This chapter discusses educational progamming to meet the general and unique needs of visually

handicapped students, regardless of the multiplicity of handicaps. The chapter summarizes

philosophy and purpose, program provisions for visually handicapped students, the process of
program implementation, traditional service delivery models, and administrative issues and
concerns.

PHILOSOPHY AND PURPOSE

As Stated above, the purpose of education is to equip children and youth with life competencies that
enable them to love, to work, and to play within the context of an acceptable system of values. This
purpose is equally applicable to the education of visually handicapped children and youth. All too
often, unfortunately, visually handicapped students do not acquire these requisite independent
living skills. For example, Morrison (1987) described some visually handicapped young adults who
did not know that eggs come twelve to a carton, did not know how to make a bed, did not know that
exact change was not needed when making a purchase. “what good does it do to know about the
boer war, if you can’t make your bed ? “ (Morrison, 1974) education of the visually handicapped is
more than academics, more than passing one grade level after the other (tuttle , 1981). Only with
the well-established competencies of life can visually handicapped in

Summary comparism of progam model

Compares all five proram models with respect to ten critical characteristics

a. Extend of specially student needs: each individual visually handycapped children has a
unique constallation of needs. The more intense the needs are, the more severalspecial
education modification are required to meet those needs. Each service delifery can
acommodate a different range of needs.
b. Adapted modificational materials and device: text book and other suplementery materials
need to be made available in a medium appropriate to the need of a spesific child.
c. Physical facilities: some visually handicapped children require modifications in the physical
learning environment with respect to work space, lighting electrical outlets, storage, et, to
facilitate effeciency in the accomplishment of certain educational tasks.
d. Special education instructional time: the emmount of specialized instructional time available
to each child from a teacher trained in education of visually handicapped students will varry
from one service delivery model to another.
e. Peer instruction: a vissually handicapped child’s social and emotional development is
enhanted through opportunities to relate to sighted classmates.
f. Home and community support: to be most effective, the education of visually handicapped
children requires cooperative effort among general education, special education, the home,
and community organizations.
g. Student’s travel time: the travel demands placed on visually handicapped students will vary
from one service delivery model to another.
h. Teacher’s travel time: travel demands placed on the teacher of visually handicapped children
will also vary from one service delivery model to another.
 i. Average student case load: the average student-teacher ratio varies from one model to
another. From the author’s own surveys it appears that the student load ranges from a high
of 50 children all of whom require minimal support service from the teacher consultant to a
low of two severely multiply handicapped deaf-blind children.
j. Professional identity and supervision: the program models vary from highly structured and
closely supervised to unstructured and minimaly structured.

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES AND CONCERNS

 Program management issues

 Program avectiveness issues
 Program evaluation issues

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4 4-5
3 3-4
2 2-3
1 Series 3
1-2
0 Series 2
0-1
Category 1
Category 2 Series 1
Category 3
Category 4