Are you a teacher of students with visual impairments?

Do you have a student or students with visual impairments in your classroom?

What can you do to make the classroom visually or tactually accessible?

Perhaps you are a TVI with your own classroom.  Maybe you are a special education, resource, or general education teacher and you have students with visual impairments.  Besides giving them a space near the board, how can you make your classroom accessible? The ideas listed below are beneficial to all learners.

Here are 10 ideas to transform your classroom into a multi sensory learning environment!

1. Decrease the visual clutter.  Classrooms often have posters on every wall, bulletin boards, word walls etc.  Find a space to reduce the visual clutter.  Use black backgrounds to create high contrast.
2. Set aside a vision center.  This area may have light up toys, a light box,  gel and water toys.  It may be a space with magnifiers and CCTVs, with pictures, objects, texts, and books for students to visually explore.
3. Create a sensory wall with lights, textures, moving items etc
4. Assess your lighting- is it too bright- is it too dark? Is there a lot of glare? Adjust the lighting as needed by bringing in a lamp, dimming the lights, or using light covers.
5. Organization, organization, organization.  Identify a consistent place for students to find materials and to put them away.
6. Label everything- with large print, textures, pictures and or braille.
7. Make a fidget box- fill a box with a variety of fidget and sensory toys . Click here for my post on some great ideas.
8. Create space for your students- provide areas for their technology, their optical aids, their learning materials. 
9. Start a collection of real objects, models, and materials.  Students’ concept development is supported when they can touch and explore items rather than relying on pictures or raised line drawings.
10. Carve a listening station or center in your classroom.  Make a nook for students to listen to their audio books, their jaws program, or calming music.  All students benefit from a quieter space to listen with their headphones.
11. What are some ideas you have implemented in your classroom?