Independent Living Resources

Attention Educators and Parents take a look at these fantastic links for the latest up to date curricular from the Texas School for the Blind; a leader in research and advancement of education for persons living with a visually impaired!

Texas School for the Blind http://www.tsbvi.edu/

This first link provides the roadway into 36 Independent Living Skills Resources

http://www.tsbvi.edu/recc/ils.htm#ils36

Below I have highlighted my “picks” for great links from the list of 36 resources

http://www.tsbvi.edu/recc/ils.htm

This link you will find a curriculum with adaptations for students who are visually impaired to develop independent living skills. There are a multitude of resources for educators and parents embedded within this link.

http://www.tsbvi.edu/publications/il.htm

The next link is geared towards a curriculum for students with visually impairments with multiple disabilities; again, another great link with resources for educators and parents.

http://www.tsbvi.edu/publications/bs.htm

This link provides a manual for independent cooking skills, safety and accessing recipes for the visually impaired.

http://www.tsbvi.edu/bib/independ.htm

And, last but not least a neat book recommended by the Texas school.

Book - Foundations of Education: Instructional Strategies for Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments by A. J. Koenig and M.C. Holbrook (Eds.), - “This chapter Independent Living Skills is devoted to explaining modifications and techniques needed to teach independent living skills to visually impaired students” statement retrieved February 22, 2009 from www.tsbvi.edu/publications

Be sure to check out all the great links the Texas school has to offer for educators, parents and students!

Students are you seeking employment - career planning? Is it your time to explore your options? Do you have a visually impairment and need resources?

Then check out these great resources!
American Foundation for the Blind http://www.afb.org/ This site is easy to navigate, it can be auditory, font size/color change options, it includes great videos, checklists, resume examples, parent/ student info links, mentee/ mentor opportunities and lots of resourceful links. The testimonies are powerful. They demonstrate, how persons who are blind and or have low vision, can pursue the career of their dreams. On the career-connection multimedia page I particularly like the "Dress and Impress" link. This link spotlights "Aaron" a young man applying for a job at a hospital. His scripted interview is neat to read. Also, there are neat videos that one can download for great tips on how to dress and impress for success. This embedded link provides a neat over view for careers for persons who are visually impaired.
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=7&TopicID=269&DocumentID=28
Check this site out for lots of great tips for employment and career planning!

Envision - giving choices and resources to people who are blind or have low vision http://www.envisionus.com/default.asp
Envision is an excellent site. This embedded site link will bring you to their current job opportunities, employment videos and recruitment specialist contact information. http://www.envisionus.com/default.asp?Section=9
Envision has an excellent mission statement
"Our Mission The mission of Envision is to enhance the personal independence of individuals with low vision or blindness through employment and vision rehabilitation".
Another powerful resource for persons with visually impairments seeking employment.

Olmsted Institute of Business & Technology http://www.olmstedcenter.org/Home/StatlerCenter and The Statler Center http://www.olmstedcenter.org/Home/OlmstedInstitute are dedicated to employment training, career planning and placement for persons of all ages with varying degrees of vision loss.
The Statler Center is dedicated to the "hospitality industry". They offer job training and placement for 20 different career paths. http://www.olmstedcenter.org/Home/StatlerCenter/CareersinHospitality
The Olmsted Institute is dedicated to training individuals in areas of business and technology. They have one on one classes in programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Project, FrontPage and Outlook; Internet Explorer, HTML and QuickBooks. Check out this embedded site link for more information.
http://www.olmstedcenter.org/Home/StatlerCenter/CareersinHospitality
Wow! Two more outstanding web sites leading to meaningful employment!

Postsecondary Education - Attention High School Seniors in North East Florida and Northern California!

Check out the Florida Lions Conklin Center for the blind and The Hatlen Center for the Blind in San Pablo California! Both are outstanding post secondary educational opportunities for persons with visually impairments!

The Conklin Center for the Blind
Seniors and other adults with visually impairments who have an additional disability; I have wonderful news to share with you! As an teacher at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind I had the opportunity to visit the Conklin Center. This beautiful, well maintained center is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. During my visit I learned about the intensive one to one classes for a variety of skills such as independent living, budgeting, checkbook management, career skills, residential training, orientation and mobility. I also learned about their vast outreach job coach program. The philosophy that energizes the center is of self sufficiency and independence for all. I was so impressed that if I lived closer I would work at the Conklin Center. Please find below a direct quote from their website stating their mission. Also below are three important links, their website, their "transition" newsletter and their adult services. I sure hope you find these links helpful in planning out your post secondary goals.
"The Conklin Center’s mission is to empower children and adults who are blind and have one or more additional disabilities to develop their potential to be able to obtain competitive employment, live independently and fully participate in community life."

http://www.conklincenter.org/

The Conklin Center's newsletter - Transitions is an excellent source for continuing education. In particular I would like to highlight "Manny" a young man's story (page 4) regarding transition to post secondary education for his future career goals.

http://www.conklincenter.org/documents/NLTR1008.pdf

Adult Services
This link provides a neat over view of the post secondary programs available to adults. These outstanding programs are taught in small groups and or one on one instruction. Students receive a well rounded education that enables them to live independently on their own in the community.

http://www.conklincenter.org/services.html

The Hatlen Center for the Blind
The Hatlen Center for the Blind in Northern California a living skills center of excellence. The center has just opened their doors wider by accepting students from out of state! Check them out!

http://livingskillscenter.org/index.html

Seniors checkout their "high school senior check list" see if you are ready!

http://livingskillscenter.org/transition%20and%20voc.html

Tools For Success Family Conference

The 14th Annual Conference for and about Families of Children with Special Needs - Tools For Success Family Conference will take place February 25, 2009 from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. The conference will be held at the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership located at 4019 Boulevard Center Drive Jacksonville Florida 32207. For registration application and information please contact FDLRS/Crown 904-346-4601 x119 or x118 or glendennij@duvalschools.org or contact Kathleen at ryank@fsdb.k12.fl.us and I will send you a flyer and application. This conference is geared towards families with children who have special needs. The topics to be presented are; inclusion, diploma options, government benefits, autism, behavior, assistive technology, strategies for ADHD, transition, special needs planning, mental health, parenting and Individual Education Plans (IEP'S). Please pass this information on to parents and families so they may take advantage of this informative event. Please note this event is FREE!