Week #11 - Factors to Consider When Determining Delivery of VI Services

   This week the focus was on understanding the factors that go into determining the delivery of services to students with visual impairments. After the IEP has been written with specific, measurable goals and objectives, the questions of where, what conditions, and how often must be decided in terms of how services are administered to the student. All decisions are filtered through the already completed assessments that were not only completed by the TVI, but also by all members of the student's educational team, and with the input of the student's family, as well as what the results of those assessments determined the student's most pressing educational needs to be.

   Determining what the least restrictive environment for the student should be and yet still accomplish the goals and objectives on the student's IEP is the first factor to be considered. Delivery models for VI are numerous and determining what the least restrictive environment is while meeting the student's educational needs depends on what the level of the student's visual functioning is in correspondence to the need for instruction in the expanded core curriculum. How much support does the student require from the TVI to function in his educational setting? Does the TVI need to allot time for providing adaptation of classroom materials or instruction in assistive technology? How much support does the educational team require from the TVI to provide instruction to the student? These questions and more go into determining the appropriate setting for the student to receive VI services.

   Another factor to consider is how stable is the student's eye condition. Is the vision loss progressive and how quick is that progression? How much will it affect his educational needs within his classroom and the school itself? If the condition changes rapidly, will the educational team be able to adapt his needs with the support of the TVI, or will the TVI need to take on more of the instructional needs during that time? For instance, if the student was being served in an itinerant teaching setting, and his vision changed dramatically, he may need to have services changed to a resource room, or even a self-contained setting. If the condition is stable, how well does the student utilize functional vision? There are low vision students that do remarkably well with visual functioning and may do well educationally in a general education classroom with a few VI supports.

  To answer the question of what factors are not a consideration when determining delivery of VI services, I would hypothesize the funding and availability of TVIs. Federal funding to provide VI services and support materials are available throughout the US. In areas that are more rural, TVI availability may be a factor, however, districts have access to private contracting companies to provide VI services of contracted vision professionals.