Description: The vulnerable population of early intervention/preschool learners with visual impairment needs a developmentally appropriate mobility with visual impairment (MVI) device to combat the effects of repeated ambulation without protection from MVI. MVI is a term used to describe the unique motor demands that result when visual impairment inhibits sufficient reaction distance and reaction time to obstacles (e.g., objects, changes in elevation and surface texture) in the path ahead. Constant exposure to MVI and its effects on balance, gait and locomotion results in impaired physical functioning.
TThe purpose of this session is to discuss MVI as an important new term of art, introduce the new device called a toddler cane and support curriculum, present the findings of the research on the toddler cane and supporting curriculum, and show videos demonstrating the difference in gait and active engagement in the environment by toddlers with MVI when wearing a toddler cane.
Working with Babies (Birth to 3) with CVI-Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment: A Session for All Professionals Working with Babies with CVI
Presenter: Anne V. McComiskey, M.Ed., TVI and Retired Founder/Director, BEGIN Early Intervention Program, Atlanta, GA.
Description: The diagnosis of cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) is confusing, especially for parents of babies and toddlers. Often parents and professionals working with the family don’t understand that there are appropriate, effective and time-specific methods that can enhance the vision and development of a baby with CVI until months or years after the diagnosis.
This presentation will review information about CVI and its impact on babies and their parents, offer thoughts about working with parents of babies with CVI and suggest interventions to support babies’ visual and developmental growth.