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August ISVI Happenings
Dates to Remember:
August 16—Registration Day at ISVI
Opening Doors Institute– A Huge Success!
Opening Doors was formerly called Parent/Infant Institute. This year was the 26th
year for the annual institute. Twenty-eight young children from all over the
state of Illinois participated. Parents attended sessions which included the
following topics:
"Orientation and Mobility"
by Jim Strader and Josh Dugan
"Ask the Doctor"
by Dr. Derrald Taylor and Dr. Michael Zost
"OT and Sensory Integration"
by Yvonne Cosentino
"Assistive Technology to Try"
by Diane Wayne & Dan Thompson
"PT for Little Ones"
by Dr. Glenda Hooker
"Sports for Children with VI"
by Jim Raabe & Dr. Christine Clark
"Behavior"
by Diane Wayne & Tamie Pool
"Location, Location, Location...Low Vision and the
Environment"
by Patricia Langdon
"Early Literacy and Make-n-Take Book"
with Sue Sullivan
"Joyce’s O & E--Odds and Ends"
by Joyce Schmidt.
While their parents attended sessions the children spent time in classrooms with
Dev. Therapists/Vision Specialists, Teachers, Orientation and Mobility teachers,
ISVI high school students, and college students preparing for work in Special
Education and Vision fields. Each classroom had planned activities for the
children.
Other activities were: Playgroups, separate Mom’s and Dad’s discussion groups, a
panel discussion, and socialization and relaxation in the ISVI Teen Center.
The evaluations of the conference indicated that all participants found the
conference to be very informative.
(Photo of a little boy smiling
as he enjoys himself at the Opening Doors Conference)
Summer Camp 2009
Two groups of summer campers were at ISVI
from June 21st thru June 27th. The younger students
attended the "Young Explorers" camp and the older students were in the
"Technology for Today" camp.
The theme this year for the
Young Explorers was "cowboys and rodeo." The campers enjoyed crafts, swimming,
bowling, and horseback riding. They sang songs, square danced and made many
new friends.
The technology campers had numerous hands-on experiences with computers and
digital cameras. They developed a Power Point slide show presentation that was
shown at a program on the last day of camp. They worked with WordPerfect and
Microsoft Word and GroupWise e-mail program. They were exposed to a
computer-controlled industrial engraver while making wooden salad utensils in
the industrial arts classroom. Throughout the week, campers were shown and used
a wide range of cutting-edge assistive technology that can significantly enhance
independence.
All campers had a great time making new friends, learning new skills, and
experiencing the recreational activities of Summer Camp 2009.
(Photo of a young boy riding a horse at summer camp)
Summer O&M Activities
O&M staff participated in the Opening Doors conference. The Orientation &
Mobility presentation at the conference focused on developmental and conceptual
milestones to watch for and encourage as well as walking while wearing a
blindfold to help parents better understand the tactile and auditory orientation
cues in all environments that their children have been experiencing. Parents can
now be more attentive to these cues and use them in helping their child organize
space and broaden their conceptual knowledge.
O&M assisted Technology for Today Campers with transfers and
orientation/exercise walks after the camp day.
During the summer, O&M staff have been spending time working with students on
travel in their hometowns. In Decatur two students had lessons. Rachel’s lessons
were reinforcing alignment and straight/safe street crossings along with
introductory routes with the Decatur bus system. Charlie’s two lessons were
based on his moving to a new location and needing to learn the safest location
to reach public buses. His lessons ended up being quite advanced and included
connecting him to downtown to go to the library and to go far north to the
Hickory Point Mall from his east-side residence.
In Champaign-Urbana Jessica and Alyssa had lessons. Jessica has a bus route one
block from her home which connects her to anywhere in Champaign/Urbana. She
worked on crossing the street to get to this bus stop. Due to a curve in the
road and low-lying trees the street is a visual challenge. The lesson included
using sound as one can hear the cars before seeing them.
Alyssa worked on alignment for
street crossings. She went to Market Place Mall and got to the food court
without any assistance. It required asking for help and recalling three key
landmarks. Both girls learned that most people like helping other people.
O&M has summer lessons planned for Peoria, Joliet and Geneva.
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