LAFAYETTE, La — At Woodvale Elementary School, students will soon set aside their books to enjoy the summer break. However, before the vacation starts, KATC is highlighting the school that offers a special program during the year for elementary-aged students with vision impairments.
This program is unique within the Lafayette Parish School System. According to Amanda Blanco, the Public Information Officer, it's the only public elementary school that provides the VI (Visually Impaired) program, which offers essential resources, services, and support for VI students who need to compensate for their vision loss.
One student, Madison Alexander, is 10 years old and in the 4th grade. Her mother tells KATC that she is diagnosed with three different vision impairments.
- hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- optic nerve hypoplasia
- cortical vision impairment
Her mother explained to KATC that there are countless forms of vision loss, but that doesn't stop her daughter from playing her favorite tunes on the piano and singing her heart out.
According to the Perkins School for the Blind, cortical vision impairment is the leading cause of childhood blindness and low vision. Despite the impairment, Maddie loves school and enjoys the extra help from her classmates.
“They helped me switch classes and bring me to check out or bring me for check-in; it makes me very happy, like, super duper happy,” said Maddie.
Allie Cortese is one teacher for the visually impaired at Woodvale and explains more about the VI program.
"We have many different assistive technologies to help our VI students with reading and writing, a lot of them start off with a braille writer when they are learning how to write their letters. Maddie started learning braille when she was Pre-K and she's in 4th grade now, she's fully immersed. All of her books is ordered for her in braille so she's able to access the material for the grade level she is in," Cortese said.
To read more about the Lafayette Parish School System's Visually Impaired Program that are offered in the parish, click here.
