Program Planning
and the Expanded
Core Curriculum
Heather Munro
Introduction to the ECC: What it is, what it entails,
and why it is a crucial element of education for
students who are blind/visually impaired.
Visual Impairment
Some Facts
 Legal Blindness
 20/200 (or worse)
 Field restriction 20 degrees (or less)
 What about “visually impaired” or “low vision”
 No generally accepted definition exists
 Some consider loss greater than 20/70 to be the
borderline of impairment
The Student Numbers
 Total number of blind students in the U.S.
 60,393
 Literacy media
 8.5% read braille
 29.2% read print
 9.2% auditory media
 34.8 % are non-readers
 18.3% are pre-readers
American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
– 2014 Census
Total Population
 American Community Survey (2012) found
6,670,300 people with a visual disability in the U.S.
 6,211,700 ages 16-75+
 How many are employed?
 1,240,200
 809,900 full-time
 Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind says
over 10 million people in the U.S. are blind/visually
impaired; 1.3 million are “legally blind”
Rehabilitation Goals
 People who are visually impaired or blind can do most
jobs.
 Resources - AFB CareerConnect, NFB
 Examples -Senior VP of Marriott, Olympic runner, folks
who scale Mt. Everest, politicians, Jeopardy! champion…
you get the idea
 People who are visually impaired or blind can earn
advanced degrees
 People who are visually impaired or blind can excel in
all area of life
What does Success
Look Like?
Reading, Writing, and
Arithmetic
 The Core Curriculum!
 Science
 Social Studies
 English/Language Arts
 Mathematics
 Health/Physical Education
 Fine Arts
 Economics/Business Education
 History
But what if you’re blind
or visually impaired?
 Skills of managing adult life; living independently
 Personal hygiene
 Food preparation and eating
 Dressing, clothing selection and care
 Money management
 Time management
 Cleaning and home maintenance
 Community functioning/travel
 Incidental Learning
Development
 Typically developing, sighted child.

Visually attending, watching

Asking questions

Practicing/imitating

Getting feedback
 Child with vision loss

Unaware of essential concepts and facts

At risk for isolation and over dependence on others

Lack of curiosity and motivation for movement/exploration

Need INTERVENTION!
This is where YOU come in…
 Areas of Unique Need (a.k.a. the Expanded Core
Curriculum for Students who are Blind/Visually Impaired)

Assistive Technology

Compensatory Access

Career Education

Recreation and Leisure

Orientation and Mobility

Social Interaction

Self-Determination

Visual Efficiency*

Independent Living
Guidelines and Standards
 Guideline/Standard #3:
 Evaluations in all areas of the expanded core
curriculum are used to determine individual student
programs. For students with visual impairments, local
districts must provide each student with evaluation and
instruction in the expanded core curriculum. TEC
30.002(b)(4)(A)(B).
 2014 Guidelines and Standards for Educating Students with
Visual Impairments in Texas
What do we want?
 Q: What is it that blind people want from society?
 A: The opportunity to be equal, and the right to be
different.
 What do you suppose that means?
In the old days…
 Residential school placement
 Epidemic of blindness
 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now
IDEA) – 1975
 Now (as of 2012 APH Annual Report) more than 90%
of children who are blind/visually impaired attend
public school
What’s different?
 How are students with visual impairment unique?
 Learning media?
 Materials needed?
 Classroom teacher still teaches (and should be
responsible for) all basic academic curriculum
BUT
 Your interventions are needed
The Students Need…

“In addition to the core curriculum areas included in general
education curriculum, students with visual impairments need to
be assessed and receive instruction in very specific skills that have
been demonstrated to be potential problem areas for persons with
a visual disability.”

Wisconsin National Agenda

Specialized instruction in order to compensate for decreased
opportunities to learn incidentally through observing others

Trained professionals who understand the impact of visual
impairments on learning

ECC covers the unique, specialized needs of students with vision
loss—subjects within it have to be taught by a teacher trained and
certified in working with students who are visually impaired.
Areas include:
 Needs that result from the visual impairment that enable
the student “to be involved in and make progress in the
general curriculum, and
 Other educational needs that result from the child’s
disability” as required by IDEA (34 CFR 300.320
(a)(2)(A)(B)).
 The ECC should be used as a framework for assessing
students, planning individual goals and providing
instruction.
 The ECC is an addition to the core curriculum, NOT a
replacement!
Expanded Core Curriculum
 Sometimes referred to as “Disability-Specific Skills”
 or “Vision-Related Skills”
 Students with visual impairments are held to the same
mandates as sighted peers in core curriculum areas, but to
have equal opportunity and access to the same curricula,
they must receive adaptations
ECC it is now the law of the land!
 With the passage of Senate Bill 39 in 2013 (Texas 83rd
Legislative Session), evaluation in all areas of the ECC is
required for students with visual impairments.
Remember the National Agenda?
 National Advisory Council of the National Agenda
declared…
 Blind/Visually Impaired students are entitled to receive
the same education as they would get if they were
sighted
 Vision loss results in limited opportunities for children
and youth to acquire information and knowledge
casually and incidentally from their environment
 Inability or limited ability to learn visually in an
incidental manner means that blind/visually impaired
learners will need to acquire these educational
experiences through instruction
(continued)
 Blind and visually impaired students, therefore, have
two sets of essential educational experiences
 Regular curriculum offered to all students, and
 Learning experiences required because of vision loss
 Both sets of educational experiences are vital because
of vision loss

The National Agenda Advisory Council
The actual Agenda goals
Goal 1 – Students and their families will be referred to an appropriate education program
within 30 days of identification of a suspected visual impairment.
Goal 2 – Policies and procedures will be implemented to ensure the right of all parents to
full participation and equal partnership in the education process.
Goal 3 – Universities with a minimum of one full-time faculty member in the area of visual
impairments will prepare a sufficient number of teachers and O&M specialists.
Goal 4 – Caseloads will be determined based on the assessed needs of students.
Goal 5 – Local education programs will ensure that all students have access to a full array
of service delivery options.
Goal 6 – All assessments and evaluations of students will be conducted by and /or in
partnership with personnel having expertise in students with VI and their parents.
Goal 7 – Access to developmental and educational services will include an assurance that
instructional materials are available to students in the appropriate media and at the same
time as their sighted peers.
Goal 8 – All educational goals and instruction will address the academic and expanded core
curricula based on the assessed needs of each student with visual impairments.
Goal 9 – Transition services will address developmental and educational needs (birth
through high school) to assist students and their families, in setting goals and implementing
strategies through life commensurate with the student's aptitudes, interests, and abilities.
Goal 10 – To improve student learning, service providers will engage in on-going local,
state, and national professional development.
DO YOU THINK WE HAVE MET THESE GOALS?
Compensatory Skills
 These skills involve the adaptations necessary for
accessing the existing/general core curriculum
 Can be experiences related to concept development,
spatial skills, organizational skills, communication
skills/modes
 Texas Education Code assumes that all students who
are functionally blind are taught braille unless Learning
Media Assessment recommends a different learning
media (TEC 30.002(f)).
 For this area of the expanded core curriculum for
blind and visually impaired students, a distinction
must be made between compensatory skills and
functional skills.
 Functional skills refers to the skills that students with
multiple disabilities learn that provide them with the
opportunity to work, play, socialize, and take care of
personal needs to the highest level possible.
Sensory Efficiency
 (Formerly known as Visual Efficiency)
 Skills/instruction that helps students with vision loss
optimize use of their senses
 Learning to use senses efficiently to access and
participate in activities (home, school, community)
Sensory Efficiency
The text ECC Essentials (pp.19-20) breaks these areas down in terms
that will be familiar and relatable for you…

Visual function – fixating, orienting, tracking, recognizing
objects, using optical devices

Auditory function – localization, aural discrimination and
presentation, sound pattern use

Tactile function – tactile discrimination, scanning, manipulation
and dexterity

Gustatory function – discrimination of food types, recognition of
various tastes

Olfactory function – localization of smells, discrimination of
odors, recognition of pleasant and unpleasant odors
Assistive Technology
 An umbrella term – tools or services that enhance
communication, access, and learning
 Anything other students don’t get (low tech or high tech)
 Whatever assists the student in aspects of daily living
 Skills to use computers and other electronic equipment to
function independently (home, school, workplace)
 Technology can be a great equalizer and enable students to
overcome traditional barriers to independence and
employement

Technology can be a great equalizer but only with training,
access, portability, generalization and usage

Technology enhances communication and learning, as well as
expands the world of blind and visually impaired persons in
many significant ways. Thus, technology is a tool to master,
and is essential as a part of the expanded core curriculum.

For the braille user, it allows the student to provide feedback to
teachers by first producing material in braille for personal use,
and then in print for the teacher, classmates, and parents. It
gives blind persons the capability of storing and retrieving
information.
Orientation & Mobility
 Skills to travel safely, efficiently, and independently (in any
setting)
 Requires systematic instruction in how to orient oneself
and avoid obstacles (knowing where you are, where you
want to go, and how to get there safely)
 Begins early with body image and spatial concepts,
purposeful and exploratory movement – true for MIVI as
well
 Later street crossings, bus travel, community experiences
 Guide techniques, standard or adaptive canes, dog guides,
landmarks and cues, soliciting assistance
O&M in ECC Essentials
(p.21)
 Body concepts – parts and functions
 Environmental concepts –concepts related to home
environment, to buildings, areas, schools, streets,
intersections
 Spatial concepts – self-to-object relationships, spatial
terminology (L, R, next to), cardinal directions
 Perceptual/Sensory skills – interpreting environmental
sounds, applying meaning to tasks, determining nature
of sensory information
continued…
 Mobility skills – noticing and negotiating unexpected
drop-offs, using systematic search techniques, knowing
built elements
 Orientation skills – routes and layouts
 Interpersonal skills – requesting directions, arranging
for rides, soliciting information
 Decision-making skills – altering travel in response to
weather, choosing between routes, making back up
plans, etc.
 As a part of the expanded core curriculum, orientation
and mobility is a vital area of learning. Teachers who
have been specifically prepared to teach orientation and
mobility to blind and visually impaired learners are
necessary in the delivery of this curriculum.
 Students will need to learn about themselves and the
environment in which they move - from basic body image
to independent travel in rural areas and busy cities.
 The existing core curriculum does not include provision
for this instruction
Independent Living
 Tasks and functions people perform in daily life to
care for oneself independently or contribute to
household – different for students who are
blind/visually impaired
Activities of daily living would be
a very big list!
 This area of the expanded core curriculum is often referred to as "daily living skills." It
consists of all the tasks and functions persons perform, in accordance with their abilities,
in order to lead lives as independently as possible.
 These curricular needs are varied, as they include skills in personal hygiene, food
preparation, money management, time monitoring, organization, etc.
 Some independent living skills are addressed in the existing core curriculum, but they
often are introduced as splinter skills, appearing in learning material, disappearing, and
then re-appearing.
Social Interaction
 How are social skills learned?
 Visual impairment can limit social development and
impede social interactions
 Without appropriate social skills, students who are
blind are at high risk for social isolation at school,
community, and into adulthood
 Awareness of body language, eye contact, gestures,
facial expressions, personal space, shaking hands,
turning toward speaker, or person to whom you’re
talking, joining or leaving a group
 Instruction in social interaction skills becomes a part
of the expanded core curriculum as a need so
fundamental that it can often mean the difference
between social isolation and a satisfying and fulfilling
life as an adult.
 Social skills must be carefully, consciously, and
sequentially taught to blind and visually impaired
students. Nothing in the existing core curriculum
addresses this critical need in a satisfactory manner
Recreation & Leisure
 Skills to promote the enjoyment of leisure activities;
making choices about how to spend leisure time
 Existing activities/sports/games may require
adaptations in rules or equipment – need to maintain
safety
 Access and choices are limited because of limited
exposure to rec/leisure activities (no incidental
observations or awareness)
 Students need to develop activities in recreation and leisure that they can enjoy
throughout their adult lives.
 The teaching of recreation and leisure skills to blind and visually impaired
students must be planned and deliberately taught, and should focus on the
development of life-long skills.
 How do you choose your Rec Leisure activities? How
have they changed?
Career Education
 Vision loss (again) impacts ability to observe and
develop interest in existing career choices
 Need experiential learning approach, visits to job sites,
interviews and job shadowing
 Need to develop marketable job skills during school
years
 Unemployment and underemployment are leading
problems facing adults with visual impairments in the
U.S. This ECC area is vitally important – start early!
Employment Stats
While we’re on the subject of career training skills…
 The national rate of unemployment or
underemployment of working-age adults who are
blind is 70-75%!
 What do 80% of all persons with visual impairment who
are employed have in common?

They read and write braille fluently

Only 10% of children who are blind learn braille in school
 Competitive standard must be upheld in our training
 Essential job skills vs. “blindness skills”
Types of Skills on the Job
 Basic Career Skills
 Critical Thinking Skills
 Interpersonal Skills
 SOFT SKILLS
 “People skills”
 Social graces
 Personal habits
 Appearance – dress, grooming
Key Skill Areas
According to Department of Labor – Disability Policy Resources

Communication

Enthusiasm and Attitude

Teamwork

Networking

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Professionalism
ADA guarantees non-discrimination and equal
treatment—not “special treatment.”

There is a need for general vocational education, as offered in the traditional core curriculum, as well
as the need for career education offered specifically for blind and visually impaired students.

Career education in an expanded core curriculum will provide the visually impaired learner of all ages
with the opportunity to learn first-hand the work done by the bank teller, the gardener, the social
worker, the artist, etc. It will provide the student opportunities to explore strengths and interests in a
systematic, well-planned manner.

Because unemployment and underemployment have been the leading problem facing adult visually
impaired persons in the United States, this portion of the expanded core curriculum is vital to students,
and should be part of the expanded curriculum for even the youngest of these individuals.
Self-Determination
 Develop realistic self-concept
 Recognize (and believe in) abilities; know limitations
 Learn to advocate effectively based on needs/goals
 Develop more control over own life, and take part
fully in the world around them
 Leads to confidence and positive self-esteem
 Overcome low societal expectations
Self-Determination
ECC Essentials (p. 26) includes
 Self knowledge
 Awareness of individual rights and responsibilities
 Capacity to make informed choices
 Problem-solving and goal-setting skills
 Ability to engage in self-regulated and self-directed
behavior
 Self-advocacy and empowerment
 Assertiveness skills
 This area of the ECC highlights the importance of believing in oneself, while
understanding one's abilities and limitations.
 Students learn from successes and failures how to achieve one's goals in life.
 Self-determination is the ability for people to control their lives, reach goals they have
set and take part fully in the world around them.
HOW do we teach all that?
 Can it be combined?
 Can it start early?
 What comes first?
The Heart of the Matter
 These ECC areas give us as educators the means of
addressing the needs of our students with visual
impairments
 Lack of vision is not a minor consideration even for
those who have additional or multiple impairments –
educational requirements can be big!
 The ECC is the heart of our responsibility as TVIs and
O&Ms; epitomizing the “right to be different,” and
empowering our students to access their education and
make their own decisions in life as productive,
independent adults.
The Heart of the Matter
 Bringing together all of these skills learned in the
expanded core curriculum produces a concept of the
blind or visually impaired person in the community.
 It is difficult to imagine that a congenitally blind or
visually impaired person could be entirely at ease and
at home within the social, recreational, and vocational
structure of the general community without mastering
the elements of the expanded core curriculum.
 What is known about congenitally blind and visually
impaired students is that, unless skills such as
orientation and mobility, social interaction, and
independent living are learned, these students are at
high risk for isolated orunproductive lives.
 This expanded core curriculum is the heart of the
responsibility of educators and specialist serving
visually impaired students.
 These areas are not and cannot be adequately
addressed by regular classroom teachers, or
paraprofessionals, for this is the core curriculum
that is essential to students who are blind and
visually impaired, and it epitomizes their
"...right to be different..."
References

Allman, C. B., & Lewis, S. (Eds.). (2014). ECC essentials: Teaching
the expanded core curriculum to students with visual impairments. New
York, NY: AFB Press.

American Foundation for the Blind (n.d.). The Expanded Core
Curriculum for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and
Youths. Retrieved from http://www.afb.org/info/programs-andservices/professional-development/teachers/expanded-corecurriculum/the-expanded-core-curriculum/12345

American Foundation for the Blind (2015). Learning About
Blindness: What is Blindness or Low Vision? Living with Vision
Loss. Retrieved from http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-visionloss/for-job-seekers/for-employers/visual-impairment-and-yourcurrent-workforce/learning-about-blindness/12345
References (cont.)
 American Foundation for the Blind (2015). Resources
for Job Seekers, Employers, and Professionals. AFB
CareerConnect. Retrieved from
http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/forjob-seekers/12
 Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or
Visually Impaired (2015).Working with Someone who
is Blind or Visually Impaired. Retrieved from
http://chicagolighthouse.org/programs-andservices/employers/working-someone-who-blind-orvisually-impaired
References (cont.)
 Expanded Core Curriculum Advocacy (ECC Advocacy)
(2012). What is the National Agenda? American Foundation
for the Blind & Perkins School for the Blind. Retrieved from
http://www.eccadvocacy.org/section.aspx?FolderID=13&
DocumentID=5345
 ECC Advocacy (2012).Expanded Core Curriculum
Subjects and Skills. American Foundation for the Blind &
Perkins School for the Blind. Retrieved from
http://www.eccadvocacy.org/section.aspx?FolderID=13&
SectionID=143
 ECC Advocacy (2012) What is the expanded core
curriculum? American Foundation for the Blind & Perkins
School for the Blind. Retrieved from
http://www.eccadvocacy.org/section.aspx?FolderID=13
References (cont.)

Hatlan, P. (1996) Core Curriculum – The Right to be Different.
Retrieved from http://www.afb.org/info/programs-andservices/professional-development/teachers/expanded-corecurriculum/the-right-to-be-different/12345

Lewis, S. (2012).The Need for Targeted Instruction in Independent
Living Skills in the Curriculum of Students with Visual Impairments.
Council for Exceptional Children – Division on Visual
Impairments. Retrieved from
http://community.cec.sped.org/dvi/resourcesportal/positionpap
ers

Lohmeier, K. (2002). State Standards and the Expanded Core
Curriculum Aligned.(J. Erin Ed.) Retrieved from
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/expanded-corecurriculum#overview
References (cont.)

Martinez, D. J. (n.d.). Essential Employment Skills that May Not
Be Included in the Job Description: A Helpful Pre-Employment
Resource for People who are Blind. Arizona Governor’s Council on
Blindness and Visual Impairment. Retrieved from
https://www.azdes.gov/uploadedFiles/Employment_and_Rehab
ilitation_Services/Rehabilitation_Services/essential_employment
_skills_white_paper.pdf

National Federation of the Blind (2015). Braille Readers are
Leaders Campaign. Retrieved from https://nfb.org/braillecampaign

National Federation of the Blind (2014). Blindness Statistics:
Statistical Facts about Blindness in the United States. Retrieved
from https://nfb.org/blindness-statistics
References (cont.)
 New Hampshire Department of Education (2007). Tip
Sheet #2, The Expanded Core Curriculum. New Hampshire
Professional Development Center. Retrieved from
http://www.nercve.umb.edu/index.php?page=tip2_ECC
 Paths to Literacy for Students who are Blind or Visually
Impaired (n.d.). Expanded Core Curriculum. Retrieved from
http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/expanded-corecurriculum#overview
 Perkins School for the Blind (2012). Understanding the
Expanded Core Curriculum. Perkins.org
http://www.perkins.org/stories/blog/expanded-corecurriculum
References (cont.)
 Texas Education Agency (2014). 2014 Guidelines and
Standards for Educating Students with Visual Impairments
in Texas. Retrieved from
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=2147498410
 Texas School for the Blind (2014). What is the Expanded
Core Curriculum? Texas ECC Committee Report. Retrieved
from http://www.tsbvi.edu/resources/203-resources/3973ecc-flyer
 United States Department of Labor (n.d.). Skills to Pay the
Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success. Office of
Disability Employment Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills