NINTH ANNUAL VISION SYMPOSIUM 2026

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9th Annual Kansas Vision Symposium - In Partnership with Kansas Optometric Association

Date: October 23, 2026

NEW Location:  Hilton Doubletree - Wichita Airport https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/ictardt-doubletree-wichita-airport/ 

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.

2026 Vision Symposium Speakers:  Dr. Susan Bruce, Carmen Willings, Stephanie Walker, Erika Andersen Ko, 

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

Raffle prizes available for registered attendees.

Friday Agenda: 
7:30-8:00 Registration
8:00-8:30 Welcome
8:30-9:30 Roundtable / Q&A - NEW this YEAR!!
9:35-10:35 Session 1
10:45-11:45 Session 2
11:50-12:50 Lunch & Vendor Fair
1:00-2:00 Session 3
2:10-3:10 Session 4
3:15-3:30 Wrap Up and Raffle Prize Announcements

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:

Dr. Susan Bruce is a Professor Emerita, Boston College. Much of Dr. Bruce’s research has focused on communication development and intervention with children who are deafblind or visually impaired with additional disabilities. She has more than 110 publications, with 90 being about learners who are deafblind or visually impaired with additional disabilities. Dr. Bruce continues to be an active researcher as well as conducting assessments and providing consultation to schools and families.

Carmen Willings is a ​Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, creator of https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/ , serving students with visual impairments since 1999. 

Carmen created this website as a comprehensive resource for Educators, families, and professionals dedicated to supporting students who are blind or have a visual impairment. Her goal is simple: to provide practical tools, instructional strategies, and professional guidance that help students build independence, confidence, and success in school and in life. ​What began as a resource she could share with colleagues has grown into a global resource used by educators, families, and professionals who support students with visual impairments.

In addition to managing the website, Carmen works full-time as an itinerant Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) and has served in this role for more than two decades, joining the vision field in 1999. Her work has allowed Carmen to collaborate with educators, therapists, administrators, and families to help students access their educational environments and develop the skills they need for independence.

Ms. Willings is also a wife and proud mother of two adult sons. When she not teaching or writing, you might find her exploring National Parks on road trips, baking something savory, diving into a craft project, or enjoying a good British mystery.

 

Stephanie Walker serves as the Outreach Specialist for the Southcentral Region, covering Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. With a Master of Arts in Special Education focusing on Visual Impairments and Orientation & Mobility from Texas Tech University, Stephanie has over 20 years of experience in the field. Her roles have included TVI and COMS in both Texas and Colorado. She is also the webmaster for Texas AER. Stephanie is pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation. Previously, she was the State Lead for the Texas Sensory Support Network at ESC Region 11, where she offered technical assistance and professional development throughout the state. Stephanie lives in Texas with her family.

Erika Anderson Ko is a Certified Low Vision Therapist (CLVT) with over 20 years of experience serving school-age children through adults. Over the years, she has practiced in various settings, including academia, the VA, and private practice (both in-person and via telerehabilitation), and she has been active in the low vision community through leadership roles, speaking, and writing.

Erika has a strong track record of interdisciplinary collaboration, including working with optometry, ophthalmology, occupational therapy, orientation and mobility professionals, and teachers of students with visual impairments.

Erika's areas of expertise and interest include: psychologically informed practice, multidisciplinary collaboration, clinical gaps, technology to individualize care, and clinician sustainability work.  She is also the host of Low Vision Beyond the Clinic, a podcast and community for vision rehabilitation professionals, recently relaunched with grant support from the CAER, the Colorado chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

In her free time, you'll find her outdoors, adventuring, or indoors, deep in conversation, or curled up with a book.

Mandy Smith:

Shellanne Thompson: 

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, Nanopac, Inc. CATT, and the Family-Infant Toddler Services at KSSB.

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ACVREP RPPLE CE Credits available 

Vision Symposium Opening: Interdisciplinary Insights & Q&A Roundtable

Description: Every stage of supporting a student with a visual impairment—from early childhood intervention to independent adulthood—relies on a connected, collaborative network of professionals. To launch this year’s Vision Symposium, we are bringing together leaders across the continuum of care for an interactive opening panel and Q&A session designed to bridge disciplines and spark conversation.

We will begin with foundational evaluations as Field Services Specialists Sabrina McAdoo and Laura Mitchell share critical updates during a VI Assessment Refresher, followed by Dr. Linda Lawrence, who will offer high-level clinical perspectives on evaluating and supporting students with Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). Moving into early childhood support, Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Services will discuss strategies for empowering young children and their families during these crucial formative years.

To explore expanding access through innovation, representatives from the Collaborative Access Technology Training (CATT) program—a joint effort between the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB), and the Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB)—will highlight how educators and families can tap into free access technology, specialized equipment loans, and hands-on training. Finally, transition teachers from the Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB) will guide us through secondary outcomes, sharing strategies for navigating Transition Services and partnering with Community Developmental Disability Organizations (DDO) to set students up for long-term success.

Whether you are seeking practical assessment tools, tech solutions, or transition pathways, this opening session offers a rare opportunity to ask questions, share challenges, and connect directly with experts across the field.

Objectives

• Refine evaluation practices by applying updated strategies in Visual Impairment (VI) assessment and current clinical perspectives on CVI.
• Identify early support pathways within Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Services to better assist young children with visual impairments and their families from infancy through early childhood.
• Utilize CATT resources—including free access technology, equipment loans, and specialized training—to enhance classroom and home accessibility in partnership with APH, AIDB, and WSSB.
• Navigate secondary transition systems with KSSB Transition specialists, understanding how to leverage Transition Services and DDO (Developmental Disability Organization) partnerships for student independence.
• Engage in interdisciplinary problem-solving by connecting directly with regional leaders to address service gaps across the educational continuum.

Session 1 Presentations (9:35 am - 10:35 am)

Title: Tactile Learning and Teaching

Presenter:  Dr. Susan Bruce

Description: This session will address the tactile experiences of children and youth who are deafblind including tactile perceptions, tactile sensitivities, and the role of touch in learning. We will consider the relationship of emotion to touch, the role of touch in gaining and maintaining attention, and teaching through touch. Bodily-tactile communication methods such as touch cues and haptics will be addressed.

Objectives: 

• Participants will be able to explain the impact of passive and active tactile perceptions. 
• Participants will be able to implement strategies to support tactile attention and teaching through touch.

Title: Building Manageable Systems for Accessibility and Itinerant Service Delivery

Presenter: Carmen Willings 

Description: Supporting students with visual impairments requires strong systems, collaboration, and shared understanding across educational teams. This session is designed for TVIs, administrators, and educational leaders seeking practical strategies for improving accessibility, communication, and service delivery within school programs. Topics include accessible instructional materials workflows, assistive technology implementation, defining educational team roles, supporting executive functioning and independence, and creating sustainable systems that promote student access and participation across environments. Participants will explore collaborative approaches that help teams work efficiently while maintaining meaningful, student-centered support.

Objectives: 

• Participants will gain practical strategies for improving collaboration, accessibility, and service delivery for students with visual impairments across school settings. 
• Participants will better understand how sustainable systems, clearly defined team roles, accessible instructional materials, assistive technology implementation, and collaborative planning can support student access, independence, participation, and meaningful educational outcomes.

Title: Beginning the Tactile Journey: An Introduction to Foundational Skills for Tactile Literacy

Presenter: Stephanie Walker 

Description: In an increasingly image-dependent world, the ability to interpret information presented graphically is an essential component of literacy. Students with visual impairments need intentional opportunities to develop the skills and concepts required to gather information tactually. This interactive session introduces the relationship among braille literacy, tactile literacy, and tactile graphicacy. Participants will explore selected concepts from Foundation Skills for Tactile Literacy: A Reference Tool for the Tactile Journey, Emergent to Advanced Skills, and consider how early tactile experiences prepare learners to interpret increasingly complex tactile information.

Objectives:

• Participants will Differentiate braille literacy, tactile literacy, and tactile graphicacy as they relate to students with visual impairments.

• Participants will Apply selected concepts from the Foundation Skills for Tactile Literacy reference tool to identify an instructional priority for a tactile learner.

Title:  COMING SOON 

Presenter:  Erika Andersen Ko

Description:  COMING SOON 
Objectives:  COMING SOON 

Title: Trust the Touch: Hands-on Indoor Orientation and Mobility Basics 

Presenter: Shellanne Thompson, COMS

Target Audience: All roles and skill levels

Description:  This introductory session provides a supportive, hands-on environment for practitioners to experience non-visual spatial orientation and cane mechanics. Wearing sleep shades or vision simulators, participants will learn and practice foundational indoor Orientation & Mobility principles. Through structured paired exercises, attendees will build confidence in sensory reliance, develop core peer-spotting safety protocols, and cultivate lived-experience insight into the cognitive and sensory demands placed on non-visual learners.

Objectives

• Participants will demonstrate effective indoor cane mechanics and non-visual spatial orientation skills while utilizing sleep shades or vision simulators during paired practice exercises.

• Participants will apply core peer-spotting strategies to maintain safety, build sensory reliance, and analyze the cognitive and sensory demands experienced by non-visual learners.

Session 2 Presentations (10:45 am - 11:45 am)

Title: Developing and Implementing Routine Boards, Daily Schedules, and Calendars

Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce

Description: Routines occur within and between lessons/activities and across environments. Understanding routines and what will occur across time supports learners who are blind or deafblind to feel secure. This session will address how to develop and teach routines including the roles of routine boards, daily schedules, and calendars.

Objectives: 

• Participants will be able to explain the importance of routines.
• Participants will be able to create routine boards and daily schedules.   

Title: This Is Your Document: Building Self-Determination Through the IEP Process. 

Presenter: Carmen Willings

Description: IEPs should support more than compliance. They should help students understand their learning needs, accommodations, assistive technology, Expanded Core Curriculum goals, and educational supports. This session explores strategies for involving students in the IEP process to build self-awareness, self-advocacy, executive functioning, and self-determination. Participants will learn practical approaches for discussing accommodations, interpreting evaluation results in student-friendly language, writing meaningful SMARTER goals, supporting student voice, and helping students take ownership of their educational planning, independence, and future success.

Objectives: 

• Participants will gain practical strategies to meaningfully involve students in the IEP process to support self-awareness, self-advocacy, executive functioning, and self-determination. 
• Participants will learn how to discuss accommodations and evaluation results in student-friendly language, develop meaningful SMARTER goals, increase student voice during educational planning, and support students in taking greater ownership of their educational supports and future success.

Title: See and Hear the Future of Braille in the Classroom: Paige Connect

Presenter: Stephanie Walker 

Description: Say hello to the future of braille! Paige Connect attaches to a Perkins-style braillewriter and uses Bluetooth to display six-key braille input instantly on a phone, tablet, or computer. During this hands-on session, participants will explore ready-to-use online exercises and practical ways to integrate Paige Connect into a student’s learning environment. Discover how teachers and sighted peers can read a student’s work, how translated text can be submitted for classroom assignments, and how a traditional braillewriter can provide access to websites and applications that support six-key entry.

Participant Preparation: Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet that supports six-key braille input for the hands-on activities. Paige Braille exercises can be accessed through the Paige Braille website or the Paige: Learn Braille app before the session.

Objectives: 

• Participants will explain how Paige Connect connects a Perkins-style braillewriter to a digital device for interactive six-key entry.
• Participants will complete a curated online exercise and explain how it can support braille instruction.
• Participants will identify a classroom application of Paige Connect.

Title:  COMING SOON 

Presenter:  Erika Andersen Ko

Description:  COMING SOON 
Objectives:  COMING SOON 

Title:  Outside the Comfort Zone: Hands-on Outdoor Orientation and Mobility Basics

Presenter: Mandy Smith, COMS

Target Audience: Educators, TSVIs, Practitioners, COMS

Description: If weather conditions are not favorable, this session will be indoor. This session focuses on expanding foundational orientation and mobility skills from controlled indoor settings into dynamic outdoor environments. Partnering up while occluded with sleep shades or vision simulators, participants will navigate the hotel perimeter and grounds. Practitioners will strengthen their outdoor hazard-negotiation skills, refine proactive peer-coaching techniques, and gain lived-experience insight into processing environmental soundscapes. 

Objectives: 

• Participants will demonstrate proficiency in navigating outdoor perimeters and negotiating environmental hazards while occluded, applying foundational Orientation and Mobility skills in a dynamic setting.

• Participants will implement peer-coaching techniques to support partner safety and analyze environmental soundscapes to enhance non-visual auditory orientation.

LUNCH (11:50 am - 12:50 pm) 

Session 3 Presentations (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

Title: Developing and Implementing Story Boxes and Experience Books

Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce

Description:  This session will address how to develop and teach literacy lessons that are not only individualized but also personalized (about the individual’s lived experiences). Personalized literacy lessons such as story boxes and experience books reduce cognitive demands and are often highly preferred by learners.

Objectives: 

• Participants will be able to explain the importance of individualizing and personalizing literacy experiences. 
• Participants will be prepared to create and implement story boxes and experience books as part of a personalized literacy effort 

Title: Teaching the Expanded Core Curriculum Through Meaningful, Real-World Instruction. 

Presenter: Carmen Willings 

Description: Teaching the ECC can feel overwhelming when balancing limited time, large caseloads, and diverse student needs. This session explores practical approaches for embedding ECC instruction into authentic, engaging learning experiences across environments. Participants will explore ECC skill bands, the ECC Quick Screener, and instructional planning tools that help identify student needs and guide instruction. Topics include teaching independence through routines, communication, recreation, travel, organization, sensory learning, self-advocacy, and community participation while supporting skill generalization, confidence, and meaningful participation across school, home, and community settings.

Objectives: 

• Participants will learn practical approaches for embedding Expanded Core Curriculum instruction into authentic, engaging experiences across school, home, and community environments. 
• Participants will explore ways to use ECC skill bands, the ECC Quick Screener, and instructional planning tools to identify student needs, prioritize instruction, and support independence, communication, organization, recreation, travel, self-advocacy, sensory learning, and meaningful participation in everyday activities.

Title: Coding You Can Touch: Accessible Coding Foundations with KaiBot and Code Jumper

Presenter: Stephanie Walker 

Description: Coding begins with understanding how instructions are organized to produce an outcome. In this hands-on session, participants will use KaiBot and Code Jumper to explore foundational coding concepts through touch and sound. Participants will construct programs, test their results, and revise their code when it does not work as expected. The session establishes a conceptual foundation that can help learners progress from physical coding tools to text-based programming.

Participant Preparation: Participants are encouraged to bring either an Android or iOS device with the free Kainundrum Lite companion app installed (Android or iOS), or a Windows laptop with the Code Jumper application installed.

Objectives

• Participants will explain how sequencing and loops are used to direct the actions of a program.

• Participants will construct, test, and revise a simple program using KaiBot or Code Jumper.

Title:  COMING SOON 

Presenter:  Erika Andersen Ko

Description:  COMING SOON 
Objectives:  COMING SOON 

Title:  Flying to New Heights: Advanced Airport Orientation & Mobility

Presenter: Mandy Smith, COMS

Target Audience: COMS

Description: In this advanced session, participants will translate established orientation and mobility principles walking a route to the airport. Working in pairs while occluded with sleep shades, practitioners will navigate the dynamic, multi-layered environment of an active airport. This session provides an opportunity to sharpen real-time environmental problem-solving, elevate advanced travel mechanics, and deepen complex auditory processing skills under realistic transit conditions.

Objectives

• Participants will execute advanced non-visual travel mechanics and real-time environmental problem-solving while occluded along an active airport route.

• Participants will synthesize complex auditory cues and multi-layered environmental information to maintain spatial orientation under realistic, high-sensory transit conditions.
   

Session 4 Presentations (2:10 pm - 3:10 pm)

Title: Creating Authentic Choice Making Opportunities

Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce

Description: This session will support participants to ensure that all choice making opportunities are authentic and respectful. This requires that the learner has experiences to ground understanding of the presented options, that the representations of those options are understood by the learner, and that they have a clear indicating/selection response. 

Objectives: 

• Participants will know the correct vocabulary associated with choice making.
• Participants will be ready to implement authentic opportunities for choice making.

Title:  Beyond Isolated Skills: Using Thematic Instruction to Teach the ECC. 

Presenter:  Carmen Willings 

Description: Students with visual impairments benefit from meaningful instruction that connects concepts, routines, experiences, and Expanded Core Curriculum skills across environments. This session explores teaching strategies and thematic instructional planning that help TVIs create engaging, manageable, and purposeful lessons. Participants will learn how to use seasonal themes, concept development, sensory learning, real-world experiences, and natural routines to support ECC instruction while increasing student engagement, background knowledge, independence, and skill generalization. Practical planning strategies, instructional frameworks, and ready-to-use ideas for embedding ECC skills throughout the school day will be shared throughout the session.

Objectives: 

• Participants will explore how thematic instruction, concept development, sensory learning, and real-world experiences can support meaningful Expanded Core Curriculum instruction across environments and routines. 
• Participants will leave with practical planning strategies, instructional frameworks, and ready-to-use ideas for creating engaging, manageable, and purposeful lessons that increase student engagement, background knowledge, independence, communication, and skill generalization throughout the school day.

Title: From Hands-On Concepts to Text-Based Coding with Quorum and JAWS

Presenter: Stephanie Walker 

Description: How do learners move from physical coding tools to writing lines of code? Building on the foundational concepts introduced through KaiBot and Code Jumper, this interactive session demonstrates how sequencing and logical thinking transfer to text-based programming. Participants will use JAWS to explore Quorum and complete accessible Parsons problems that reduce the demands of beginning with a blank screen. They will then arrange, run, and revise text-based code as part of a guided interactive challenge.

Participant Preparation: Participants are encouraged to bring a Windows laptop with Quorum Studio installed. Participants who cannot install Quorum Studio may use the embedded online platform. Please also bring headphones and have JAWS or NVDA available if you plan to use it during the session.

Objectives

1. Participants will interpret how foundational coding concepts are represented in text-based Quorum code.
2. Participants will arrange, run, and revise Quorum code with JAWS to complete a guided coding challenge.

Title:  COMING SOON 

Presenter:  Erika Andersen Ko

Description:  COMING SOON 
Objectives:  COMING SOON 

Title:  Walk ‘N’ Roll: Immersive Multi-Disability Navigation

Presenter: Mandy Smith, COMS

Description:  During this interactive session, participants will partner up to experience multi-sensory and physical mobility travel around the hotel premises. Using a combination of sleep shades, earplugs, wheelchairs, crutches, and other mobility devices, participants will simulate navigation with co-occurring disabilities. This session offers a practical platform to cultivate lived-experience insight, refine peer-coaching techniques, and evaluate environmental accessibility in a real-world setting.

Objectives

• Participants will utilize a combination of mobility devices (such as wheelchairs or crutches) and sensory occlusion tools to navigate real-world environments and evaluate physical accessibility.

• Participants will Implement refined peer-coaching techniques and safety protocols while analyzing the combined physical, auditory, and visual demands placed on individuals with complex access needs.