The day has finally arrived and you have a student in your class who has low vision. It is common to go on and enlarge a printed worksheet and present it to the student. Not so fast! What should you do? Here are some “Do’s” and “Don’ts” to consider.
No materials except pre-planning and common sense are needed.
List of “Don’ts”
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Don’t assume larger is better. Copying print can create enlarged documents that are fuzzy and hard to read.
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Don’t assume doubling the size of the print will work.
List of “Do’s”
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Do consider obtaining information from the TVI.
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Do consider asking for a Functional Vision Assessment.
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After 1 and 2 are accomplished, do consider re-formatting the worksheet to fit the visual needs.
How to re-format a document (based on knowledge of font size)
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After you have determined font size, say 24 pt., create a document that is 24 pt and with a good font like Arial to create high contrast.
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Format a document that contains the same information as the original document, but is not cluttered with differing contrasts or too many pictures.
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If this is your first stab at re-formating, present the finished worksheet to your student and have them critique it for you. In this way, you will give the student advocacy skills and you will become a teacher who can meet visual needs.
Each grade level can benefit from this re-formating; however, with students who are younger, removing most of the clutter from the worksheet and creating high contrast documents will ensure better success in accessibility.
