Content Development of the Educational Interpreter Roles and Responsibilities Guiding Checklist

The purpose of this qualitative study was to extend development of the Educational Interpreter Roles and Responsibilities (EIRR) Guiding Checklist, which was designed to assist the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team in determining and documenting individualized roles and responsibilities of the educational interpreter, as appropriate to the needs of the student receiving such services and the qualifications of the interpreter as a related service provider. Literature indicates a long-standing state of confusion regarding the appropriate roles and responsibilities of the educational interpreter, as well as the need for more clear guidelines and procedures. The Checklist was initially designed by a certified teacher of the deaf who was experienced as an educational interpreter and supervised educational interpreters across a public-school d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) program. To continue preliminary instrument development towards content validation, knowledge of laws and strategies related to DHH education were deemed critical. As such, seven certified teachers of DHH students, who had at least three years’ experience supervising, overseeing, and/or providing training to educational interpreters, provided extensive feedback regarding the Checklist. Content analysis was utilized to determine themes that emerged. Results indicated significant support regarding the need for the checklist, as well as contributions towards further development, thus concluding in 63 revisions. Next steps towards development and validation are presented

Teaching Orientation and Mobility Skills to Students with Autism and Vision Impairment in Public Schools: A Data-Based Study

Two students with autism, vision impairment, and intellectual disability participated in an orientation and mobility (O&M) intervention to travel in school settings using their folding canes. A multiple-baseline across participants design to determine the effectiveness of the intervention was used. The dependent variable was time taken to travel the specified route. The independent variable was O&M training. Results indicated that both participants took less time to travel during the intervention compared to the baseline. Students with vision impairment and autism can be trained using systematic O&M training. The O&M specialists working with children with autism and vision impairment should collect data and make data-based decisions while providing O&M instruction

IT on teaching and learning process of visually impaired students

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Podcasts Episode 08: Dr. Nora Griffin-Shirley

Dr. Nora Griffin-Shirley is a professor and the Director of the Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Sensory Disabilities at Texas Tech University. Nora coordinates the Orientation and Mobility Specialist and Sensory Impairments and Autism programs at Texas Tech University. https://www.depts.ttu.edu/education/our-people/Faculty/nora_griffin_shirley.phphttps://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/sped_podcast/1007/thumbnail.jp

Including Students who Are Visually Impaired in the Classroom: Attitudes of Preservice Teachers

Introduction: This study examines the perceptions of preservice teachers concerning the inclusion of students with blindness or low vision (visual impairments) in their classrooms. Methods: Using a modified version of the Preservice Inclusion Scale (PSIS), data were collected from participants in three universities in the United States before and after the completion of an introductory special education course. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) test was conducted to investigate the change in participants\u27 attitudes toward inclusion. Results: The anxiety measure revealed an increase in the calmness level of preservice teachers, and the receptivity measure revealed a nonsignificant change in their receptivity level toward inclusion. Discussion: There were three main study outcomes: A between-subject effect of the universities was not evident, no significant changes in hostility or receptivity were found, and the confidence of preservice teachers in teaching students with visual impairments was not a predictor of changes in attitudes toward inclusion. Suggestions for future research: Future research should determine the nature and scope of strategies included in coursework, and whether these strategies relate more to improvements in attitudes than to coursework that does not include them