The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health<https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/> at Prevent Blindness<https://preventblindness.org/> is working to understand the role of vision in the assessment process for special education, for students who do and do not qualify in the eligibility category of blindness/visual impairments. They are looking to gather this information from parents through focus groups and from service providers through a survey and also through focus groups. (I was assured that this information is for internal use; no names will be disclosed; data will be deidentified prior to analysis). If you know parents or service providers (school nurses or special educators) who have or work with children with special learning or health care needs who are 3-8 years old that might be interested in participating in a focus group/survey (and/or if you are such a parent/educator/service provider yourself), NCCVEH would very much appreciate your help with distributing the information below. ________________________________ For parents who might be interested in a focus group: The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health<https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/> at Prevent Blindness<https://preventblindness.org/> is currently trying to understand the role of vision in the assessment process for special education. We are planning to hold focus groups in January and February with parents who have children with special needs and are ages 3-8 years old who have taken their child/children for eye care for a possible vision disorder (or are receiving on-going eye care). Please note that families of children with any learning need are eligible, as long as your child has received an eye exam or treatment. If this describes you, we’d like to talk with you! The focus group will run for 1 hour and you will receive a gift card to thank you for your participation. Your time is greatly appreciated. Please complete this short survey<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F9VT98X> by January 26, 2021 to let us know you are interested in the focus group. Best, Christie Jok, Intern at Prevent Blindness Christiejok2020@u.northwestern.edu<mailto:Christiejok2020@u.northwestern.edu> For professionals to request completing the survey and participating in focus groups: The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health<https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/> at Prevent Blindness<https://preventblindness.org/> is currently trying to understand the role of vision in the assessment process for special education. We are seeking input from Head Start, school nurses, public health, school special education staff, and others who work with children aged 3 through 8 years who are being assessed for special education services. We want to learn about your processes for assessing vision, vision screening training, how referrals to eye care are made, and the kinds of professional education materials that the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health can develop. Please distribute this survey<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FYPR6L5> widely. It should take 15 minutes to complete. We will be accepting responses to the survey till February 15th 2021. Additionally, we will be holding focus groups with professionals. The focus group will run for a maximum of 1 hour. Please contact me at christiejok2020@u.northwestern.edu<mailto:christiejok2020@u.northwestern.edu> to get more information and sign up for a focus group to be held in January or February 2021. Best, Christie Jok, Intern at Prevent Blindness Christiejok2020@u.northwestern.edu<mailto:Christiejok2020@u.northwestern.edu>