IV. Students with Visual Impairments
 

Students with a visual disability must plan their schedules well in advance of each term because support services such as textbooks on tape, special equipment or readers must be arranged before the term begins. Students may want to investigate faculty members' teaching styles to find those most compatible with their disability. Students should consult their instructors in advance about classroom accommodations, teaching techniques, and testing procedures.

The Longwood campus is very hilly with many buildings and a maze-like system of sidewalks. Depending on the individual, it may be necessary for some students to receive orientation and mobility training.

Orientation and Mobility
Students are expected to travel independently as they conduct their day to day activities. The Office of Disability Support Services (ODSS) has a representative from VDVH who will help students orient themselves to campus.  Exploring and asking a lot of questions as you go can be very helpful in finding shortcuts and alternative routes. Travel alerts warning of new construction and  other temporary travel hazards are issued by the ODSS via E-mail or call the office for an update. The Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped and ODSS provide some orientation to campus. To arrange for this, contact one or both of these offices. If particular obstacles to safe travel present themselves in specific areas, students should bring them to the attention of ODSS staff so the appropriate campus personnel can be notified. Students using canes are encouraged to bring an extra one in case their first one is damaged during the term.

Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped (VDVH)
A state-federal program which provides financial and other assistance to eligible blind or visually impaired students while they are in school. Call (434) 371-3254 for further information.

Taped Textbooks
Many students with visual impairments rely on textbooks recorded on cassette tapes. The primary source for books on tape is Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB & D), 20 Rozel Rd., Princeton, NJ 08540, (800) 22l- 4792. RFB & D also has a growing library of books on computer disk. Students who have not already registered with RFB & D should do so if they even suspect they will need taped books. ODSS has a copy of the RFB & D catalog which students may want to use to order their books.

RFB & D is the first option for taping text books. If a taped version of a book is not currently available, ODSS will record material for students.  Recording a book takes at least two months. Especially for Winter and Spring terms there is not enough time to have books taped if students wait until registration to get course book lists. We strongly recommend deciding what courses you will take and starting to track down book lists by three months before the beginning of the term (for Fall term start by June 1, for Winter term start by October 1, for Spring half-term start by February 1, and for Summer half-term start by April 1). If you are not sure how to get book information from academic departments or you cannot find out at least two to two-and-a- half months before the start of the term what readings are required for a course, contact ODSS for assistance as soon as possible.
 

The Longwood Reader Service Program provides recording service for materials that RFB & D will not record, such as course packs, portions of books, hand- outs, etc. As with RFB & D, lead time is critical. Once you have purchased the material to be taped, bring it, along with the course syllabus, to the ODSS. You will need to fill out a form specifying how you want the material read. If there is insufficient lead time to complete course material before the class begins, it will be delivered in sections. Our goal is to have material ready two weeks prior to its due date in the syllabus. Tapes should be picked up by the student at the ODSS. Once your course work is complete, we ask that you return the tapes for reuse.

Students using taped textbooks will need a four-track, two-speed tape player or recorder. These recorders are available through Maxi-Aids, 1-800-522-6294, as well as other sources. Students receiving financial assistance from the state Department of Rehabilitation or VDVH may ask their counselors to purchase recorders for them. Alternatively a four-track tape player may be borrowed from the Library of Congress. For an application, contact Library of Congress, National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, l29l Taylor Street N.W., Washington D. C. 20542. As needed, SSD also lends tape players to students on a short term basis.

RFB & D and the ODSS Reader Program will make every effort to produce material in a timely fashion. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the process with enough lead time to foster success. Material turned in late will be produced as quickly as possible but we will not be able to guarantee delivery two weeks prior to the assignment of the reading.

Readers
Tape users may also want to arrange for readers to help with day to day material such as hand-outs and mail. This could be a friend, neighbor, or a volunteer. Postings in dormitories will often yield volunteers willing to read such material. ODSS has a listing of volunteer readers who can be used on a case by case basis. We also have a list of potential paid readers for students with funds for this purpose from a state rehabilitation agency or VDVH. It is the student's responsibility to contact the readers and make arrangements.

When working with a reader, try to be as organized as possible so the time the reader spends with you is used efficiently. Explain to the reader what you will need done. Be dependable and reasonable in your expectations. Remember that this is the first contact some readers may have had with a person with a visual disability. It will be helpful for you to do your best to put your reader at ease. Communication can prevent small problems from becoming big ones. You and the reader can learn from each other.

Large Print or Braille Texts
As always, plan ahead! It usually takes at least two or three days for assignments to be enlarge and ten weeks for books to be produced in Braille.

Undergraduate and graduate textbooks are difficult to find in Braille and large print collections. The easiest way to find out whether a book is currently available in either of these formats is usually to contact the Media Center for the Visually Impaired in Lansing, Michigan, at (517) 334-1232. The Library uses the American Printing House comprehensive database on texts in alternative formats, and is connected to the state and national system of libraries for the blind and physically handicapped.

If a text is not currently available in the required format, ODSS can assist the student in devising an alternative way to read the book. For some students, using the closed circuit televisions (CCTV’s) located in the library and ODSS is a good alternative when material does not exist in large print. At times using a taped text is a satisfactory alternative to large print or Braille, and books on computer disk are becoming more common. At the Adapted Technology Computing Site just about any student with a visual impairment can read a book on disk.

For certain types of subject matter, listening to tapes or reading with a CCTV or computer disk is not appropriate. In these cases, ODSS may be able to assist the student in having individual texts Brailled or produced in large print, as needed. In order to make such an arrangement, contact the ODSS staff as far in advance as possible, ideally at least three months before the start of the semester.
 

Equipment Loan
In addition to four-track cassette recorders, ODSS has talking calculators, tape recorders, a 4-track recorder, Reading pens and NCR paper which can be loaned to students.   Upon request, ODSS helps locate adapted teaching aids such as tactile maps. Free enlargement of some course materials is available through the office.

Transportation
Unless otherwise noted, all transportation operates twelve months of the year.

Farmville Area Bus (FAB)
This bus offers a fixed route service around the campus and the surrounding community. For information about schedules and the area served call (434) 392-7433.  The bus is equipped with a wheelchair lift.

Greyhound Bus Lines
This bus service is available to transport students to further distances along their published lines.
Call (434) 392-5153 or for fare and schedule information call (800)231-2222.