SEVENTH ANNUAL VISION SYMPOSIUM 2024

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7th Annual Kansas Vision Symposium

Theme: Connecting Minds, Shaping the Future 

Date: November 8, 2024

Location: Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview Wichita

Cost:  FREE with lunch provided the day of the event

Who: Vision professionals (TSVIs, COMS, Braille Transcribers, Instructional Assistants, Early Intervention Providers) along with general and special education professionals, administrators & agencies who work with students with a visual impairment are encouraged to attend.

2024 Vision Symposium Speakers: Donna McNear, Chris Tabb, Kathee Scoggin, Vince Cianfrone, Stephanie Mundinac, and Dr. Kendall Krug

​This one day FREE training will focus on the research and practice in effective Specialized Instruction for students with a Visual Impairment.

Door prizes throughout the day for registered attendees

Friday Agenda: 
7:15-8:00 KIRC Directory Headshots Available
7:30-8:00 Registration
8:00-8:15 Welcome
8:15-8:45 Keynote Speaker (Chris Tabb) Developing Family Capacity in Supporting the ECC
9:00-10:00 Session 1
10:15-11:15 Session 2
11:15-12:15 Lunch & Vendor Fair
12:20-12:40 20 Minute Spotlights
12:45-1:45 Session 3
2:00-3:00 Session 4
3:00 Conference Ends

NOTE:  "The content and presentations of the Vision Symposium are intended to address the specific needs/interests of TSVIs/COMS in Kansas. Other district employees are welcome to register/attend with the understanding that the focus of the event will be geared toward certified professionals in the field of vision."

Featured Presenters:

Donna McNear, M.A., COMS, is a career teacher/independent educational consultant specializing in services and supports to children with visual impairments. ­She provides on-going technical assistance/professional development to educational agencies, organizations, and families nationally and internationally. She is an author, researcher, and frequent presenter at conferences. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Award, Council for Exceptional Children and Holbrook-Humphries Literacy Award, Getting In Touch with Literacy 2023.

Chris Tabb, COMS is an Orientation and Mobility Specialist working to advance the independence of students and clients, provide training opportunities and knowledge exchange for professionals and families, and bring accessible information to the community. He is presently employed at Montana’s Blind and Low Vision Services in Great Falls as an Orientation and Mobility Specialist. Chris has worked as an Orientation and Mobility Specialist in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, and Montana providing services in residential programs, as an itinerant, an outreach specialist providing technical assistance, and as a private contractor. He enjoys working with all age groups, including infants and toddlers, school age students, adults, and older people. Chris’ greatest professional interests are all things Orientation and Mobility, as well as Assistive Technology


Kathee Scoggin, is a sought-after trainer on topics relating to children with multiple disabilities including students with combined vision and hearing loss, both Washington and nationally.  She holds a B.A. in Deaf Education and M.Ed. in Special Education with an emphasis on sensory disabilities and other disabilities. Kathee has 40+ years experience as a teacher (12 years), assessment specialist, principal (10), Co-director for the Deaf-Blind Project in Washington state, and educational consultant with children (birth to 21) with combined vision and hearing loss including deaf-blindness and students with multiple disabilities. Upon retirement in 2013, Kathee has consulted and trained  within the United States. She currently lives in Arizona.

Vince Cianfrone - Vice President of NanoPac, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has spent the last 30 or more years matching assistive technology to the needs of people with various disabilities, training and supporting AT solutions as well as programming solutions when not previously available.  NanoPac supports a number of states in our region and Vince is a valuable resource offering product application and support for users and agencies in our community.

Stephanie Mundinac, MA SMD, TSVI ATP- Stephanie has been an educator of students with disabilities for the past twelve years, both as a special education teacher and a teacher of students with visual impairments, serving students in grades Pre-K-12 of all ability levels. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Missouri State University in 2012 in Special Education and in 2016 received her Master’s degree from West Virginia University, specializing in the area of Severe and Multiple Disabilities. She went on to complete an additional graduate certification in the area of Blindness and Low Vision at Missouri State University in 2021. Stephanie is also a RESNA-certified Assistive Technology Professional. Outside of the school setting, she works with families through MOSPIN, Missouri School for the Blind’s outreach program that helps support families with children with visual impairments. Stephanie loves making learning accessible for all individuals and recently created AccessAble Learning Solutions LLC in order to help provide professional development training, teacher and parent training, and to offer specialized solutions for creating adapted learning activities for individuals of all ability levels.

Dr. Kendall Krug - Dr. Krug is a collaborating optometrist with the KS State School for the Blind KanLOVKids regional low vision program and has been involved since its development in 2005. Prior to retirement in 2022, Dr. Krug  provided low vision rehabilitation in KS in hospital based clinics, outpatient clinics, and in his private practice in Hays, KS. He is Past Chairman of the KS Advisory Committee for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and continues to lecture on eye topics.

Disclaimer: "Sponsorship of presenters/workshops by KSSB does not imply endorsement of a particular philosophy, product, or procedure.  The educational material and techniques presented at this meeting reflect the views of the presenters and have been made available by KSSB "as is" for educational and informational purposes only and not as professional advice for specific cases or circumstances.  The material and techniques discussed in these presentations reflect the best practices at the time of their development and should be used with the clear understanding that continued new knowledge or recommendations could emerge."

Sponsored by: KSSB, KIRC & the KS Deafblind Project in partnership with TASN. 

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ACVREP RPPLE CE Credits available 

Presentations by Stephanie Mundinac
Accessible Literacy for Learners with Multiple Disabilities
This session will focus on making literacy accessible for students with multiple disabilities, focusing on all access areas including physical, compensatory, and cognitive. By the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

• Understand the definition of literacy and why literacy instruction is important for students of all ability levels.
• Understand the difference between physical, compensatory, and cognitive access to literacy experiences.
• Create adapted literacy experiences that focus on multi-sensory learning.

Supporting Communication for Students with Visual Impairments
This session will focus on multi-sensory communication modalities that support students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities. By the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

• Understand the different communication modalities available to students with complex communication needs.
• Know how to create intentional communication opportunities for students throughout their school day.
• Understand the importance of aided language input and how to model communication using different modalities and devices.

Assistive Technology for Young Learners with Visual Impairments
This session will focus on assistive technology often introduced in the early childhood special education setting to support students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities. By the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

• Understand the importance of early exposure and use of assistive technology.
• Understand and differentiate between different types of switches and switch-capable toys and how they can be used to support specific student needs.
• Know how to use a multi-disciplinary approach to select and implement assistive technology in the early childhood special education setting.

Improving Accessibility within the School Setting
This presentation will focus on how to improve accessibility within the school setting, focusing on environmental, digital, and cognitive accessibility. By the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

• Understand how to increase accessibility for students with visual impairments in the physical environment.
• Understand how to increase digital accessibility when creating documents and assignments.
•  Understand how to increase cognitive accessibility to activities and curriculum

Presentations by Chris Tabb:
Keynote: Developing Family Capacity in Supporting the ECC (Chris Tabb)

This session looks at ways families can support learning for their children. Parents and guardians often grew up learning visual ways of living and may feel uncomfortable with or unaware of strategies used by students who are low vision or blind. This session explores options for families to develop an understanding of ways that every-day activities can be accomplished non-visually as well as providing activity suggestions professionals can share with them to support and encourage their child’s learning. Participants will explore ways of helping parents and families learn how to support student interdependence at home.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore ways of helping parents and families learn how to support student interdependence at home.
• Participants will explore resources to be shared with parents and families for facilitating learning activities
• Participants will search for opportunities in their current caseloads and roles where they can empower families to support ECC growth.
   

Outdoor Sensory Efficiency Development and Technology (Chris Tabb)

This session will explore ways of developing sensory efficiency in common areas such as visual, auditory, and tactile, and also extend into areas not generally considered when working with learners, such as proprioceptive, vestibular, kinesthetic, and haptic senses that are so beneficial for safe and efficient travel.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore options for developing and using each sensory system
• Participants will explore options for infusing technology into sensory development activities
• Participants will explore how sensory efficiency can positively impact the ability of learners with multi-sensory loss
   

Evaluation Tools and Resources for O&M (Chris Tabb)

This training will explore general guidance from the AER O&M Division position paper on Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Evaluations, explore evaluation resources for providing evaluations for all age groups and ability levels, and finally provide resources for educating administrators about evaluations in orientation and mobility and what is required by law.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore requirements and recommendations for evaluations
• Participants will explore and resources for evaluations that meet the functional level of all learners across the age span and all ability levels
• Participants will explore advocacy strategies to allow evaluation activities to occur

CVI Resources for Orientation and Mobility (Chris Tabb)

This training will explore resources that orientation and mobility specialists have available to them for: understanding CVI; evaluating students with needs related to CVI; developing goals, objectives, lessons, and delivering instruction, that addresses the unique needs of learners with CVI, etc.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore resources related to children and adults with CVI
• Participants will explore and generate lesson activities that address the unique sensory needs of learners with CVI
• Participants will consider how environments impact the abilities of learners with CVI
   

Field Loss: What are We Missing? (Chris Tabb)

This training will provide discussion and hands-on activities for developing greater understanding of the impact of field loss, as well as providing strategies and resources for addressing challenges that are common with loss of visual field, even when acuity is 20/20 or better.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will discuss impact on field loss on overall function
• Attendees will participate in activities using field loss simulators
• Attendees will explore strategies and resources for addressing challenges presented with visual field loss