teaching student with ocular albinism and Pervasive Developmental D/O

I teach at a small, non-profit, alternative school with a student with
ocular albinism and pervasive developmental disorder. I am researching
teaching methods to more effectively present academic material to her.
Could someone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

 

Is there a school for the blind in your area? You might want to consult
with their teachers. Ocular albanism can result in quite a broad range of
visual deficients from minor to major. You will need to know what the best
corrected acuity of your student is in order to know what kind of materials
to use.

Does your local association for the blind provide assessment for children
and provide assistive devices? Has the student been assessed by a low
vision specialist? The results of those assessments should provide guidance
to you as well.

Dr Judy

 

Bill, I'm not that familiar with pervasive dev disorders other than
it being associated with autism/mutism. As far as ocular albinism,
the main deficits are extreme light sensitivity and possible reduced
visual acuity (possible strabismus). Many people with ocular albinism
already have very dark tinted glasses and, depending upon her level
of overall visual acuity, large print books and large printing on the
blackboard may be of help. There's an organization I believe is called
NOAH (Natl Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation) that could
be of additional help.

frank