Strategies for Improving Literacy Skills in Students with CVI

Diane Sheline, Certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and Certified Low Vision Therapist, presents a webinar on Strategies for Improving Literacy Skills in Students with CVI.  This webinar discusses a variety of techniques and strategies that parents and teachers can use to increase literacy skills in students with a diagnosis of Cortical Visual Impairment. The focus is on strategies for students functioning in the CVI Range of Phase III, however some pre-reading techniques are also discussed for students in Phase II. This presentation uses a variety of ideas to increase the motivation level of students and makes reading fun!

After watching this webinar, viewers will be able to:

• State three qualities to look for when choosing an appropriate literacy program.
• Discuss what blocking materials are and why use of blocking materials on a page of print is helpful to a student with CVI.
• Identify which types of pictures or photos might work best in a literacy program for the student with CVI.

The webinar can be viewed by anyone for free, or it can taken as a tutorial to earn professional development credit.

Presenter Summary:
Diane Sheline is a Certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and a Certified Low Vision Therapist. She currently is an Independent Consultant for Fort Bend ISD (Texas) providing evaluations and assessments, primarily with students who have a diagnosis of Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) or some form of brain damage related vision loss. She regularly provides teacher training in the area of CVI nationally in addition to being a Statewide Mentor to new teachers in the field. With the creation of her website Strategy To See, Diane hopes to inspire parents and teachers of students with CVI to use a variety of strategies which may encourage more efficient use of vision. Diane received her master’s degree from San Francisco State University and has been working with students with disabilities since 1980.