Book chapter abstract

Chapter 2, Assessment, screening, diagnosis and referral of learners,
with visual impairment. In Sefotho, M.M & Ferreira, R. (eds.), 2020. ‘Teaching Learners
with Visual Impairment’, in Opening Eyes Volume 2, pp. i–370, AOSIS, Cape Town.
ISBN: 978-1-928523-79-6 (print), ISBN: 978-1-928523-80-2 (epub) ISBN: 978-1
928523-81-9 (pdf). (Peer Reviewed)



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Publication Details

Author list: Mokgolodi H. L.

Publication year: 2020

Title of series: Teaching Learners with Visual Impairment

Volume number: 1

Start page: 35

End page: 56

Number of pages: 22

URL: https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/191



Although all the senses are important for growth and development, a preponderance of learning occurs through visual systems. Good eyesight facilitates learning in school and development in general. To the extent that if sensory input – the ability to see clearly – is less than optimal, youth may be more likely to become demoralised, fatigued, and avoid learning tasks that require good eyesight. It is axiomatic that academic success in school will be more difficult for a child who cannot see well. But even if a child can see well, vision-related learning problems may still impede learning. (Basch 2011:601)

Vision problems are experienced by school-going learners on a global level. In America, in 2011, one in five school-going learners were estimated to be living with visual impairment (Teerawattananon et al. 2014). In South Africa, the 2011 census (Statistics South Africa 2011) report indicated that at the time 11% of the population were living with visual impairment. Further to this, access for learners with visual impairment to basic education has been found to correlate with the severity or the difficulty of seeing, with the incidence of learners not accessing education being higher in the case of severe visual impairment. According to the 2011 census report (Statistics South Africa 2011), while the percentages of mild difficulty in seeing for 5–6-year olds, 7–13-year olds and 14+ year olds were 12.5%, 3.7% and 14.2%, respectively, these percentages were 19.5%, 7.4% and 17.9% for the same pre-primary, primary and secondary school levels. The implementation of an inclusive education policy and the mainstreaming of learners with disabilities by attending to environmental barriers and increasing meaningful participation in school activities has resulted in additional demands being placed on teachers in all schools. Amongst other tasks, it has, for example, become important for teachers to be able to identify, assess, diagnose and refer learners with visual impairment, in both mainstream and special needs schools. These processes typically coincide with the development of an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for any learner with special needs, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of professionals as well as the parents of the learner.

In this chapter, various assessment approaches and strategies are described that may be implemented with learners with visual impairment. The approaches and strategies are suitable for implementation by teachers in mainstream and special needs schools, to identify and diagnose learners with visual impairment. Special focus is given to the South African Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) process and its application with learners who are visually impaired, as this is the assessment strategy required by the national DoE when identifying and screening a learner who potentially has special educational needs. Furthermore, attention is given to referral options that may be implemented after assessing and diagnosing a learner as visually impaired.


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Last updated on 2025-28-02 at 09:51