40 Role of the TVI in Psycho-educational Assessments
Pointing the psychologist towards important information
Psychologists will know the bounds of their own competency. They may not realize, however, the complications in assessing a blind or low vision student if they have not done so before. As a starting point, the TVI can point the psychologist to this book, and also to the position paper: Intelligence Testing of Individuals Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. An updated version of this paper is available for download at the top of the page.
Providing information about the student
Psychologists will depend on you to explain the student’s visual condition. The psychologist will want to know about the student’s history of vision loss, type of visual impairment, and functional use of vision. It can be very helpful to go over the Functional Vision Assessment and the Learning Media Assessment closely with the psychologist. If you have not yet conducted these assessments, it is really helpful to have them done prior to a psycho-educational assessment. If your student is a braille reader, the psychologist will want information about their braille proficiency.
Information the psychologist needs about the student:
- Visual acuity – binocular, with corrective lenses, for near-based work
- Field loss
- Color vision
- Contrast sensitivity
- Sensitivity to visual clutter
- Visual attention
- Visual fatigue
- Classroom adaptations
- Technology used
Helping set up the room and use of technology
Meet the psychologist in the room where they will be doing their assessment so that you can offer suggestions to maximize the student’s vision. You may have suggestions on set up such as placement of seats, and use of lighting. When you see what the psychologist is planning on doing, you may have some suggestions to maximize vision such as using a bookstand to raise the materials higher, using a slant board for writing, or using a special writing utensil. Introduce the psychologist to any technology or special materials the student uses and decide together what will be needed during the assessment. If the student needs support with the use of technology, the psychologist may ask you or the student’s educational assistant to be there during the assessment to assist.
Assisting with the interpretation of results
It can be very helpful to meet with the psychologist after the assessment to discuss and interpret the results. You will provide a valuable perspective, taking into account all of the various aspects where vision can impact the assessment, including how differences in vision may have impacted the student’s development.
