https://www.iowa-braille.k12.ia.us/pages/uploaded_files/ECCResGuide%2007.pdf 

Book from Iowa on teaching students ECC .  Hase great resources for strategies, and monitoring outcome.

Activities, Ideas, and Resources for Developing ECC Skills: What Parents Need to KnowYour child needs to study the same basic academic subjects that sighted children do, from how to tell time to how to write a persuasive essay. But in order to master these subjects (often known as the "core curriculum") and complete their schoolwork—as well as to eventually live and work independently—children who are visually impaired usually need to learn an additional set of skills known as the "expanded core curriculum."
They are sometimes also referred to as "disability-specific skills" or "vision-related skills" because they are useful specifically for individuals who are visually impaired. They may include activities such as

• using braille to read and write, instead of reading printed books or using a pencil and paper to write;
• learning how to move about in the environment safely and independently, which is known as orientation and mobility (O&M);
• knowing how to use specialized computer equipment and other technology devices designed for children with visual impairments; and
• learning how to use what vision they have effectively and efficiently.

The classroom teacher is responsible for teaching your child the basic academic curriculum, but because the expanded core curriculum covers the unique, specialized needs of visually impaired students, the subjects included within it should be taught by a teacher who specializes in working with students who have visual impairments. This teacher is a pivotal member of the educational team that works with your child.
Expanded Core Curriculum Subjects and Skills: Resources for FamiliesThe following are the subjects and skills that students who are visually impaired are taught to enable them to study the basic educational curriculum along with their sighted classmates.

• Compensatory academics—critical skills that students need to be successful in school, such as concept development, organizational skills, speaking and listening, and communication skills such as braille or print reading and writing.
  
  
• Orientation and mobility—skills to orient children who are visually impaired to their surroundings and travel skills to enable them to move independently and safely in the environment, such as:
  • Human guide techniques (also known as sighted guide)
  • Using standard and adaptive canes
  • Recognizing cues and landmarks
  • Moving through space by walking or using a wheelchair
  • Requesting assistance
• Social interaction—skills needed to respond appropriately and participate actively in social situations, such as:
  • Shaking hands
  • Turning toward others when speaking or being spoken to
  • Using language to make a request, decline assistance, or express a need
  • Expressing emotion and affection appropriately
  • Participating appropriately in conversations in various situations
• Independent living—skills needed to function as independently as possible in school and at home, including personal grooming, time management, cooking, cleaning, clothing care, and money management.
  
  
• Recreation and leisure—skills to ensure students' enjoyment of physical and leisure-time activities, including
  • Making choices about how to spend leisure time,
  • Actively participating in physical and social recreational activities
  • Trying new leisure activities
  • Following rules in games and activities at an appropriate level
  • Maintaining safety during leisure activities
• Sensory efficiency—skills that help students use the senses, including any functional vision, hearing, touch, smell (olfactory), and taste (gustatory). Examples of sensory efficiency skills your child may learn include:
  • Using optical aids
  • Using augmentative and alternative communication devices
  • Using touch and vision to identify personal items
  • Using sense of smell to know when nearing the school cafeteria
• Use of technology—skills to use devices such as computers or other electronic equipment that make it easier to function effectively in school, at home, and in the workplace.
  
  
• Career education—skills that enable students who are visually impaired to move toward working as an adult, including
  • Exploring and expressing preferences about work roles
  • Assuming work responsibilities at home and school
  • Understanding concepts of reward for work
  • Participating in job experiences
  • Learning about jobs and adult work roles at a developmentally appropriate level
• Self-determination—skills to enable students to become effective advocates for themselves based on their own needs and goals.

Although this may seem like a lot for any child to accomplish, your child's education team will decide which of these skills your child needs to focus on at any given time

Art Beyond Sight
INDEPENDENT LIVING AND SOCIAL SKILLS THROUGH THE ARTS
A MODEL PROJECT
 ■ Activity Plan ■

• Activity Plan Overview: Dressing for Success
• Activity Plan 1: Tying a String
• Activity Plan 2: Making a Bow
• Activity Plan 3: Belting and Buckling
• Activity Plan 4: Buttoning
• Activity Plan 5: Snapping
• Activity Plan 6: Zippering Pants
• Activity Plan 7: Zippering a Jacket

DRESSING FOR SUCCESS
This unique New York City-based pilot program addresses the needs of school-age children with visual impairments. Focused on dressing skills and self-expression through dressing, as well as building social skills and confidence, the project integrates occupational therapy, daily living skills development, and art education to improve academic and functional performance, as well as to develop social integration skills, enabling these students to become more independent.
Analytic description of pupils:
“Dressing for Success” is a model project combining occupational, art and music therapies. Five elementary and middle school classes were targeted. They are located in two public schools in Brooklyn, NY, that serve children in grades K–7 with visual impairments, and secondary learning and socialization deficits due to visual-spatial issues, fine and gross motor difficulties, self-esteem and dependency concerns.
Hear from a Teacher on     
the value for her students
 (1:20)
(You need Windows Media Player.)






Goals:

• To teach basic dressing skills and review concepts of hygiene and self-care.
• To promote fine motor skills (manipulative, eye-hand coordination, graphomotor).
• To promote cognitive skills through visual memory, imagination, concentration.
• To promote problem-solving skills through independent and group processing.
• To promote development of self-concept and enhance self-esteem through body awareness and enhanced fashion awareness.
• To develop tactile exploration skills by introducing a range of different textures.
• To develop kinesthetic awareness and motor skills through music and movement.
• To promote aesthetic awareness through fashion, design and art.
• To develop communication and social skills.
• To present socialization opportunities through organization and participation in a public event.

The expanded core curriculum area needed to achieve our learning standard and content goals include those of Career Education and Social Interaction.  However, the topic is not really new to educators of the visually impaired.  According to the Web site of the American Foundation for the Blind, “references to the subject of grooming skills date back as far as 1891. The need for social interaction skills appears in the literature in 1929 and again in 1948.  Between the years 1953 and 1975, there are more than two dozen references to books and articles written about daily living skills and visually impaired students…The expanded core curriculum now being promoted is not new--its need has been known for decades.”
Objectives:
Children will demonstrate mastery or progress toward mastery of seven basic dressing skills (see attached activity plans): tying a lace; tying a bow; belting and buckling; buttoning; snapping; zippering pants; zippering a jacket.
These skills are a prerequisite for the ability to engage in various individual and group activities for the design and creating of clothing, such as vests and hats, to be featured in a “fashion show” at the program's closing event.








Children will participate in the show/reception at the course’s conclusion.  Additional classroom activities will include helping to design, draw, and address invitations to the reception. Event activities will include greeting guests, serving food, a fashion parade, and presentation and/or musical performance of songs used to teach the above-mentioned dressing skills.
Instructional strategies:
Manipulation of materials, student discussion in small group learning, active involvement, cooperative learning, and the use of technology.
Developmental skills necessary for success:
Children are at various levels of independence in dressing and self-care skills.  These include the ability to don and doff outer wear (coats, scarfs hats, mittens, and book bags);  indoor clothing (shirts, pants, socks, and shoes); self-care and personal hygiene skills (washing, teeth brushing, hair combing, etc.).
Model/strategy appropriate for achieving objective:
During a five-month program, children will have ample opportunities to refine their dressing skills and fashion sense through individualized and group sessions.   Teaching materials and strategies will be provided by ABS instructors, who will instruct and be assisted by classroom teachers and teaching aids.  Hands-on modeling, cooperative learning, and mastery learning will be utilized to teach, motivate, and reward each student’s accomplishments, with ample opportunities for discussion and discovery.
Materials:
Each lesson will be supplemented by materials and aids provided by ABS staff, specific to the skill to be studied.  These will include a variety of assistive fine motor, as well as real-life objects.  Tying skills, for example, will be demonstrated by hands-on opportunities to work with shoes, neck ties, scarves and hair accessories, as well as specialized assistive materials, including colored pipe cleaners, large resistive “rapper snapper” tubes and colored shoe laces mounted with tape to tabletop surfaces.  Arts and craft supplies, including stick-on designs, fabric markers, beads, jewelry, etc., will be available to accentuate and personalize hats and special dressing vests provided.
Learning will be enhanced throughout by live and recorded music, using CDs, percussion and guitars, enforcing the how-to of individual dressing skills with the over-arching message of “Easy When You Know How” to help encourage and motivate learners and teachers.
 


Classroom organization:
Classes will be conducted in a combination of large groups, small groups, and individualized formats.  1:1 hands-on instruction, however, will be utilized throughout.


DELIVERY PHASE:
Anticipatory set:
Learners will be informed of the goals and objectives from initial presenting of required dressing skills to involvement in fashion design to participation in concluding reception at the outset of the class and throughout its progression.  Thus a sense of momentum and excitement will be built into the course.
Procedures for achieving objective(s):

1. Introduction of objectives and methodology to teachers and children.
2. Discussion and demonstration of seven dressing skills, using everyday examples and adaptive teaching supplies, e.g., scarves, neckties, pipecleaners, and large tubes to illustrate tying.
3. Use of music and songs to reinforce content.
4. 1:1 assistance provided by ABS instructors and classroom teachers.
5. Art making and self-expression through fashion: creating own fashion designs, decorating hats and scarves. Children will use arts and crafts supplies to personalize specialized dressing vests.  Follow up class includes the use and history of hats.  The children will discuss, feel, and model a variety of hats and choose hats to decorate for their teachers.  Follow-up classes will include fabrication of hat designs for teacher and themselves.
6. Creative writing on themes related to dressing, and fashion. Practice handwriting, as well as creative expression and social confidence.
7. Song writing: Teaching language.
8. Event production and social skill building through creating event management teams that take responsibility for different aspects of the event: invitation design, event program design, greeting committee, refreshments, sign-in book, entertainment, clean up.
9. Course will conclude with a final reception held at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
10. Modification for children’s varied visual ability through equipment, language, and cooperative-learning strategies.

Reflection and Assessment:
Children will have the opportunity to discuss the process and importance of the activities they practiced in the context of their use for the fashion show. Adults will query children’s feeling about the value and success of the project, and instructional strategies.
NYS Learning Standard(s):
The Arts
Standard 1:   Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts
Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.
Standard 2:   Knowing and Using Art Materials and Resources
Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles.
English Language Arts
Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.
Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences
Standard 1:   Personal Health and Fitness
Students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity, and maintain personal health.
Languages Other Than English
Standard 1:   Communication Skills
Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication.
Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Standard 6:   Interconnectedness - Common Themes
Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology, and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
Standard 7:   Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.
Expanded Core Curriculum Goals:

• Compensatory or functional academic skills, including communication modes
• Orientation and mobility
• Social interaction skills
• Independent living skills
• Recreation and leisure skills
• Career education
• Use of assistive technology
• Visual efficiency skills

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Developing organisational skills in children - some tipsWed, 07/18/2012 - 11:59 -- adminParents have a big role to play in helping their child gain the organisational skills necessary for success, both at school and in later life.
Parents have a big role to play in helping their child gain the organisational skills necessary for success, both at school and in later life.
Here are some suggestions for how to begin:
Introduce your child to the concept of ‘checklists’First start making a ‘to-do’ list for yourself, it may be chores for home, chores for office etc. Tell your child how great it feels each time you put a tick against a completed task. In this way you can teach them that organisational skills are of benefit to everyone. They will gain confidence in the method as they see you using it to organise your own work and life.
A visually impaired child will need to make their list in the way that best suits them: they could use a Braille slate, a cassette recorder or a computer. In order to ensure that the list is used, rather than being made and then promptly forgotten, you could give rewards, such as preparing a favourite dish or going out for a treat, when all the listed activities for a day or week are completed.
Prioritise workSit with your child while they list down all the homework to be done but be sure to include fun activities such as time to play or time for a favourite TV or radio show as well. Before beginning a homework session, encourage your child to number the assignments in the order in which they are to be done. Children should start with one that is not too long or difficult but also avoid saving the longest or hardest assignments until last.
This will bring enthusiasm in the attitude of your child, as they will look forward to catching up with friends after finishing that maths homework.
Study spaceIdentify a quiet place in your house with few distractions and turn it into a study area for your child. Provide a table, chair and book-rack. Encourage them to always study at the same place. Let them feel this is their corner and they can decorate it the way they want. This will boost confidence and creativity.
Set a designated study timeTell your child, that a certain period of the day must be reserved for studying and doing homework. The best time is usually not right after school, as most children benefit from time to unwind first. So, decide the time in consultation with your child and then make sure they stick to it.
Even if your child does not have homework, the reserved time should be used to review the day's lessons, read for pleasure or work on an upcoming project.
Organise study aidsThis task can be included in a reminder list for the month. And as per your child’s wish, after each week, encourage them to organise their notebooks, cassettes, book racks etc. Help your child to do this and explain what you are doing and where you are putting things.
Practice a household scheduleRemember that as a parent you are the most important mentors for your children, who will emulate very easily what you practice at home. Thus, try to establish and stick to a regular dinnertime and a regular bedtime.
This will help your child fall into a routine and help them know what to expect when at home. Routine plays an important part in increasing a child’s confidence. Children with a regular bedtime also go to school well rested and ready to learn. Try to limit television watching and computer play to specific amounts of time during the day.
Keep a master calendar for the familyThis should list all the family's commitments, including schedules for extra-curricular activities, days off from school or work and major events at home and at school. Note dates when your children have big exams or due dates for projects. This will help family members keep track of each other's activities and avoid scheduling conflicts.
Prepare for the day aheadBefore your child goes to sleep, check that all their homework is finished and their school bag is packed. Clothes should be ironed and laid out in the same place each day, complete with shoes, socks and accessories. This will cut down on morning confusion and allow your child to prepare for the day ahead.
Reinforcement may be required from your side as a parent, while your child learns to be more organised and self-sufficient.
Positive reinforcements always help, so when they do things well, give them a friendly pat at the back or surprise them with tickets for a favourite movie as a reward.

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Presented by Barbara Miles, Susan DeCaluwe, and Elizabeth TorreyThere are four webcasts included in this training module that demonstrate a wide range of teaching strategies used to provide effective instruction to students with visual impairments and additional disabilities. Participants will earn 2.0 ACVREP, CTLE credits, or Continuing Education credits by viewing four designated webcasts and taking an online test

Learning Goals and Objectives
Participants will:

• Learn strategies for having conversations with students who are deafblind.
• Develop an understanding of the components of a good conversation and how they can be applied to a conversation with a child who is deafblind.
• Gain an understanding of the value of a communication portfolio for learners with deafblindness or multiple disabilities.
• Learn how to develop a communication portfolio.
• Gain an understanding of the unique function hands serve for individuals who are deafblind.
• Gain an understanding of how to use symbols to support the development of communication in children who experience a variety of sever communication disorders and are unable to use abstract symbols.

• Upon successful completion of the test, you will earn 2.0 ACVREP, CTLE credits, or Continuing Education credits (your choice). You will be able to print a signed Perkins certificate demonstrating that you earned the credits.
• Instructions on how to enroll in the tutorial and take the online test will be emailed to you after you have successfully registered. Perkins eLearning profiles are unique to the learning platform, and separate from any other username/password you have with Perkins. If you already have a user profile for the learning platform, you will use that existing profile to access the tutorial.
  

　

Book on teaching self-determination

ED 442 207EC 307 841
AUTHORField, Sharon; Martin, Jim; Miller, Robert; Ward, Michael;
Wehmeyer, MichaelTITLEA Practical Guide for Teaching Self-Determination.INSTITUTIONCouncil for Exceptional Children, Reston, VA. Div. of Career
Development and Transition.ISBNISBN-0-86586-301-6PUB DATE1998-00-00NOTE185p.AVAILABLE FROMCouncil for Exceptional Children, CEC Publications, 1920

Association Dr., Dept. K0032, Reston, VA 20191-1589 (Stock#P5231, $39.95, nonmembers; $27.50 CEC members). Tel:888-232-7733 (Toll Free); Fax: 703-264-9494; Web site:http://www.cec.sped.org.PUB TYPEGuidesNon-Classroom (055)EDRS PRICEMF01/PC08 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORSAdministrators; *Curriculum; *Disabilities; Elementary
Secondary Education; Family Involvement; *IndividualizedEducation Programs; *Self Determination; *StudentEmpowerment; *Student Evaluation; Student Participation;Transitional ProgramsIDENTIFIERS*Individualized Transition Plans
ABSTRACT
Targeted at special education teachers/special populationinstructors, work experience coordinators, vocational assessment personnel,and guidance counselors, this guide examines the relationships among careerdevelopment, transition, and self-determination for students withdisabilities. The guide uses a question-and-answer format to identify andrespond to key topics that practitioners need to address to promote studentself-determination in their service settings, and provides detailed reviewsof over 30 curriculum materials and assessment tools in the areaofself-determination. Specific chapters address:(1) the importance ofself-determination and school and family-based interventions to support thedevelopment of self-determination;(2) student involvement in theIndividualized Education Program and transition process and specificstrategies to prepare students for participation and to increase studentparticipation;(3) assessment of self-determination;(4) instructionalpractices that promote self-determination and family and schooladministratorroles in promoting self-determination in students;(5) self-determinationinstructional materials review; and (6) key issues and future directions inself-determination. Curriculum and assessment resources available toeducators and service providers are described throughout the guide alongwithappropriate contact information. In addition, an appendix includes anannotated bibliography of recent articles and books written on thetopic ofself-determination. (Each chapter contains references.)(

Self-DeterminationThis area of the ECC highlights the importance of believing in oneself, while understanding one's abilities and limitations. Students learn from successes and failures how to achieve one's goals in life. Self-determination is the ability for people to control their lives, reach goals they have set and take part fully in the world around them.
Bringing together all of these skills learned in the expanded core curriculum produces a concept of the blind or visually impaired person in the community. It is difficult to imagine that a congenitally blind or visually impaired person could be entirely at ease and at home within the social, recreational, and vocational structure of the general community without mastering the elements of the expanded core curriculum. What is known about congenitally blind and visually impaired students is that, unless skills such as orientation and mobility, social interaction, and independent living are learned, these students are at high risk for lonely, isolated, unproductive lives. Accomplishments and joys such as shopping, dining, attending and participating in recreational activities are a right, not a privilege, for blind and visually impaired persons. Responsibilities such as banking, taking care of health needs, and using public and private services are a part of a full life for all persons, including those who are blind or visually impaired. Adoption and implementation of a core curriculum for blind and visually impaired students, including those with additional disabilities, will assure students of the opportunity to function well and completely in the general community.

Sensory efficiency includes instruction in the use of residual vision, hearing, and the other senses; for example, learning how to use optical devices, hearing aids, augmentative communication devices, and the like. In addition, learning how to integrate all remaining senses to counter the impact of any missing or impaired sense is also integral to this area; for example, learning how to use tactual, gustatory, and olfactory input rather than visual cues to identify one's personal possessions, or using hearing and the other senses to identify people one knows without visual cues, fits into this area.

Technology is a tool to unlock learning and expand the horizons of students. It is not, in reality, a curriculum area. However, it is added to the expanded core curriculum because technology occupies a special place in the education of blind and visually impaired students. Technology can be a great equalizer. For the braille user, it allows the student to provide feedback to teachers by first producing material in braille for personal use, and then in print for the teacher, classmates, and parents. It gives blind persons the capability of storing and retrieving information. It brings the gift of a library under the fingertips of the visually impaired person. Technology enhances communication and learning, as well as expands the world of blind and visually impaired persons in many significant ways. Thus, technology is a tool to master, and is essential as a part of the expanded core curriculum.

Career EducationThere is a need for general vocational education, as offered in the traditional core curriculum, as well as the need for career education offered specifically for blind and visually impaired students. Many of the skills and knowledge offered to all students through vocational education can be of value to blind and visually impaired students. They will not be sufficient, however, to prepare students for adult life, since such instruction assumes a basic knowledge of the world of work based on prior visual experiences. Career education in an expanded core curriculum will provide the visually impaired learner of all ages with the opportunity to learn first-hand the work done by the bank teller, the gardener, the social worker, the artist, etc. It will provide the student opportunities to explore strengths and interests in a systematic, well-planned manner. Once more, the disadvantage facing the visually impaired learner is the lack of information about work and jobs that the sighted student acquires by observation.
Because unemployment and underemployment have been the leading problem facing adult visually impaired persons in the United States, this portion of the expanded core curriculum is vital to students, and should be part of the expanded curriculum for even the youngest of these individuals.