Another ENVITER Webinar, hosted by VYV3 PDL – Monteclair Institute, was held on October 16th, with the aim of presenting the EARLY project results.
EARLY project was born from ENVITER exchanges, based on a topic submitted by MONTECLAIR Institute (Angers-France), and coming from the same purposes: children, and young adults with blindness often lack of autonomy in different areas.
Monteclair proposed to work together to question our practices in early intervention services and support of families with the aim to develop good practices in this field. An Erasmus + project Exchange of practices is born in 2020 between France (Monteclair and CRDV), Italy (Rittmeyer, Ascoli and Istituto dei Sordi), Austria (Contrast), Bulgaria (NRCB) and Croatia (Vinko Bek). During 2 years, 3 mobilities of professionals were developed for the exchange of practices and put forward the good practices for the support of very young children.
This webinar detailed the content of the project and outcomes realized, with intervention by Catherine THIBAULT and Philippe BELSEUR (VYV3 PDL – Monteclair Institute).
You can find the results of this project here:
- Project EARLY Booklet – English
- Project EARLY Booklet – Bulgarian
- Project EARLY Booklet – Croatian
- Project EARLY Booklet – French
- Project EARLY Booklet – German
- Project EARLY Booklet – Italian
Please visit our ENVITER Youtube channel, following this link, if you wish to see the recording of this webinar.
This year, Viena (Austria) was the host city of ENVITER’s annual Blue Sky Meeting (BSM).
On September 28th and 29th, our members met at the Hilfsgemeinschaft to brainstorm about ideas for project proposals and develop constructive workshops.
These annual BSM are developed with the financial support of the network itself, sponsoring the involvement of a person per member and this way promoting the opportunity to meet together and to take part in the growth of ENVITER, by encouraging work on new project topics and proposals for submission for funding.
During the 2 work days, we had the opportunity to participate in debates, presentations, project workshops and also a visit to our new member, the Bundes-Blindenerziehungsinstitut.
During the presentations, Laura Latour, from our member IRSAM, presented her work about Autism Spectrum Disorder And Visual Impairment. You will be able to find her presentation here and we hope that, soon, we can have a webinar about it, so this subject can reach professionals working in our members organizations and others.
For participants that could also stay until Saturday, it was possible to engage in a very special visit to one of the most iconic places, in Vienna: St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
On 21 September, for almost 2 hours, during the afternoon, ENVITER and ICEVI-Europe (International Council for Education and Re/habilitation of People with Visual Impairment, Europe) hosted a joint webinar on Visual Impairment and Relations, Intimacy, and Sexuality.
All blind or partially sighted people (from 0 to 100), regardless of their intellectual ability, should have access to correct knowledge about their body, relations, intimacy, and sexuality and should be given the opportunity to experience this all according to their wants and needs. This statement is the rational for the work at the national Dutch expertise group on relations, intimacy, and sexuality (RIS), made up of members from 3 different organizations: Royal Dutch Visio, Bartiméus and the Robert Coppes Foundation. And they invited all interested professionals to join an interactive international webinar on September 21 and share experience and knowledge: sexual development in the lifecycle, practical information and materials, results from scientific research project, personal stories from clients, casuistry, and ideas for attitude and conversations on this topic.
Presenters:
- Suzanne Sparidans (Royal Dutch Visio)
- Sandra van der Meijden (Royal Dutch Visio)
- Yeshe Zoutenbier (Bartiméus)
- Bram Vedder (Robert Coppes Foundation)
You can find the recording of this webinar in our ENVITER’s Youtube channel.
Other resources presented in the Webinar:
Save the date: 2-4 june 2025 – Tactile Reading Conference
ENVITER is excited to announce the Tactile Reading and Graphics Conference 2025, which will take place from 2 – 4 June 2025 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The Tactile Reading’s third edition will bring together participants worldwide that contribute to making information accessible through tactile solutions. In addition to braille, this also involves tactile graphics, drawings and 3D. During three days, the conference will feature a varied program about all aspects of tactile reading and graphics with inspiring speakers.
Join us at the fantastic and inspiring venue of the ‘Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ’, the most important concert hall for contemporary music in the Netherlands.
To learn more about the Conference, please visit the website www.tactilereading.org . Stay tuned for further details, including the call for abstracts, the official program and featured speakers.
It is the aim of the Conference Organization to connect as many people as possible in joining forces to empower inclusive reading experiences for all. Therefore, if you know other people and organizations who might be interested to participate, to be a speaker or to be a supporting sponsor of the Tactile Reading and Graphics Conference, please forward this announcement to them.
So, mark your calendars and save the date!
To enable and increase access to Braille teaching Visio International has developed: “Teaching Braille, a manual for teachers, parents and policy makers”. The online manual is based on Unified English Braille (UEB) and explains different stages of braille learning: from preparatory to beginner braille and advanced braille. Focus is also on the way of teaching Braille. The book contains many links, practical examples and attention is paid to different materials with which you can teach Braille.
This book is intended for people who work with blind or partially sighted children, many of the ideas may be useful if you work with older children or adults. This book focuses especially on techniques that do not solely depend on expensive equipment and materials. The book emphasizes instead things you can find or make easily. It is especially aimed at the following people:
- Teachers and classroom assistants who have visually impaired children in their classroom, both in special and mainstream schools
- Parents, caregivers and siblings of visually impaired children.
- Decision-makers: education officers, school principals and others who make decisions about the education of blind and visually impaired children.
You can download the book via the following link:
The 18th International Mobility Conference (IMC18) was held in Warsaw, Poland, from 22 to 26 May 2023. The prestigious IMC18 was organized by the Chance for the Blind Foundation together with Polish universities and other organizations working on behalf of blind and visually impaired people.
The International Mobility Conference takes place approximately every two to three years and is held in different countries around the world. It is attended by both academic professionals and practitioners in the broadly defined field of rehabilitation of the blind.
The theme of IMC18 was “Information, resulting in mobility and ability”.
In 2022 September, based on our discussion in Trieste, if Enviter can do something to assist European countries with a severe lack of O&M instructors, a small group started working on the topic. The group created a short questionnaire about the O&M situation in each member country.
The Scientific Program Committee gave us the chance to lead a workshop during the conference, where we could share the results of the questionnaire plus started a professional dialogue about the possible solutions in the near future. You can access the correspondent presentation here.
Second 3D Printing Course
The course took place from May 23rd to May 24th, 2023 at the BFW Düren in Germany and was targeted at trainers of people with visual impairments
The nine participants from five countries were introduced to the principles of creating tactile maps and teaching models with 3D printers. In addition to the operation of 3D printers, the use of the corresponding software was also explained in the compact course.
The participants are employees of companies that are ENVITER members.
As 3D printing is increasingly important in the education of blind and visually impaired people, this course was financed by our network. Due to its experience in this field, the Berufsförderungswerk Düren was assigned with the organisation of the course.
Thanks to the committed cooperation, it was possible to create tactile site plans and models during the course. The course also provided an opportunity to exchange ideas regarding the application of 3D printing in the participants’ work area.
Contents of the course:
- Application areas of 3D printing in the field of visual impairments
- Different 3D printing processes and materials
- Costs and effort
- Advantages of 3D printing compared to conventional manufacturing methods
- Obtaining parts from databases, 3D scanning and design
- Practical operation of an FDM 3D printer
- Creating tactile maps with Touch Mapper
- Basic construction with Autodesk Fusion360
- Introduction in 3D scanning
ENVITER covered the cost for the course and accomodation in the BFW Düren.
See it, Find it, Use it – Supporting Vision for Complex Learners
Our Icelandic member (the Icelandic National Institute for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Deafblind) is pleased to announce an upcoming conference and workshop titled “See it, Find it, Use it – Supporting Vision for Complex Learners”. The event will be held in Iceland from the 27th to the 28th of October at the Icelandic Blind Association, Hamrahlíð 17, 105 Reykjavik.
Vision is often overlooked when children have additional needs. In this conference, they’re putting vision at the top of the agenda! This conference will inspire you to understand how easy and beneficial it is to work with stimulating vision, even for most children with additional disabilities. We will introduce the ‘Positive Looking’ method, which is practical and accessible for both professionals and parents.
At the conference, participants will be introduced to useful and simple strategies to specifically support children with limited vision or trouble interpreting what they see, a condition known as Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). In the end, participants are encouraged to find their own unique ways to support children with vision loss and additional needs. The ‘Positive Looking’ method can also be used to monitor the progress of visual skills. However, few of us realize that we use vision for 70-80% of our sensory processing. It is crucial for everyone involved with a child with complex needs to understand how they use their vision and how they can progress further. This conference and workshop aim to do just that!
You don’t need to be an expert in the field of vision to attend this conference.
The conference is hosted by Positive Eye UK in collaboration with the National Institute for Visually Impaired Blind and Deafblind and Blindrafelagid, Icelandic Association of the Visually Impaired (BIAVI).
Who should attend?
Everyone! This includes Special Educators, Special School Teachers, Teachers of Vision Impairment/Multi-sensory impairment, Therapists, and Parents.
Price
£200.00. This covers the two-day conference, including lunches and refreshments on both days. Attendees must make their own accommodation and travel arrangements. Please note not to make any travel arrangements until the 30th of June when we will confirm if the minimum attendee count has been reached. Payment will not be asked for until this date.
Registration is available through the Positive Eye webpage or by email, please contact the Icelandic National Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired at midstod@midstod.is.
Conference-Workshop Schedule – Day 1
| 9 – 9.15 | Registration and refreshments |
| 9.15 – 9.30 | Welcome: Gwyn McCormack, Director of Positive Eye UK. |
| 9.30 – 9.45 | We‘ll meet you where you are – let‘s find you
Here Dr. Rachel Pilling will help us to understand about autism and vision impairment.
Professor Rachel Pilling: Consultant Ophthalmologist, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Professor of Special Needs & Learning Disability Eye Care, University of Bradford, UK |
| 9. 45 – 10:15 | Positive Looking: Simple – Possible – Doable by EVERYONE.
Gwyneth McCormack will discuss strategies for visual stimulation and share ideas that everyone can implementAt this point, it could be useful to downloadthe Positive looking app!
Gwyneth McCormack, Director of Positive Eye |
| 10.15 – 10.30 | Coffee |
| 10.30 – 11.15 | The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ Behind Positive LookingIn the lecture Estella Bjornsson MSc and Dr. Elva Johannesdottir will tell about how positive visual stimulation is useful and the science behind it.
Estella Björnsson, optometrist og Elva Jóhannesdóttir, opthalmologist at the National Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Iceland. |
| 11.15 – 12 | Do you see what I see?
Professor Rachel Pilling will help us to understand about autism and vision impairment in her presentation.
Professor Rachel Pilling: Consultant Ophthalmologist, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Professor of Special Needs & Learning Disability Eye Care, University of Bradford, UK |
| 12 – 13 | Lunch |
| 13-14 | Using the Eye for Positive Movement
Beth Foster will share ways to utilize residual vision to assist with movement opportunities. She will discuss physical literacy and how an increase in literacy can assist with independence and self-advocacy
Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Foster, Ph.D. Associate professor at West Chester University, PA in adapted physical activity/education (APA/E). 3 APA/E program coordinator and graduate coordinator of the APE graduate certificate program. Director for Camp Abilities in Pennsylvania |
| 14 – 14.45 | Positive Looking in Action Setting up the environment for Positive Looking
Here you get to know how to make the environment successful for visual stimulation and what tools you can use for visual stimulation.
Gwyn McCormack, Positive Eye UK |
| 14.45 – 15 | Coffee |
| 15.15 – 16 | A continuum of the workshop Positive Looking in Action Positive Looking Everywhere You Go! |
Conference-Workshop Schedule – Day 2
| 9:00 – 9:15 | Welcome and Workshop to make your Positive Looking Everyday by Everyone Toolkit base!.
Gwyn McCormack, Positive Eye UK |
| 9:15 – 10:45 | Positive Looking = Positive Impact in the States Utilizing the Storytime Show. This presentation will focus on the Impact of Positive Looking Strategies through the participation in The Storytime Show through the introduction and development of literacy skills. Literacy has commonly been defined as the ability to read and write. However, that definition has placed literacy beyond the scope of possibility for some children who have complex sensory, physical or developmental challenges. The State DeafBlind Projects collaborated to create an online space for families to enjoy stories, build confidence, and create a home library that is inclusive of all family members. The State DeafBlind Project was purposeful in its planning, sending craft activity boxesto all family participants, contract with Gwyn McCormack, provide American Sign Language Interpreters, captioning, and translating into Spanish. The Storytime Show connects to the Positive Looking Program strategies to ensure active participation for children who are Blind/visually impaired, DeafBlind, Complex Learners.
Dr Donna Carpenter: Kentucky Deafblind Project Danna Conn: Tennessee Deafblind Project Robert Hill: South Carolina Deafblind Project |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Coffee |
| 11:00 – 11:45 | Practical Workshop: Positive Looking – Story Writing Gwyn McCormack, Positive Eye, UK
Here participants are given the resources to write stories to use with children to develop their visual skills. |
| 11:45 – 12:30 | See It Find It Use It –a new approach to the child with CVI
Professor Rachel Pilling and Daniel Downes will share a new tool they have developed to support educators working with children with CVI
Professor Rachel Pilling: Consultant Ophthalmologist, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Professor of Special Needs & Learning Disability Eye Care, University of Bradford, UK Daniel Downes: Team Leader for Children with VI, Salford, UK |
| 12:30 – 13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:30 – 14:15 | Looking Past the Barriers: Our Journey in Kentucky, USA
How state of Kentucky implemented positive looking in their schools and consultation.
Dr Donna Carpenter: Deafblind Project, Kentucky Robbin Cox: Outreach Consultant, Kentucky Angela Powell – Outreach Consultant, Kentucky |
| 14:15 – 15:30 | Practical Workshop: Create a ‘Positive Looking Everyday by Everyone Toolkit’ to takeway
Gwyn McCormack, Positive Eye, UK |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Plenary, takeaways. |