| Graduate Vision Program |
Greetings to Prospective Students Program for Visual Impairments: Thank you for your interest in our UAB Program for Visual Impairments. The School of Education, Department of Special Education offers a Masters Degree in Visual Impairments with an emphasis in Deafblind. In order to provide consistency and structure in the courses, a new cohort of students are enrolled beginning with the summer term. The following information concerns items of interest about our Graduate Vision Program. Classes for Summer Learning Institute 2008 will be held during the month of June and will be divided into two sessions and locations. The two sessions will be at the Regional School for the Deaf and Blind in Mobile, Alabama and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, Helen Keller School in Talladega, Alabama. Stipends are available for instate students to assist in housing, food, and transportation. Details concerning this will be discussed during the initial class in May. During the course, students will attend lecture classes, work hands on with young children who are visually impaired, blind, deaf, and deafblind, work with college age and adults with visual impairments, and rotate through the various departments of The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind as well as other appropriate agencies. Classes taught during this block time are Nature and Needs of the Visually Impaired, Methods and Materials of the Visually Impaired and Characteristics of Low incidence Population. As one might imagine, it is a very intensive time, but a rewarding time as well. We have an initial meeting in Birmingham on May 9th, 2008 from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM at the UAB Worrell Building located at 924 18th Street South that is required attendance. Specific assignments and local arrangements for these classes will be made at that time. In order to complete assignments for these courses, the following texts are required: Silberman, R. and et. al. (1998). Educating Students Who Have Visual Impairments with Other Disabilities. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul Brooks Publishing. Koenig, Alan and Holbrook, Cay. (2000) Foundations of Education: History and Theory of Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments. Vols I and II. New York, NY: American Foundation for the Blind. Goodman & Wittenstein. (2003). Collaborative Assessment-working with students who are blind or visually impaired. AFB Press, New York. ISBN 0-89128-869-4. You may purchase these texts at the UAB Bookstore Textbooks Office: 205-934-8208 or go on line and purchase from American Foundations for the Blind at http://www.AFB.org. After the summer learning institute described above, all other classes are then offered on weekends. On the first night of class, the class members meet and vote on where and when the other classes are held during the term. Students receive per diem in addition to stipends if travel is required away from their home area. Courses include the three mentioned above, Anatomy of the Eye, Braille, Orientation and Mobility, and other required educational courses, including a practicum. The career opportunities in this field are great. There is a national shortage of VI teachers and Alabama is no exception to this rule. With an educational degree, and especially a degree in other areas of special education, one would have an advantage in working in this low incidence area of special education. Now, the best part of our program is that we have money available from the State Department of Education and The EyeSight Foundation of Alabama, Inc. to assist students in completing this degree. We have stipend money that we will use for all participants in each course. The amount depends on the number of students in each class. If a student is working in a rural area of Alabama, then the student my be eligible to receive a stipend for full support for vision courses. I look forward to meeting you and anticipate your being a part of our program. Thank you for your inquiry. Carol Allison Department of Special Education 205-975-548
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