This newsletter is not an endorsement of any organization that may appear.

Please take a 3-5 minutes to complete our Blindness/Visual Impairment Needs Assessment (11 questions) so that we may know how to better support you next school year.

Last year we listened to your input and provided, or are currently working on the following supports:

• Monthly newsletters - BVI professional and family editions
• Separate virtual discussions - TVI Time; Coffee, Tea, and O&Me -- each provided quarterly
• UEB Math/Science and UEB with Nemeth: A Guidance Document for IEP Teams - PaTTAN publication

• CVI professional development - 2023 HELIX Conference
• O&M professional development - 2023 HELIX Conference
• School psychologists and VI assessment - 2024 PDE Conference
• Tactile Graphics (coming soon!)

• PaTTAN Technology Adventure For Students with Vision & Hearing Needs

  (coming soon!)

Western PA School for Blind Children will be holding an exciting summer camp on their campus. Some of the program highlights are:

• Building a 3D printer
• Hands-on experiences for the visually impaired
• Meeting STEM professionals, including a NASA engineer
• Taking local field trips to places like Carnegie Science Center
• Contribute to a research study by completing surveys and interviews to enhance activities for student with visual impairments.
• Opportunities for 2 field trips

Who: This program is geared for students in grades 8-12 who are at or near grade level for reading level.

What: A day program

Where: Western PA School for Blind Children

When: July 29-August 2 from 8:30 am-4:00 pm

Reach out to Holly Russell, russellh@wpsbc.org/412-310-5204 with questions. Learn more by checking out the program flyers in the Professionals Serving Students with VI Google Drive.

The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is collecting feedback on the product and service needs of Orientation and Mobility professionals working with students who are blind, low vision, deafblind, or have multiple disabilities.

If you are interested in providing feedback please complete the survey.

This article from the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI) discusses why providing students with visual impairments opportunities to try a variety of different leisure activities will help them get a sense of what they enjoy and encourage them to become proficient allowing them to dive deeper into the experience.

Areas of recreation and leisure include (McGregor and Farrenkopf, 2017):

• Individual sports
  
• Team sports
  
• Games – e.g. board games, card games, video games
  
• Media: videos, music, reading and writing
  
• Arts and crafts and fine arts
  

Examples of Recreation and Leisure Skills

• Demonstrate independent play
• Working with a partner or group
• Following rules or turn-taking
• Aware of personal safety
• Interacting and communicating effectively with others"

Check out PRCVI's vast list of resources to support instruction in this area on the PRCVI website.

• Article from Can I Play That: 5 Games for Blind and Visually Impaired Players
• Blog post by a visually impaired gamer: Gaming While Visually Impaired: The Barriers to Gaming
• Article from Orcam: 10 Best Adapted Games for the Blind or Visually Impaired
• Vision Aware: Cards and Games
• Paths To Literacy: Games for Students with Visual Impairments

• This Perkins article on braille music addresses the following:
• Braille music
• How it differs from print music
• Special indicators in braille music
• Technology assists with the transcription of braille music
• Learn Braille Music
• In this short Perkins article on music technology for the visually impaired learn about tips and resources for students with visual impairments and blindness to succeed and flourish in music classes.

Swimming

• In this article from the International Blind Sports Federation learn more about why swimming is a popular sport for people with visual impairments at both the grassroots and high performance levels.
• In this article from APH's Vision Aware learn tips for swimming adaptations.
• In this article from Swim Angelfish learn tips for teaching swimming to children with visual impairments.

Track/Running

• United In Stride - United In Stride is a free tool for uniting visually impaired walkers and runners of all levels with guides. Our mission is to support the blind and visually impaired community in realizing their fitness goals.
• In this Vision Aware article learn tips on running with a tether and working with a guide.

Other Sports/Exercise/Active Hobbies:

• Checkout Vision Aware's resources on Walking and Hiking, Tandem Bicycling, Sailing, and Skiing.
• Paths to Literacy: What Is Yoga and How Can It Benefit My Child with a Visual Impairment?

• Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired: 10 Tips for Aspiring Blind Yogis

• Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired: Five Tips for Birding by Ear

• the Cook Forest Sensory Trail is a one-quarter-mile paved sensory trail that enables individuals with visual or physical impairments to experience the wonders of Cook Forest.

• TDF believes that the arts should be shared with everyone, including those with vision loss. For theatregoers who have low vision or are blind, TDF’s Accessibility Programs provide audio description services at select Broadway performances. Audio description allows the theatre lover who is blind or has low vision, to enjoy a live performance with their loved ones. Learn more on the TDF website.
• Perkins article on Participating in drama and theater programs with low vision: Tips for participating in drama and theater programs and plays with low vision.
• APH Vision Aware article on Enjoying Theater and Film: Audio Described Theater Performances

• On the Vision Aware website explore their resources on Pottery and Ceramics, Beadwork, Painting, Sewing and Needlework, and Woodworking.
• The following museums across the commonwealth offer accessible options for individuals with a visual impairment to experience exhibits.
• Philadelphia
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Museum of the American Revolution
• The Penn Museum in partnership with Philly Touch Tours
• Pittsburgh
• The Wharhol
• Carnegie Science Center
• Children's Museum
• Harrisburg
• The State Museum of Pennsylvania with the Aria App

• APH's Sports Courts: Get oriented and familiarized with 16 different sports courts and fields! SPORTS COURTS provides tactile exploration across various courts and fields commonly used in sports.
• APH's Physical Education and Sports for People with Visual Impairments and Deafblindness: Foundations of Instruction provides practical and essential information on modifying physical skills instruction, techniques for adapting sports and other physical activities, and more
• The Teaching Students with Visual Impairments website has a list of recreation resources.

Polly is an electronic Wi-Fi enabled braille learning device that teaches reading, typing, writing, vocabulary, and spelling in both contracted and uncontracted braille using a gamified approach. With immediate feedback, incorporation of music, and competitive games, Polly puts the fun into learning braille! This device includes multiple input methods, a speaker for instruction and feedback, and an online teacher portal that allows remote access and progress monitoring for educators/parents. Polly contains both a 6-dot braille keyboard and an electronic slate to accommodate the preference of the user.

The Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter of AER invites you to participate in their annual conference as they focus on Shared Stories: Magnifying Our Impact. This nationally respected conference offers a notable line-up of professionals who will present three general sessions, 35 concurrent sessions, an exhibitor hall with a large group of exhibitors on Thursday’s Exhibitor Day, professional poster presentations, the Penn-Del AER awards banquet, their AER Chapter meeting, and a tempting silent auction!

• April 24–26, 2024
• Best Western Premier Central Hotel and Conference Center
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Registration information

AER is taking over the Sheraton/Le Meridien Hotel in uptown Charlotte from July 24-28, 2024. They have big plans in store for you as they celebrate their 40th anniversary in what will surely be an informative and fun gathering of everyone working in the education and rehabilitation of people who are blind or have low vision! Just imagine five days of curated sessions, events, and special celebrations. Learn more on their website. Registration is open!

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.

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.

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.

Access Academy is your one-stop resource for the meaningful education and training webinars you need to get the most out of APH products and services. From tutorials on new products and hacks on how to get the most from your beloved tech, to information on resources, services, and programs: our goal is to give you the info you need for home, the classroom, and the workplace.

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.

Eschenbach Academy is a "new online educational platform designed to supplement the knowledge and training they currently provide via in-person and webinar formats. Eschenbach Academy’s educational content ranges from interactive low vision courses, low vision training modules and general business courses useful for practice managers and owners.

This new eLearning platform provides training content that will help you and your staff become more efficient and effective in providing low vision care to your patients who have a vision impairment. In so doing, it will allow your low vision care service to deliver even more successful outcomes for both your patients and your practice."

This resource will be added to future newsletters under "Leisurely Learning."

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.

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

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 - BVI 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@pattan.net - Educational Consultant
• Greg Lazur - glazur@pattan.net - Educational Consultant