BRS Pediatric Visual Impairment Services 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student who is deafblind is BEST served educationally through which approach to communication?
- Exclusive reliance on tactile sign language
- An individualized communication system based on the student's sensory, cognitive, and motor abilities (Correct answer)
- Standardized augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices
- Lip-reading supported by residual hearing
Correct answer: An individualized communication system based on the student's sensory, cognitive, and motor abilities
Students who are deafblind require highly individualized communication systems developed from comprehensive assessment of their unique sensory, motor, and cognitive profiles.
Question 2: The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) differs from an IEP in that the IFSP:
- Is written exclusively by the TVI and COMS
- Focuses on family outcomes and is used for children birth to age 3 (Correct answer)
- Is updated every three years rather than annually
- Only addresses educational goals, not therapy services
Correct answer: Focuses on family outcomes and is used for children birth to age 3
The IFSP, used under Part C of IDEA for children birth to age 3, centers on family-identified outcomes and supports, recognizing the family as the primary context for early development.
Question 3: Which tactile skill is considered a prerequisite for braille reading readiness in young children?
- Ability to identify uppercase print letters by touch
- Discrimination of two-point tactile stimuli with high accuracy
- Fine motor manipulation and discrimination of small objects (Correct answer)
- Memorization of the braille alphabet
Correct answer: Fine motor manipulation and discrimination of small objects
Fine motor manipulation and tactile discrimination of small objects are essential precursor skills that support the ability to differentiate braille cell patterns.
Question 4: A TVI collaborating with a speech-language pathologist for a child with multiple disabilities and visual impairment should focus on which integrated goal area?
- Ensuring the child learns braille before any speech intervention
- Developing communication strategies that account for the child's visual access to AAC symbols (Correct answer)
- Separating visual rehabilitation goals from communication goals to avoid confusion
- Delaying communication intervention until vision is stabilized
Correct answer: Developing communication strategies that account for the child's visual access to AAC symbols
Effective collaboration requires that AAC symbol design, display layout, and placement account for the child's functional vision to ensure accessible and effective communication.
Question 5: Which environmental modification would MOST benefit a preschool student with photophobia due to achromatopsia?
- Increasing classroom overhead fluorescent lighting
- Providing tinted lenses and positioning the child away from windows (Correct answer)
- Using high-contrast color materials on a bright white background
- Scheduling outdoor activities during peak sunlight hours
Correct answer: Providing tinted lenses and positioning the child away from windows
Achromatopsia involves extreme light sensitivity; tinted lenses reduce glare and positioning away from windows minimizes exposure to bright light sources.
Question 6: When writing goals in a student's IEP for braille instruction, goals should be:
- Generic enough to apply to any student using braille
- Measurable, specific to the student, and tied to the grade-level curriculum where appropriate (Correct answer)
- Written exclusively in terms of reading rate in words per minute
- Deferred until the student reaches a third-grade reading level
Correct answer: Measurable, specific to the student, and tied to the grade-level curriculum where appropriate
IEP goals must be individualized, measurable, and connected to academic or functional needs, including alignment with grade-level standards where applicable.
Question 7: A child with albinism commonly experiences which combination of visual characteristics?
- Night blindness and tunnel vision
- Reduced acuity, nystagmus, and photophobia (Correct answer)
- Color blindness and loss of depth perception only
- Progressive vision loss beginning in school age
Correct answer: Reduced acuity, nystagmus, and photophobia
Albinism typically presents with reduced visual acuity, nystagmus, photophobia, and often strabismus due to reduced retinal pigmentation and abnormal optic nerve projections.
BRS Pediatric Visual Impairment Services 4
A student who is deafblind is BEST served educationally through which approach to communication?