To be eligible for District Itinerant Services, a visual impairment is defined as having at least one of the following below (verified by a recent medical report from an ophthalmologist or the Visually Impaired Program at BC Children’s Hospital or Sunny Hill Health Centre):
- A visual acuity of 6/21 (20/70) or less in the better eye, after correction
- A visual field of 20 degrees or less
- Any progressive eye disease with a prognosis of becoming one of the above
- An uncorrectable visual problem or reduced visual stamina, such that the student functions throughout the school day as his/her visual acuity is limited to 6/21 or less
Description of Service:
- Provide a functional vision assessment
- Participate as a member of the student’s IEP team
- Provide direct instruction is the 9 areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum, such as braille, visual aids, specialized technology, social skills, self-advocacy, orientation and mobility, and independent living skills
- Provide in-service for school staff, families, and student about eye conditions, visual impairments and the implications for learning
- Collaborate with braillists regarding braille transcription, adapting maps/diagrams and access to classroom materials & curriculum
- Collaborate with teachers, parent, other staff regarding students learning access and equity at school
- Provide effective communication between home, school, eye doctors and community agencies
- Collaborate with school based team to procure accessible materials from PRCVI, SET-BC and ARCBC, such as braille textbooks, large print textbooks and e-pubs
Referral Procedure:
School Based Team will contact the Teachers of the Visually Impaired directly. Please email or fax a copy of the student’s current eye report (within last 12 months) from an ophthalmologist or from the Visually Impaired Program at BC Children’s Hospital or Sunny Hill Health Centre.
