Blogs
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We are always interested in hearing ideas from the field, so please contact us if you would like to share your thoughts.
Blog contributors are welcome; please contact Kate Hurst at hurstk@tsbvi.edu or Kaycee Bennett at bennettk@tsbvi.edu to share your blog posts.
August 28, 2021 - 2021 Virtual Statewide Parental Involvement Conference
News from the Federal Program Compliance Division
You are invited to participate in the 2021 Virtual Statewide Parental Involvement Conference, December 9-10, 2021. The conference will provide opportunities for educators, parents, and community leaders to learn strategies for empowering all stakeholders to increase student achievement and to meet the required mandates of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This year’s conference intends to build the capacity of all the participants in the area of parent and family engagement. Presentations and workshops will focus on important requirements in the ESSA legislation, particularly as they relate to parent and family engagement.
August 6, 2021 - Adapting Comics for Blind and Low Vision Readers
Adapting Comics for Blind and Low Vision Readers”
Presented by: San Francisco State University’s Comic Studies Department, The Program for Vision Impairments, and the Longmore Institute on Disability.
Sponsored by: Amazon
Free to attend, ASL, Live CART, and audio description provided, register now at: Tinyurl.com/AdaptingComicsWhen: Thursday, August 12, 9 am PT – 4:15 pm PT, full agenda available here.
Comics are currently a dominant force in popular culture, while simultaneously being increasingly recognized as a significant means for supporting literacy and a valuable tool for education in the classroom. Stories told in their pages often promote diversity and chronicle the lives of the marginalized, and yet the form itself completely leaves out the visually impaired audience. With the mass popularity of comics, the industry is in dire need to find ways and set stand standards to create better access to comics for blind and low vision
readers.
August 5, 2021 - Have You Wondered about WonderBaby.org?
WonderBaby.org, a website created by Amber Bobnar, is dedicated to helping parents of young children with visual impairments as well as children with multiple disabilities. The website offers a database of articles written by parents who want to share with others what they’ve learned about playing with and teaching a blind child, as well as links to meaningful resources and ways to connect with other families.
Amber began WonderBaby in 2006 when her son, Ivan, was a year old. He had just been diagnosed with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare retinal disorder. Her family had been desperately searching for support and answers and thought it might be a good idea to gather these as she found them into one place.
July 27, 2021 - IEP Publication from TEA
The development of the IEP is a critical part of providing a quality program for any child receiving special education services. Parents and also sometimes, educators, struggle to understand what needs to be included in this document that guides the educational program for the student.
Texas Education Agency (TEA) has a wonderful publication that can help guide this process.
July 22, 2021 – Cogswell-Macy Tweeter Blast
This important message on the Cogswell-Macy Act came in this morning. Be sure to read and share this information with friends, family, and colleagues. This legislation is very important to the deafblind community and others. We need your help in contacting your senators and representatives to urge their support. With so many other important pieces of legislation in the works, they need to know this piece of legislation matters to you. Make your opinions on this legislation known.
July 14, 2021 – Calling All Chefs
This just in from Deafblind International Youth Network!
Today we are announcing plans of a new publication!
We are requesting young deafblind people to submit an original recipe from their own experience of cooking and baking. Perhaps a family recipe shared through generations, a favourite dish from your country or just a meal you enjoy to cook / bake.
Please share this post with those who may like to contribute to our DbI youth network recipe book.
The deadline for submissions of recipes is September 1st 2021. Please send these to simon.allison@sense.org.uk
If you have never tried cooking with your child who is deafblind, we encourage you to give it a try. You don’t have to start with elaborate dishes or begin by practicing your Bobby Flay knife skills. There are many things you can make together that are easy and fun. You may want to download the Independent Living Skills Recipes on the TSBVI website or read Hey What’s Cooking, an article by by Franziska Naughton and Sharon Sacks to get inspired.
July 9, 2021 - Do You Know about the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation?
The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) is dedicated to providing information and support to the albinism community. This organization provides resources and supports research about albinism. They have dynamic training using both virtual and face-to-face events targeting individuals with albinism and their families.
There are many types of albinism and hypopigmentation. Did you know that a variety of eye problems in albinism result from the abnormal development of the eye because of a lack of pigment? These often include:
July 8, 2021 – Deafblind Youth Network Publication
Deafblind International Youth Network publication. 
We are excited to hear about this new publication from Deafblind International’s Youth Network. Share this with everyone you know!
Hello from Deafblind International Youth Network
I am pleased to attach the 2021 Deafblind International Youth Network publication.
‘Young deafblind people live their lives in many different ways. Their choices and decisions are influenced by many things including where they live, their culture and heritage.
Being deafblind in a seeing, hearing world creates challenges. In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic created even greater challenges.
Are these dealt or coped with in different ways in different countries? This collection of stories provides a unique insight into of how young deafblind people have lived their lives in a new unpredictable world’