I am looking for suggestions for a high school student with a degenerative eye condition who seems very annoyed by me! I tried sending videos made by people with similar conditions to show positive role models with hopeful attitudes. This student said the videos made them feel less confident and subconscious about eye condition. I am trying to move slowly (and through remote instruction) but it seems like each topic touches a nerve. Any suggestions would be welcome. :) Thanks, Kim

I was a TVI for a number of years before becoming a school psychologist specializing in BVI. Your student is experiencing trauma and grief. Loss of sight in high school has emotional implications for so many of the experiences adolescents experience, and HOPE to experience in their teen years. Greater independence, dating, DRIVING, to name just a few. What skills is the student learning to cope with vision loss? What is the eye condition? What is the prognosis? Male or female? Family situation? Parental reactions to the diagnosis and prognosis? There are so many factors to consider, and if you are not trained in counseling, you might want to invite the consultation and direct services of the school psychologist, counselor, or social worker. Direct services will require parent permission. The student may not be ready to benefit from such videos YET. She or he must be allowed room to grieve. Supporting a young person's need to grieve is complex. Some deal with it more easily than others do. It sounds like your student may need professional counseling support. Some large vision/ophthalmology centers have such professionals on staff. There may be such services available at university based practices. One example is the Moran Eye Center, associated with the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. I'd suggest exploring options with the student's parents. The very best to you as you seek ways to help your student through this process. carol Carol Evans, PhD Consultant, Project TVISP, University of Utah School Psychologist (Retired/Available for Consultation and Training) Mobile: 801.949.0230 *http://www.aph.org/accessible-tests/position-papers/intelligence-testing/full/ <http://www.aph.org/accessible-tests/position-papers/intelligence-testing/full/>* *http://www.myschoolpsychology.com/disability-information/visual-impairments/ <http://www.myschoolpsychology.com/disability-information/visual-impairments/>* On Wed, Sep 9, 2020 at 6:57 AM Lovett, Kimberly, Ms., CIV, OSD/DoDEA-Europe <Kimberly.Lovett@dodea.edu> wrote: > I am looking for suggestions for a high school student with a degenerative > eye condition who seems very annoyed by me! I tried sending videos made by > people with similar conditions to show positive role models with hopeful > attitudes. This student said the videos made them feel less confident and > subconscious about eye condition. I am trying to move slowly (and through > remote instruction) but it seems like each topic touches a nerve. Any > suggestions would be welcome. :) Thanks, Kim > > You are subscribed to AERNet, The Association for Education and > Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired Listserv. > > To post a message to all the list members, send an email to > aernet@lists.aerbvi.org. > > Address list requests to: aernet-request@lists.aerbvi.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, go to > http://lists.aerbvi.org/mailman/listinfo/aernet_lists.aerbvi.org and > follow instructions to unsubscribe. Go to the same address to access the > list archives. > _______________________________________________ > AERNet mailing list > AERNet@lists.aerbvi.org > http://lists.aerbvi.org/mailman/listinfo/aernet_lists.aerbvi.org > -- Carol Evans, PhD Consultant, Project TVISP, University of Utah School Psychologist (Retired/Available for Consultation and Training) Mobile: 801.949.0230 *http://www.aph.org/accessible-tests/position-papers/intelligence-testing/full/ <http://www.aph.org/accessible-tests/position-papers/intelligence-testing/full/>* *http://www.myschoolpsychology.com/disability-information/visual-impairments/ <http://www.myschoolpsychology.com/disability-information/visual-impairments/>*