Basic self-help techniques for the movement of blind students in school environments: a training and evaluation proposal

Abstract

The research aimed to evaluate a training program in basic self-help techniques in school environments. The study participant was a 13-year-old teenager with congenital blindness who was enrolled in the 6th grade of elementary school. The study was characterized as quasi-experimental research and was based on three distinct steps: 1) pre-test; 2) interventions; and 3) post-test. The instruments used to evaluate these steps were the protocols for the evaluation of basic self-help techniques. The assessments took place in three environments: a video room, a reading room, and a parking lot. Data analysis was quantitative for student performance during pre-test and post-test and qualitative for the description of interventions. The pre-test results indicated that the student demonstrated all behaviors characterized as basic among the proposed techniques. However, the participant did not demonstrate most behaviors considered specific. The interventions focused on instructional and training behaviors that the student did not perform and/or performed poorly in the pre-test. The strategy for interventions used verbal and physical instructions, kinesthetic models, and positive feedback. Post-test results indicated that the student was able to demonstrate most of the proposed behaviors naturally and safely in all environments. The analysis concluded that the main success factors in instruction, training, and evaluation of the proposed techniques were as follows: the systematization of the program along with the quasi-experimental design; video recording and detailed record-keeping; the deliberate application of the teaching strategies; identification of student characteristics for more effective learning.