Students with Progressive Vision Loss

Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programs www.tsbvi.edu | 512-454-8631 | 1100 W. 45th St. | Austin, TX 78756

2017 Low Vision Conference: Students with Progressive Vision Loss May 11, 2017 Austin, TX Providing an Emotionally Supportive Environment

Presented by Marnee Loftin, Psychologist [email protected]

Developed for Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programs

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PROVIDING AN EMOTIONALLY SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT

PLAN FOR EMOTIONAL ISSUES BEFORE THEY OCCUR  Include an LSSP or Counselor on your Team  Develop strategies or BIP to use when emotional/behavioral issues emerge  Teach the student a form of calming strategy before he/she needs it  Ensure that everyone on your Team knows the strategies or BIP  Be sure that emotional/behavioral issues are NOT seen simply as non-compliance ACKNOWLEDGE THE RIGHTS OF THE PARENT TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF INFORMATION  Recognize that parents control the flow of information to the Team and to the student  Provide feedback if you have suggestions about this flow but avoid “nagging”  Support the decision of the parent in every way possible  Avoid each member of the Team giving feedback to parents about the information flow PLAN TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE ASKED BY THE STUDENT AS WELL AS OTHERS  Try to anticipate questions that are likely to be asked by the student  Develop answers to likely questions that are consistent with the overall plan  Share those answers with other members of the Team  Try to avoid answering questions directly if you don’t have a plan  Sometimes the best answer is “why do you ask?” Often the question that we answer is not the one the student is asking  Develop strategies for classmates that will help them be supportive and respect privacy of the student TRY TO AVOID ATTRIBUTING EACH PROBLEM TO THE CONDITION  Problems can emerge for a variety of reasons  Try to determine the reason for the problem before you assume a reason  Remember that there will always be problems that are just associated with being a child ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMPLEXITY OF THE GRIEVING PROCESS  Realize that everyone does not go through a series of stages of grief  Acknowledge that everyone grieves in their own way  Recognize that staff who are grieving may often have difficulty interacting as a group  Support one another throughout their own process of grieving BE KIND TO YOURSELF DURING THIS TIME  Know that you are making a difference in the life of this student  Avoid taking on unnecessary challenges/demands at this time Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programs

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