2/7/13

Today I observed at the middle school. I was supposed to observe 3 students but after some time, it was determined that one student needed to use his O&M time to take a school test. Finally the instructor was able to begin a lesson with 2 students simultaneously. Although the students were at different levels of vision the lesson still seemed to work fine. One student was low vision (student A) and the other had only some light perception left due to Batten's disease (student B). The lesson included a trip to a local convenience store near the school where the boys could purchase a snack with money they had earned in class. The instructor prepped the boys by explaining the lesson and then we began. We left the school with student B walking next to the instructor and student A walking next to myself. Student A had more usable vision so he was able to walk faster and was able to identify landmarks such as the bicycle racks in front of the school the visitor parking lot. Student B  walked at a much slower pace because of his loss of vision and physical capabilities. Student B also had difficulties with memory recall which the instructor showed a great deal of patience and empathy with. She would give him gentle reminders to prompt his memory.  As we left the school the instructor asked questions such as " what is the address of the school", "what is the nearest intersection to the school",  when leaving the school what direction are we facing" and "what corner is the convenience store located on". Student B took the lead heading toward the convenience store. Once leaving the school the students turned left heading south toward US Hwy 92. We headed south to the main intersection. student B located the light signal and pushed the button for the change. The instructor reminded the boys when it is safe to cross and for them to tell her when they felt it was safe to cross. Student B indicated when he felt comfortable to cross and the instructor agreed. We crossed the street and located the store on the south west corner of the intersection. Inside the store the boys located the snacks they wanted to purchase and independently paid for them. We left the store reversing the same route we used to arrive at the store. Once back at the school the instructor asked if they had any questions or challenges about the lesson. Both boys felt good about the lesson and had no questions.