Making STEM Accessible for Students With Visual Impairments: Implications for Practice

Mollie, a fifth grader at Springhill Elementary School, was born with retinopathy of prematurity. She has some usable vision to help her when moving around in the school setting but limited vision to access printed material. Mollie uses braille to access all her educational materials. Often in the classroom she accesses braille through a notetaker device with a refreshable braille display that electronically raises and lowers different combinations of pins in braille cells for a blind user. Her textbooks and electronic documents are loaded to the braille notetaker, and she uses it to complete classroom assignments and tests. Mollie has developed an interest in coding and would like to become a programmer when she grows up; therefore, the STEM subjects are of critical importance for her. Mollie receives services from Mr. Scott, a teacher of the visually impaired (TVI), once a week, and he works with Mollie's classroom teacher, Mrs. Ramirez, to ensure appropriate accommodations are made so she can access the curriculum.