Visual Field Newsletter
Florida Instructional Materials Center - Visually Impaired
Updates and Product Upgrades
- The latest title in the Les Doigts Qui Rêvent (LDQR) series, My Nose, follows an unnamed main character who loses their nose in a powerful sneeze and goes on a hunt to get it back!
- A Tail for Baby Lizard is back! Join baby lizard on his adventure to replace his lost tail. This tactile storybook from tactile book publisher, LDQR, contains UEB braille and large print.
- Featuring stunning graphics, Cedric's Cartesian Quest is a new free app designed for middle school students to enhance their math knowledge and practice spatial skills in the Cartesian coordinate system.
- Memory Puzzles: Fruits & Veggies is the third set in the Memory Puzzle series, designed to support braille readers and low vision learners. This set contains the same braille and print labels as previous puzzles but also features a new pop-out fruit or vegetable as part of every piece.
- Memory Puzzles: Shapes is now available in Spanish. Great for introducing braille to Spanish speaking students or for introducing Spanish to English braille readers!
- Focus Cubes and Cylinders - This versatile set of manipulatives is designed to support early numeracy and math fundamentals for Pre-K to first grade students.
- Cosmic Number Lines is a fun educational iOS game that helps elementary students learn about the number line.
- Physical Education and Sports for Students with Visual Impairments and Deafblindness is the newest resource from APH Press that explores adaptive exercise and healthy habits for life.
- Just released, the first title in APH Press’ STEM series Accessible Science for Students with Visual Impairments provides ideas and insights for creating inclusive science classrooms.
- The Flip-Over FACES app & Astro Adventure Balls now feature closed captioning!
- Life Science Tactile Graphics has been updated to include UEB braille.
- Sense of Science: Astronomy is back in stock!
- The Littlest Pumpkin is now available in UEB!
- Tactile Town 3-D O&M Kit is currently unavailable while we work to bring you an updated and improved version. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
The Dot Experience is Seeking Videos
- Grab your phone, a friend, and shoot a 3-5 minute video telling us about yourself, your school day, times you've had to advocate for yourself or others, what you like to do, or whatever else you want us to know! Our partners at Solid Light have shared the following prompts and filming guidelines to help make sure that we get the best results possible. There is also a link to a dropbox to submit your stories - please upload them at the highest resolution possible. We are so excited to hear your invaluable stories!
- Please share with your network - whether that's students you know who are blind or low vision, their families, or your TVI colleagues! Thank you for your help in this groundbreaking project.
- Upload videos at the highest resolution possible by September 19, 2025.
- Feel free to reach out to Erin Gibbons at egibbons@aph.org with any questions.
Braille Interlining class
The Braille Association of Mid-Florida, Inc. (BMFL) will be offering an interlining class to parents and paraprofessionals. This class will allow parents and paraprofessionals the opportunity to learn braille so they will have the ability to visually read embossed braille.
- The class will use Zoom for instruction hosted by FIMC-VI.
- Sessions will be offered Thursdays from 6:00-7:00pm EST beginning October 9 for approximately five months, not including holidays or school closings. Participants may request extra time on specific lessons and by doing so may extend the length of the class.
- The class will be composed of twenty lessons and introduce participants to the braille alphabet, all the braille contractions, punctuation, and type forms (i.e. italics, bold, underline) used for emphasis.
- Participants will be expected to attend the sessions and do activities for homework, which they will grade themselves from answers provided later in the class.
- Participants will be mailed a book and embossed materials using Free Matter for the Blind. Answer keys will be sent electronically.
The focus of this class is to provide participants with the skills needed to assist their student with reading tasks such as academic or pleasure reading, homework assignments and other materials presented in braille. Braille will not have to be created, but will be read (or interlined, which means deciphered).
Register for BMFL's Parent Interlining Class by September 1 - Space is limited!
New Courses on Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment
Embark on a journey to unravel the complexity of Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) with a trilogy of courses now offered in the Hive. Delve into the multi-dimensional nature of this unique diagnosis by first enrolling in Identifying the Effects of CVI. Then, move onto Supporting the Assessment Process for Children with CVI. Finally, explore Developing Interventions for Children with CVI. Each course guides educators to utilize the CVI Companion Guide, while also earning 1.5 hours of ACVREP credit.
2025 Florida Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (FAER) Conference
October 22-24, 2025 | Altamonte Springs, FL
Teach with FLAER at FAER's bi-annual professional conference. Whether you're a teacher of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility specialist, rehab professional, or university student – this is your chance to connect, learn, and grow.
We hope to see you in October!
2025 Getting in Touch with Literacy (GITWL) Conference
November 5-8, 2025 | Huntsville, AL
A multiday conference of talks, activities, and workshops related to the teaching of literacy to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, in addition to pre-conference and field trip opportunities.
October 4, 2025 | 8:00am-3:30pm EST | Monroe Center/FIMC-VI, Tampa
Abacus and mental math users of all ages who are visually impaired are invited to participate in the fourth annual Florida APH Abacus Math Bee on our "Math Mission to Mars"! Student and family workshops focused on STEM will also be offered and lunch is provided for everyone. Separate student and attendee registration required.
Learn more about the Abacus Math Bee and register students and guests
November 15, 2025 | 8:00am - 3:30pm EST | Monroe Center/FIMC-VI, Tampa
Florida Cane Quest travelers are invited to show off their orientation and mobility skills at this year's "O&M Odyssey"! Cane travelers in grades 3-12 will complete a variety of routes and tasks to earn prizes while families learn more about independence, getting around, and self-determination for their students. Separate student and attendee registration required.
Visit our website to learn more and find Cane Quest registration information (coming soon)