Vision impairment refers to any type of vision loss, including people cannot see or who have partial loss of vision. The symptoms and characteristics of visual impairment depend on the condition of the specific person.  In history, the visually impaired persons were seen as occupying lower societal status, but the situation has been improving with society and law perceiving them as equals with sighted persons. The Education Neuroscience offers an opportunity for improvement of educational strategies for children with visual impairment. The education of the visually impaired children has to adopt strategies that provide an objective and equal opportunity as sighted individuals. 

Symptoms and Characteristics

Visual impairment is as a result of a functional loss of a person's vision, rather than a disorder of an eye. Some eye disorders which may cause visual impairment may consist of retinal degeneration, cataracts, muscular problems, albinism, glaucoma, congenital disorders, corneal disorders, and infection. The symptoms and characteristics of visual impairment in young children depend on the kind of loss, severity, age, and general child functioning level. Some children with various disabilities may show visual impairments that lead to delay in cognitive, motor, and social development. Since the child is unable to see peers and parents, they cannot understand non-verbal cues or imitate other social behavior, while the condition can be an obstacle to the independence of a growing child.

Individuals with total blindness have uncorrectable and permanent vision loss, and cannot perceive any light. Legally blind individuals experience a partial or total inability to see, with a maximum of 20 degrees vision field. Some of these people may perceive some color, motion or shadow. People with low vision are those whose vision is moderately impaired. Congenitally blind persons have severe vision impairment since birth, while those with acquired blind experience severe impairment after two years of age. Individuals with tunnel vision have a restriction on their eyes' vision area to lesser central area and have limited peripheral vision. The symptoms of visual impairment may include difficulties in moving around, everyday activities, reading and writing, and eating or drinking.

Historical Aspects

Throughout history, eyesight deprivation due to visual impairment has been seen as a very severe tragedy. Specifically, during the primitive periods, blind individuals were regarded as people with no much value and were faced with deleterious social attitudes due to their condition (Moschos, 2014).  Due to an inadequate presentation of blind people, the history of visual impairment is hard to chart. Before the 18th century, the history of visionary impaired was presented atomistic, involving protagonist stories in secular and religious narratives.  The blind persons were presented as object lessons to offer inspiration to the sighted members of the society. History has an assortment of biographies of unique individuals such as Louis Braille, Homer, and Jorge Luis Borges (Winzer, 2014). These biographies offer some kind of narrative threat can be used to understand the experience of the visionary impaired persons in history. The blind were mostly seen as charity objects instead of active agents in the past. These individuals were mostly found clustered in some guilds or professionals sanctioned by the church or the state. However, blindness was largely seen as a curse, or a way to misery or second-class status (Winzer, 2014). The visionary impaired occupies no lesser or great place in human history in relation to their percentage in the population.

History indicates some of the individuals as being soldiers, secular leaders, religious leaders, teachers, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians.  During the Enlightenment age, the blind begun to receive more attention, as philosophers raised questions about the nature of blindness, which started moving the discussion away from spiritual aspect toward rational knowledge and understanding (Margo, Harman & Smith, 2013). The introduction of Braille revolutionized education for the visionary impaired persons/blind and allowed them to communicate with one another while not being assisted by sighted individuals. Since the 19th century, the visually impaired have occupied a more significant place in society, and they have tried to come together with an aim of improving their situation (Winzer, 2014). Their concerted efforts have resulted in better strategies of succeeding and having a voice in society instead of just appearing as objects of speculation.

Awareness Discussion

The visually impaired children are likely to be educated in the public schools or Residential or Specialized Schools for the Blind. A visually impaired or blind child can attend a public school together with the sighted peers, where he or she is provided with support systems and right tools for learning and participation in the classroom (McMahon, 2014). The support systems or tools may be provided as special classrooms for the visually impaired, resource room that come with assistive technology including specialized devices and materials, or regular classroom but with specialized instruction (McMahon, 2014). The centers also benefit children B-8 years of age, who are provided the necessary assistive technology and favorable room for learning. The education for visually impaired is guaranteed by the 1975 Individuals with Disability Education Act (revised in 2004), in an environment that is least restrictive.  

Instruction

The instruction strategies for visually impaired children should provide an equal learning opportunity, but not necessarily to guarantee an outcome. The aim is not to lower standards in accommodating the children but to offer a reasonable opportunity to show what they have learned (Ajuwon et al. 2015). In the classroom, the instruction should be brief and simple and repeating instructions when necessary without repetition. The teacher should use multiple ways while demonstrating or explaining information, and present the details in visual formats such as handouts, chalkboard, and PowerPoint slides (Ajuwon et al. 2015). Verbally describing the visual aids or using a sighted volunteer when appropriate will greatly give the required assistance (Ajuwon et al. 2015). Combined strategies will ensure that the learning process is inclusive.

Educational Neuroscience

Educational Neuroscience explores the link between Brain science and education and tries to relate the basic neuroscience education, cognitive science, and psychology, with educational technology.  The latest cognitive and brain sciences methods can allow objective monitoring of the child's brain developmental trajectory and document the way the trajectory is being informed by environmental influences including education (Tandon & Singh, 2016). Cognitive science can be used as a basic science in developing the methods of learning and instruction. The two major aspects of knowledge which relate education to neuroscience include; the brain structures that shape different educational processes including attention, memory, reading, and calculation; how the educational processes influence the structure and function of the brain (Tandon & Singh, 2016). Increased research has shown how these processes impact learning, and particularly in education and literacy fields.

The Neuronal Recycling Hypothesis implies that children have to learn to relate letters with sounds, which forms neural circuits between the structures of the brain, which are originally meant for sight and for the purpose of hearing (Tandon & Singh, 2016). Functional neuroimaging allows the recording of brain activity while carrying out a task, and offers an opportunity to recognize and envisage the neural circuits made while acquiring and mastering reading (Tandon & Singh, 2016). The developments indicate that educational strategies for the visually impaired should be changed to meet the emerging challenges.

Conclusion

The education strategies for visually impaired children have to be objective and embrace changes that will improve the learning outcomes. The adoption of opportunities provided by Education Neuroscience will inform improved instruction strategies, and thus, improved learning in the classroom.  The improvement in education will be possible in the least restrictive learning environment. 

 References

Zadina, J. N. (2015). The emerging role of educational neuroscience in education reform. Psicología Educativa, 21(2), 71-77.

Tandon, P. N., & Singh, N. C. (2016). Educational Neuroscience: Challenges and Opportunities. Annals of neurosciences, 23(2), 63-65.

McMahon, E. (2014). The Role of Specialized Schools for Students with Visual Impairments in the Continuum of Placement Options: The Right Help, at the Right Time, in the Right Place. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 108(6), 449-459.

Ajuwon, P. M., Sarraj, H., Griffin-Shirley, N., Lechtenberger, D., & Zhou, L. (2015). Including Students Who Are Visually Impaired in the Classroom: Attitudes of Preservice Teachers. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 109(2), 131-140.

Moschos, M. M. (2014). Physiology and psychology of vision and its disorders: a review. Medical hypothesis, discovery, and innovation in ophthalmology, 3(3), 83.

Winzer, M. A. (2014). The History of Special Education: From Isolation to Integration. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. Pp.209 - 213