Skip to content Ontario.ca Français

Blind/Low Vision Resource Program

Staff from the Resource Services Department at the W. Ross Macdonald School visit students who are blind/visually impaired and students with a vision loss and additional exceptionalities, who attend a local school board program in Ontario. These visits are provided at no charge and are made upon a written request by school personnel to the Blind/Low Vision Resource Program.

A referral process is in place for individual students to be seen by resource consultants.

Please click the following links to download the referral packages:

• Early Intervention Braille
• First Nations Community Schools and Private Schools

Student focused consultations:

In order to access consultative services for specific students the following information is typically requested:

• Referral form signed by parent/guardian
• Medical report including a current ophthalmology report
• Any other reports considered pertinent

Consultants typically will spend from one-half to one full day in the classroom. A brief meeting between the teacher and the consultant prior to student observation will provide the consultant with information of the teachers' concerns. It is typical for consultants to:

• Gather and collect data while observing the student
• Observe and record the student’s interactions with peers and staff
• Withdraw the student from the classroom

Following the visit a summary report is written. Consultants are available to attend team meetings in order to share recommendations and observations.

Our consultants are specialists in the field of blindness and low vision. Their experience and training has qualified them to address the needs of students with vision loss where specialized methods and techniques are necessary for learning and development.

Educational Consultants provide:

• Functional vision assessments of students,
• Interpretation of medical reports regarding vision,
• Learning media assessments, assistive devices assessments to determine eligibility for the Special Equipment Amount (SEA).
  
• Orientation and Mobility consultation and needs,
• Programming suggestions for visual needs,
  
• Programming suggestions for learning media needs and special equipment needs.

Other services to School Boards include presentations and workshops to provide information about the educational implications of visual impairment and the coordination of professional development at the W, Ross Macdonald School for teachers, consultants and other professionals serving students who have a vision loss in Board settings.

These presentations can include:

• Classroom Strategies for teaching students with a visual impairment
• Assistive Technology
• Impact of various visual disorders
• Simulation workshops
• Learning Strategies
• Orientation and Mobility
• Learning Strategies for students who are blind/visually impaired with additional exceptionalities
• Activities of Daily Living
• Essential Skills

We also provide clinic days for the Early Intervention Program where families and children are served. Children’s visual and developmental needs are assessed.

Back to top