Low vision aids

Low Vision Aids

by Heather Mason

Examples of use of scanning skills in and out of the classroom situation are:

Distance activities using a telescope or binoculars may include:

looking at static pictures on the wall, tops of trees, interesting parts of buildings,
looking at moving boats on the lakes and sea, animals in the zoos, children playing, birds on a bird table outside the classroom, traffic, etc,
playing games based on the above activities, eg; I Spy, reading car numbers, how many....can you see, finding different object 'hidden' around a room, etc
encourage the observation of your facial expressions and them imitate them, eg; happy, angry, sad, bored,
encourage the use of LVAs during out-of-school visits, eg; museums, sporting events, concerts,
encourage copying skills from the blackboard by writing up jokes.

Fun activities for secondary pupils which include training elements:

Near distance activities

looking for specific information in sports pages or fashion pages of newspapers and magazines,
play board and card games,
reading bus/train timetables as part of mobility lessons, for travelling to and from school or when planning a trip,
reading cooking instructions on food for microwave,
making an address book for friends by looking up names in the telephone directory,
plan a route to a favourite place, eg; cinema by using the A to Z,
read instruction manuals for computers or new appliances, eg; CD players,
make a chart to compare reading speeds using the magnifier with different sized print,
encourage the use on field trips and to share findings with friends.

Suggested activities for use with preschool and primary and early secondary aged pupils using a magnifier:

looking at a variety of objects, eg; stamps, money, fossils, leaves, insects, flowers, illustrations in books,
fingerprints,
simple games, eg; connecting up the dots to make a pictures, simple mazes, finding the odd one out or spotting thedifferences between two pictures,
play board games such as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Cluedo, Lotto (numbers and words),
reading comics, age appropriate magazines, menus, CD or tape cases.

Distance viewing activities using monocular or binocular devices:

identify makes of stationary cars,
identify pop stars from posters on the wall,
as part of mobility lessons, identify safe times to cross at pelican crossings,
on a visit to shopping precincts, identify different shops, eg; Bodyshop,
visit a large railway or bus station and read lists of arrivals and departures,
spot bus numbers on both stationary and moving buses - link up with bus stops,
identify road names from across the road,
identify signs in supermarkets and locate different produce,
locate a player in a sporting event,
make a chart to compare speeds of copying material from a blackboard or reading speeds over a period of time,
use in museums, exhibitions to read information or to scan objects.

Activities for parents to encourage at home:

make sure CCTV is readily accessible for homework and leisure activities,
encourage their use by making it part of a,normal event to look at something in detai,l eg; football league tables, instructions on various labels, TV programme information, putting on make-up, watch TV or as part of a hobby, eg; stamp collecting, making models,
watching birds on a table in the garden and a bird book in the house near the window can be an excellent way to encourage use of a distance and near LVA,
visit one of the RSPB's (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) Reserves and see hi-tech LVAs being used by everyone!
encourage: spotting of bus numbers or prices in the supermarket or petrol station - make it into a game; use of LVAs when on holiday, eg; viewing scenery, illuminations, sporting events, finding road numbers and signs or using a compass and ordnance survey map when walking.