Overview

Learning Objectives:

• name who benefits from a functional vision assessment.
• explain why a functional vision assessment is conducted.
• identify the team members involved in planning and conducting a functional vision assessment.

Presenters:

• Christine Croyle, Ed.D., Program Director, Outreach Center for Deafness and Blindness at OCALI. Christine provides leadership to that team as they work to build capacity at the local level for learners who are deaf/hard of hearing or blind/visually impaired. Christine has served as a school administrator for Pickaway County Board of Developmental Disabilities and as a speech language pathologist at The Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB). She has presented at state, national, and international conferences on topics including leading inclusive models of education, instructional strategies, and designing spaces with accessibility in mind. 
• Danene Fast, Ph.D., Ohio State University. Danene is a clinical assistant professor and faculty lead for the Programs in Visual Impairments at The Ohio State University. A dually certified teacher of students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility specialist, she has received both local and national awards for her teaching, including a fellowship with the National Leadership Consortium for Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD). Fast has published and presented at local, national, and international venues, with a research agenda that focuses on accessibility and inclusion.
• Megan Flowers, M.Ed., Ohio Department of Education. Megan has been in the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education over two years providing technical assistance and professional development to districts throughout Ohio. Megan is certified as a K-12 Moderate to Intensive Special Education Intervention Specialist with a Reading Endorsement and a PreK-6 Principal. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from The University of Cincinnati. She has over 15 years of experience working with students with disabilities, specifically students that have orthopedic impairments, multiple disabilities, sensory disabilities, are medically fragile and have complex communication needs. Megan has spent most of her life in central Ohio and enjoys continuing use of her sign language skills through community courses.
• Karen E. Koehler, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Shawnee State University. Dr. Koehler serves as the project director of the TVI Consortium - a multi-university collaborative for teacher preparation of teachers of students with visual impairments. She has presented at state and national conferences on topics related to STEM education for students with visual impairments and creating collaborative partnerships in educator preparation.
• Alison B. LaBarre, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent for the Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB) and Ohio School for the Deaf (OSD). Dr. LaBarre also leads the Statewide Services team who provides assessments and consultation for learners who are blind/visually impaired or deaf/hard of hearing. She has presented at state and national conferences on topics related to middle level education and the educational needs of the exceptional child.
• Staci Wills, M.Ed., TVI and COMS. Staci is a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and a Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist, having completed the Ohio teacher licensure programs for both of these specialties at The Ohio State University.  She has served students throughout Mahoning County in these roles since 2012, and earned her Ohio K-8 certification in 2000.  She earned both her B.S.Ed. (elementary education) and M.S.Ed. (curriculum and assessment) from Youngstown State University. Staci is a member of The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI), and sits on the board of AERBVI's Ohio chapter, where she is currently the President-Elect.