Book Review: Reading Connections: Strategies for Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Abstract

Reading Connections: Strategies for Teaching Students with Visual Impairments, by Cheryl Kamei-Hannan and Leila Ansari Ricci. New York: AFB Press, 2015, 343 pp. Paperback, $49.95; e-book (ePUB or Kindle), $34.95; online, $29.95; by online chapter, $10.95. As the coordinator of vision services for Canada's largest school district, which supports over 400 students with visual impairments, am always searching for resources will help itinerant vision teachers and orientation and mobility specialists do their jobs. was delighted when presented with the opportunity to review Cheryl Kamei-Hannan and Leila Ansari Ricci's book, Reading Connections: Strategies for Teaching Students with Visual Impairments, because have long supported the perspective teachers of students with visual impairments cannot help but teach literacy skills to students when they are teaching them braille or visual skills. Indeed, the primary focus of such teachers is on teaching disability-specific skills (that is, the expanded core curriculum), but focus should not result in the creation of the attitude of I teach this, you teach that among teachers. Teachers of students with visual impairments need to work with classroom teachers, integrating the skill sets of both types of teachers to promote literacy development in learners with visual impairments. Kamei-Hannan and Ricci incorporate this perspective throughout their book. STRATEGIES WITH IMMEDIATE APPLICATION In my opinion, the true test of a good resource is if (a) the material prompts me think about how can use the content with students or teachers or both; (b) there are sufficient examples to bring the text to life or help readers understand concepts; and (c) there are practical tools, charts, lesson plans or activities can be applied to the practice of teachers. In Reading Connections, all three of my criteria were met. As read the book, pictured applying the strategies included in it with several different situations related to students who are currently enrolled in the program oversee. found myself making notes in the margins to contact different itinerant teachers and referred them to the various sections of the book applied to their students. Even though am not the student's teacher, could not wait to get to the assessment in Appendix A to start filling in information for a student who is blind, recently diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder, and whose braille skills have plateaued. My excitement about this book prompted me to set up a special digital folder in my program's shared virtual support network and post my thoughts about the material, additional resources, summaries of important concepts, and an invitation for others to read the book. It also led me to purchase two copies for our professional library. FROM THEORY TO ASSESSMENT TO PROGRAM PLANNING primary audience for this text is teachers of students with visual impairments, but parents and other professionals in the field will find it useful as well. book is laid out in a logical manner makes sense to the reader. foreword, written by M. Cay Holbrook, sets the right tone at the outset: The crux of this book is the authors' belief when teachers of students with visual impairments work with their students on braille or print reading, they are, in fact, teaching reading (p. …