PaTTAN BVI Newsletter

• In the News
• Special Addition! CVI Resources
• It's That Time of Year
• PaTTAN's Desk
• New Section! Family Corner
• On the Horizon
• Leisurely Learning

*Each section contains approximately four topics.

Tess Nasehi will be joining Jennifer Edgar in our east office as a Blindness/Visual Impairment Family Consultant. In addition to meeting the needs of our BVI families, Tess will also be working with the PaTTAN Family Engagement Initiative and FAMILIES TO THE MAX.

Tess is a welcome addition to our BVI Team! She has a sibling with a visual impairment and has a background as a TVI/COMS.

Overbrook School for the Blind and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation/Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS) are pleased to offer a Financial Literacy course to high school students. The Financial Literacy course is an opportunity for students to learn about managing their finances in a virtual environment with peers.

• July 12-30, 2023; 2 hours per day for 3 weeks
• Application deadline: May 15, 2023

To learn about requirements and access applications refer to the flyer (Professional Google Drive - Flyers).

Lego Braille Bricks Survey: As a practitioner who may or may not use LEGO Braille Bricks, researchers are very interested in hearing your views and thoughts on the teaching of braille. As such, please consider completing this survey

UEB Surveys: The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of the transition to Unified English Braille (UEB) from the perspectives of all involved individuals (i.e. Teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs), administrators, parents, university personnel preparation program faculty, and braille transcriptionists/ paraprofessionals). The goal is to acquire an understanding of the impact of the transition and identify support for states/territories and current TVIs. For this study, participants will be asked to 1.) Complete an online survey (less than 10 minutes), and 2.) if you are willing, participate in one individual interview via phone or Zoom (less than 30 minutes).

• TVI Survey
• Parent Survey
• Administrator Survey
• Braille Transcriber/Paraprofessional Survey
  

As a PaTTAN Blindness/Visual Impairment team, we are starting our discussions around next year's (2023-24) training plan. We would LOVE your input to help us determine what your needs are so that we can make data-informed decisions.

If you haven't yet, please complete this 8-question need survey by April 10, 2023.

*This needs assessment was highlighted in the last newsletter.

CVI for the TVI & other Professionals is a monthly forum (hosted by Perkins) for collaboration and discussion - It is a closed meeting, open to members only. If you are interested in becoming a member Please join the mailing list.

Check out past webinar topic areas, such as:

• Understanding CVI
• CVI: Impact on Vision
• CVI & The Environment
• CVI Assessment
• CVI & The ECC
• CVI Services & Programming
• CVI and other disabilities, including hearing loss

TEACHCVI is a partnership that aims to create collaborative tools for teachers and healthcare professionals. It is meant to build a bridge between teachers/educators and health care professionals so they can work together to benefit the target group: children with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI).

Check out their database of resources in the areas of:

• Guidelines
• Screening Tools (Use as part of your FVA to help refine aspects of your assessment)
• Assessments
• Teaching Materials

Royal Dutch Visio's PIMD-CVI Assessment is designed for professionals with thorough pedagogic/therapeutic knowledge and with specific comprehension of the development of visually impaired children and of persons with multiple intellectual and visual impairments.

Looking to learn more about CVI? Consider this free, self-paced, short Google Classroom CVI Self-Paced Short Course.

If you are an AER member consider joining the Neurological Vision Impairment Division. The NVI division's bi-monthly newsletter provides information about new CVI resources and professional development opportunities. The January and March Newsletter highlighted:

• Designing an Accessible Academic Experience for Students with Cortical Visual Impairment: A Virtual Four-Part Workshop with Matt Tietjen hosted by Columbia Regional Inclusive Services and Northwest Regional Education Service District.

• Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment: A foundational overview and understanding online course from Perkins School for the Blind
  

• Perkins School for the Blind Course: O&M through the CVI Lens

• TSBVI - Coffee Hours - A wealth of great content in CVI and other topics as well.
  

The Veering Cane has partnered with Kutztown University to host the SECOND PA Regional Cane Quest! Get ready to again showcase the incredible Orientation and Mobility skills of PA's blind and visually impaired youth.

Cane Quest is a challenging orientation and mobility contest that provides students (grades 3-12) with visual impairment/blindness an opportunity to showcase their skills as white cane travelers. Contestants are divided into three categories:

• Scouts: grades 3 to 6
• Explorers: grades 7 to 9
• Trailblazers: grades 10 to 12

Student’s Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS) will determine the skills of interested students, and complete the form connected to categorical grouping buttons on the website. Parents will complete a form and sign a permission slip for their child to participate.

To learn more, refer to the Veering Cane's website.

Registration is open for this nationally recognized conference. Find the conference brochure, pre-conference at-a-glance, and other information on their website under Professional Development - Annual Conference.

When: April 19-21, 2023

Where: Best Western Premier Central Hotel, Harrisburg, PA

• Onyx Pro (not available due to warranty repair)
• HIMS BrailleSense 6
• Onyx Deskset HD 20”
• Ruby XLHD w/ High Contrast (not available)
• Ruby 10HD with Speech
• ClearView Go 17” (identical to the APH Jupiter but with a LARGER screen)
• Brailliant Bl 40x
• Blaze ET

The Framework for Access & Belonging with Supplementary Aids and Services – or FAB is the newly renovated Supplementary Aids and Services (SaS) Consideration Toolkit and keeps the purpose of the toolkit unchanged.

FAB is a structured method to analyze a general education classroom's instructional, physical, and social environment from the perspective of an individual student with a disability. The intended outcome of using the FAB Process is for the team to identify specific obstacles or instructional barriers that may interfere with meaningful access and belonging within an educational environment. Once barriers are identified, the team will select tools, strategies, and/or resources to reduce and/or eliminate these barriers to enhance participation and learning for the student with a disability in the general education classroom.

For more general information check out FAB on the PaTTAN website and on the initiative's google site.

We are making updates to our PaTTAN BVI website pages. Coming Soon...

Did you know that PaTTAN has a monthly BVI Family Newsletter? The BVI Family Newsletter for March includes information about the Parent UEB survey, ESY Determinations, summer camp options (more to come in future newsletters), and a family special education quick start guide. We encourage you to share this resource with families and check it out yourself!

• Sign up

All families of children who are blind or visually impaired (BVI), deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), or deaf-blind (DB) are invited to sign up for the PaTTAN Family Resource Group.

The goal of this group is to send out resources, event information, and contacts that can benefit your family and child. It is an easy way for you to get updates and take advantage of any available opportunities.

For more information:

• Watch our 2-minute video
• Contact us by email: FamilyResourceGroup@pattankop.net
• Check out the PaTTAN website for additional information!
• Sign up today: Blind-Visual Impairment Initiative and Family Resource Group Sign up

Resources to share with families:

• Family Resource Group Information
  
• Family Resource Group Poster
  
• Family Resource Group Flyer
  

Do you know families who may be interested in connecting with other families of children who are blind or visually impaired? APH (American Printing House for the Blind) FamilyConnect and the Chicago Lighthouse have partnered together to provide a virtual support group that connects on the first Wednesday of every month from 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm (ET). Visit the FamilyConnect website to view additional details and resources.

Wait!! Do you see it? Out on the horizon, I can just make it out! "Summer, summer, summertime;
Time to sit back and unwind..." (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, 1991)

The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) Hive offers a variety of free online courses for vision professionals and educators to increase their ability to respond to the needs of students with visual impairments. This “one-stop” for professional development offers ACVREP continuing education units upon successful completion of a course.

The APH ConnectCenter includes FamilyConnect, CareerConnect, and VisionAware – a hub of websites that offer curated advice and resources to assist children, parents, adults, job seekers who are blind or visually impaired, and their associated professionals, leading to greater independence and success in their lives.

APH is also hosting many live events, including a focus on transition. Visit the APH Connect Event page to register for live online learning opportunities and earn ACVREP credits.

AER continues with synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities, with a discount if you are an AER member. AER is releasing has a slew of exciting upcoming live opportunities , which can be viewed on their events page. They also created an extensive library of recorded courses, presented by experts in the field. Complete your continuing education from anywhere: home, work, even at the park! Every webinar on this site is approved for ACVREP credits and will provide a certificate upon completion.

Perkins School for the Blind has a number of offerings for those working with students with visual impairments to increase their knowledge and skills. Visit the following sites to learn more:

• Perkins eLearning - Professional Development
• Accessible Science
• College Success
• Paths to Literacy
• Paths to Transition
• Paths to Technology

Hadley offers a variety of free online learning opportunities in the following categories:

• Daily Living
• Recreation
• Braille
• Adjusting to vision loss
• Technology
• Vision loss

*Sign-up/log-in to get access to the entire training.

We encourage all supervisors and professionals in the field of visual impairment to sign up for access to our drives. We will be posting recorded presentations, resources and much more! Sign up today! Select your group below to request access.

• Supervisor Access Request Form
• Professional Access Request Form

PaTTAN East - 333 Technology Drive Malvern, PA 19355

• Jenifer Edgar - jedgar@pattan.net - Educational Consultant
• Tess Nasehi - tnasehi@pattan.net - Family Consultant

PaTTAN Central - 6340 Flank Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17112

• Greg Gerhart - ggerhart@pattan.net - Educational Consultant

PaTTAN West - 3190 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15238

• Tim Knight - tknight@pattanpgh.net - Educational Consultant
• Greg Lazur - glazur@pattan.net - Educational Consultant