Out and About in the Community and Beyond...

Faculty in the Visual Impairment program often have opportunities to share their knowledge with others in non-university settings. Through these opportunities they provide outreach to the local community by using their specialized skills to provide support to schools and other organizations and to increase awareness of issues in the visual impairment field. We've included here some examples of their community service projects.

 

Fitness Project at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind

Dr. Topor works with a student.
Photo by Diane Raab
In the spring of 2009, faculty member Dr. Irene Topor gave a talk on nutrition and fitness to students in an adult preparation for transition class at Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

After talking with the class' teacher, Dr. Topor, who just received certification in fitness training, decided to run a short fitness program for these students. She applied and received funding for the project from the Arizona Blind and Deaf Foundation, and along with Dr. Kathy Zwald, worked with eight students over a period of nine weeks. "The project was a success," said Dr. Topor. “We saw an increase in weight the students could lift, increased time on cardio equipment, and better attitudes toward doing what it takes to be healthy and fit.”

See more photos.

 

Dots for Families Web Site

An 8-week class focusing on literacy for families of young children who are potential braille readers was the starting point for a web site created by Dr. Penny Rosenblum and ASDB colleagues Linda Reed, Susan Greer, Vicki Numkena, and Sandlyn Miller. The site provides resources for parents and family members and includes braille lessons, activities for fun, and additional reading. It has been accessed more than 2,000 times since its inception in 2003. See more at  http://www.uacoe.arizona.edu/viliteracy/

Bears Reading

 

Vision Loss in Dogs

Brochure Cover Dogs, like human beings, can have vision loss including cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal problems. Sometimes owners do not realize that their pets are not totally blind but do have vision they can use. Dr. Irene Topor and Dr. Cheryl Hannan*, both dog owners themselves, wanted to get the word out about low vision in dogs. They created a brochure that talks about useful vision in dogs and gives some tips on how owners can identify what the dog is doing visually.

"Don't euthanize your visually impaired dog or give him up to a shelter," said Dr. Topor. "Figure out what the dog can do and go from there." This brochure can help.

See the complete brochure.

*Dr. Hannan, a former doctoral student in the VI Program, is now on the faculty at California State University Los Angeles.

 

Vision Screenings

In 2007 and 2008 College of Education Dean Ronald Marx approached personnel from the DPS Visual Impairment program about conducting a vision screening for the Wildcat School, a charter school that emphasizes science and math and has an affiliation with The University of Arizona. Visual Impairment faculty members trained volunteers in the SERP 520 class (Low Vision and Visual Functioning) and took them to the school, where, using the protocols they had learned, they helped screen about 140 middle schoolers. Faculty then summarized the data in individualized letters to parents. The Arizona Department of Health requires vision screenings at different intervals in schools so that vision problems that can affect learning are detected.

UofA students and faculty

UA students screening girl

 Photo, upper right: Dr. Irene Topor at left and student volunteers Garrison Tsinajinie, Kasey Hopper, Kaitlin Schult, Elise McCarter, and Beth Alpert.

Photo, left: UA students Beth Alpert and Elise McCarter.

Photo, right: UA students Kaitlin Schult and Kasey Hopper.

UA Students screening boy

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