R2

This Handbook helps teachers to deal with visually impaired young people in order to bring out their needs, not only needs related to their specific condition but also needs related to how to express themselves more, and to exchange with the members of a group and so, feel more integrated and less socially excluded. For this aim, preliminary knowledge by teachers on the different types of visual impairment and on the different teaching approaches will allow them to plan inclusive and accessible educational activities and curricula for all students. Specifically, the involvement of visually impaired young people, V.I learners, in ceramic workshops is also presented as a non-formal teaching approach but with great benefits. In fact, the involvement of visually impaired young people within the group increases, through the workshop “experiential activity” that enhances the development of the senses, in particular touch. The use of audio materials and digital assistance tools (including assistive technologies) also makes it possible to counteract those barriers of learning and social inclusion linked to the absence of sight by the V.I learners, thus ensuring their active participation and team building. Finally, the Handbook underlines the importance to manage spaces and create safe learning environments for V.I learners, in order to ensure that learning takes place in the right measures of safety and in the most congenial conditions for an audience with very specific physical, medical, psychological and psych relational needs.     Bibliography ICD-10 Version:2016. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://icd.who.int/browse10/2016/en#/H53- H54 VISION. (n.d.). Retrieved August 30, 2023, from https://www.vision-erasmusplus.eu/pages/training.php

Ensuring a learning environment that is inclusive, safe and promoting well-being is one of the priorities identified by the partners of the CARE project. Specifically, through the creation of ceramic workshops, partners will involve young visually impaired people in new immersive and interactive learning experiences. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that carrying out ceramic workshops with visually impaired young people also involves potential risks, linked to safety, which must be anticipated and avoided as much as possible. In the following paragraphs we will analyze the various types of risks in order to help teachers prevent them as best as possible during ceramic workshops. We will also explore how to make sure that a ceramic workshop is as inclusive as possible, focusing on how spaces are managed to ensure accessibility to young visually impaired people joining ceramic workshops.     Safety in ceramics workshop Ceramics is a fascinating art that offers multiple opportunities for creativity and artistic expression. However, when working with clay, kilns, and tools, safety must be the main priority, especially in a workshop involving visually impaired people. This first part of the text will focus on the importance of safety measures in inclusive pottery workshops, where each step is adapted to ensure a safe and accessible environment for all V.I students. ⇒ How to guarantee safe and accessible environments for all V.I students? The crucial first step in ensuring safety in a ceramics workshop for visually impaired and visually impaired students is to create a safe and accessible environment. This means removing physical obstacles from the workspace, ensuring that pathways are well-defined and free of hazardous objects, and making sure that all equipment and tools are organized in a systematic way. Work surfaces should be tactually distinguishable, and the use of color contrast can help visually impaired students locate tools and objects more easily. In addition, it is essential that students receive adequate training in how to orient themselves in space in order to move around safely during the lab. ⇒ What kind of tools and equipment are the best ones for V.I students involved in ceramic workshops? In the ceramics workshop for visually impaired and visually impaired students, it is critical to provide adapted tools and equipment to ensure that everyone can participate in the activities safely and effectively. For example, shaping tools and pottery wheels can be marked with raised labels or tactile codes to help students easily identify them. In addition, some students may require tools with larger or smaller handles for better grip or feel. Adapting tools can ensure that everyone can participate meaningfully without compromising safety or quality of work. ⇒ How to ensure that everyone is correctly informed about all potential risks? In addition to providing a safe environment and adapted equipment, specific training for visually impaired and visually impaired students is critical to safety. Students should be instructed on how to properly use the tools, ovens, and other equipment in the lab. In addition, they should be aware of safety procedures, such as the proper use of personal protective equipment (such as gloves or masks) and the safe handling of chemicals used in the ceramics process. The lab teacher or supervisor should be well prepared to meet the specific needs of students with visual impairments by providing clear and detailed explanations, including through nonverbal language and the use of tactile descriptions. ⇒ How to prevent and mitigate the effects linked to hazard situations during ceramic workshops with V.I learners? Every ceramic laboratory should undergo a risk assessment to identify and mitigate potential hazardous situations. This process is especially important in an inclusive environment, where the needs of participants can vary significantly.   Risk control should include identification of potential trip or fall situations, proper storage and use of materials and chemicals, and adequate ventilation of the kiln area to prevent exposure to noxious fumes.     Accessibility of the spaces in ceramic workshops When setting up ceramic workshops, it is necessary to adopt some preventive measures and tricks that can facilitate the stay of visually impaired students within the workshops. In this regard, the environmental conditions of spaces and their accessibility and setting should be strongly ensured (beyond the safety and risk prevention conditions already described in paragraph 5.1). How to create accessible ceramic workshops? How to structure the spaces, how to guarantee the right design and arrangement of the spaces? Find here below some useful instructions: Place labels with high-contrast fonts on classroom furniture and surfaces can help students identify them more easily. Labels should be placed strategically, such as on the front of desks or the back of chairs. Create a tactile map of the classroom with reliefs representing furniture, desks, doors, and other features of the This tactile map will enable students to gain a clearer understanding of the classroom layout and make it easier for them to navigate. Use color contrasts between walls, furniture, and floors can make objects more distinct and clearly identifiable to visually impaired students. Provide tactile guides, such as tape strips or lanyards. These guides should be strategically placed to help students navigate the classroom. For example, they can mark safe routes and specific areas of the classroom.     Lighting design of a ceramic workshops for V.I learners When considering a suitable environment for a visually impaired student, lighting plays a key role. Several characteristics of natural and artificial light sources should be evaluated, as well as the position and angle of the work surface and the arrangement of materials within the classroom. The main objective is to ensure adequate light, without being excessive, where necessary, avoiding glare and properly distributing light in the different areas involved. For work involving close-up viewing, proper lighting is essential. Ideally, you should have a more focused light source above the work surface, along with more diffuse light to create an evenly lit environment. Good lighting near the work to be done is just as important as lighting between rooms

To ensure the maximum success of an inclusive educational experience for all students, it is essential to create an effective learning environment that is comprehensive in terms of both pedagogical resources (materials, personalized contents etc.) and teaching approach that will take into account the specific needs of every V.I learner. Specifically, when dealing with V.I learners, it must be considered that their personal development and learning approach may follow different time frames than other students, and therefore it is essential to foster and consolidate haptic/tactile perception. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the surrounding space is specifically adapted to their needs. Making sure to set up an inclusive environment, where tools and resources are adequately accessible and usable, will be critical to promoting fruitful and stimulating learning for all students with visual impairment. The well-structured learning environment, capable of adapting to individual needs, will help to create a welcoming and inclusive educational environment in which every pupil will have the opportunity to develop his or her abilities to the fullest potential.   “Touching is learning”: a multisensory approach to foster inclusiveness of V.I learners In the construction of the perceptual act of the blind person, touch plays a predominant synthesis function, but it is also joined by hearing and other senses during the exploration of the surrounding environments. As Cottini states (Cottini, 2008), “while touch allows the evaluation of the shapes of objects, hearing provides the blind person with criteria for direction and orientation.” Consequently, it is essential to provide the blind child with motor education interventions that focus on structuring and integrating the body schema. This process allows the child to develop an “awareness of his or her own body enriched by the perception of space and attitudes. The goal of such interventions is to provide the visually impaired child with the skills needed to understand the world around him, interact with it, and move independently and safely. This type of motor education is essential to foster the overall development of the child and to help him or her overcome the challenges associated with lack of vision, enabling him or her to fully participate in daily learning activities. Children who are blind or visually impaired require specific aids to enable them to read and write independently. Among the most widely used tools are Braille code, raised materials, spoken books, and text- to-speech systems. In addition, they can benefit from a variety of technological devices tailored to the severity of their visual impairment. When one of the sensory channels is impaired or missing altogether, our cognitive system demonstrates extraordinary plasticity, enabling the refined development of the other senses. In cases where vision is deficient or completely absent, the child will rely primarily on touch, followed by hearing, to orient themselves and learn about the world around them. Making perceptually accessible and inclusive spaces for a child with visual impairment means creating environmental conditions that facilitate the development of personal autonomy, learning and social interactions. In a classroom for example, there are immediately perceptible elements that suggest a certain way of thinking about educational action: the organization of space, the arrangement of desks and the desk, the use of walls, and the presence, or absence, of certain tools are some of the structural features that contribute to influencing the modes of action and relationship between the subjects living in that context.

To approach the visually impaired participants in education we need to look at all the angles of learning. This includes activities, verbal communication, emotional communication, and areal communication to avoid their social isolation and ensure greater social interaction. From the above categories, information and guidelines regarding visual impaired individuals’ education have been collected, gathered, and presented in this handbook. Proper education and inclusion of students require appropriate preparation by teachers in every lesson or encounter with children with different needs. Proper education and inclusion of students require appropriate preparation by teachers in every lesson or encounter with children with different needs. Secondly, continuous development, planning, learning, finding, and distributing support materials and strategies in the classroom helps all students not only personally, but also locally, regionally, and nationally. Blindness has been shown to be a major stress factor, as it causes an uncontrollable feeling of “hopelessness”. This feeling seems to make its appearance when the individuals realize that the events in their everyday life are independent from their actions, and they often develop a sense of dependency on others and loss of their own autonomy and self-esteem. This may explain the “Emotional Instability” observed in many blind individuals. Here below some useful tips and instructions for teachers on how to foster learning in their V.I students. 1)     Enhance social interactions and interpersonal skills, ensure accessibility and avoid social isolation Providing a wide variety of tactile learning experiences Alternative activities/exercises such as AudioBooks and Podcasts, nature exploration, and volunteering amongst others, can be applied in the educational process. If you need to place a programme of activities in the room, have it on large bright cardboard, with enlarged letters, 3D shapes or in Braille format. Use assistive technology, g. braille displays and screen readers (also available in Word documents) Give more time to workshop exercises and activities and be patient. There should be willingness and kindness from the assistant trainers to support blind people. If the activity includes texts, flip charts, or every “writing action” remember to make big letters and phrases in the matrix-flip chart in order to be understood by all Also, if you use large cardstock remember that color contrasts are most helpful for the vision of a visual impaired individual. In case that pictures, photos, and papers must be printed enlarge them to assist the participants. Show tolerance and understanding when students are in a stressful situation doing an activity or getting to know the place and other people. Do not keep asking students if they need help as it can disrupt their Instead show them that they are in a safe space, physically and mentally, to ask for help on their own. If you do not know how to do something, don’t hesitate to ask them how to do it – they are the experts!   2)     Enhance nonviolent and positive communication Teacher-trainers-assistants should always call the participants by their names and avoid words such as “you”, “child”, but also identify their identity, for example, “Hi John, I’m Zoe your teacher, how are you today?” The voice and speech of the assistants/teachers should always be calm and understandable. Encourage direct dialogue between the participants. Use normal tone and volume when addressing them. Do not use abstract Be as specific as possible, e.g. John, please give me the pen. When asking for something to be handed to you by visual impaired or visual impaired student/participant stand either to his right or left. Never stand behind him so that he understands from which direction the “sound wave” is coming. The assistant instructor should always ask the participant if she/he needs a description of the space that they enter. Using simple and understandable words and phrases and avoiding “bad” concepts and words. The teachers/instructors should always announce themselves when entering a room/space, so that the participants are aware of their presence. Use descriptive words, such as left, right, front, back. Describe completely visual details about the game activities. Verbally ask the visual impaired participant/student if he/she wants to enter or leave a conversation. In addition to identifying yourself with a visual impaired participant or student, also identify those that are present next to you or around you, e.g., Hi John, I’m Zoe, Maria and Julio are also here. You don’t have to speak loudly to a visually impaired person. If the visual impaired individuals don’t know a word you use, spell the new word or scientific terminology out loud to help the participants learn it. Speak directly to them – not to their helper. As said above, use their name first of every communication-conversation.   3)     Boost emotional intelligence and explore intrapersonal skills. Emotional education is one of the most important parts of the workshop. It must be made clear to the participants that they did not come to the workshop to compete or to be judged but to develop their emotional, communicative, cognitive, and motor skills. The main objective is also to develop the imagination and entertain the participants. Visually impaired participants need to learn or know: The uniqueness of each person To identify their feelings To identify their feelings and express them in a direct and socially acceptable way. How to develop their psychological and emotional aspects such as self-esteem and well-being. Understand and recognize teasing and ways of dealing with it. That they are valuable members of society. How to comfortably ask for the help of others, without shame, when they need it. How to refuse the help of others when they do not really need it, when there is pressure from the individual offering help. To develop a sense of self-advocacy. To know that they are strong and can achieve anything.   Don’t be afraid to speak your mind! If you really like what the participant is drawing, painting, or creating, try to help them verbally by complimenting them on their work or handling. If you see that he is struggling, ask him if he needs help. If he asks your opinion and you don’t

What is what: typologies The foremost requirement for the process of vision is a fundamental element: light, a form of electromagnetic energy. This light enters our eyes and interacts with the photosensitive receptors positioned on the retina. This interaction initiates a sequence of events in which neural impulses are generated. These impulses traverse intricate pathways and networks within the brain dedicated to vision, collectively referred to as the visual cortex. The incoming light is further directed onto the retina’s rear surface through the lens, which is known as the crystalline lens. The retina’s receptors detect this luminous energy and, via a process termed transduction, convert it into action potentials. These potentials subsequently travel along the optic nerve. In the realm of visual health, Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD, defines visual impairment as a “functional limitation affecting the eye or eyes, or the entire visual system.” This impairment leads to a range of effects, including: Diminished visual acuity, causing a person to perceive objects less sharply than someone with a normal Reduced visual field, wherein an individual cannot observe as broad an expanse as an average person without shifting their gaze or turning their head. Photophobia, an inability to tolerate or gaze at Diplopia, commonly referred to as double Visual distortion, involving the deformation of Challenges in visual perception or the act of interpreting visual Combinations of the features.   As per the pronouncements of the World Health Organization (WHO), an individual is categorized as severely sight impaired, or blind, when the visual acuity in their best eye used for perceiving details remains below 1/20, even with the most effective correction. On the other hand, an individual is classified as sight impaired, or partially sighted, if their visual acuity falls between 3/10 and 1/20. However, this classification system originates from two decades ago. More recently, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) – WHO Version for 2016 has introduced a new classification scheme. This updated scheme outlines five distinct categories within Chapter VII: Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59), specifically focusing on Visual disturbances and blindness (H53-H54).   H53Visual disturbances H53.0 – Amblyopia ex anopsia Amblyopia: Anisometropic Deprivation Strabismic   H53.1 – Subjective visual disturbances Asthenopia Day blindness Hemeralopia Metamorphopsia Photophobia Scintillating scotoma Sudden visual loss Visual halos Excl.: visual hallucinations   H53.2 – Diplopia Double vision   H53.3 – Other disorders of binocular vision Abnormal retinal correspondence Fusion with defective stereopsis Simultaneous visual perception without fusion Suppression of binocular vision   H53.4 – Visual field defects Enlarged blind spot Generalized contraction of visual field Hemianop(s)ia (heteronymous)(homonymous) Quadrant anop(s)ia Scotoma: Arcuate Bjerrum Central Ring   H53.5 – Colour vision deficiencies Achromatopsia Acquired colour vision deficiency Colour blindness Deuteranomaly Deuteranopia Protanomaly Protanopia Tritanomaly Tritanopia Excl.: Day blindness   H53.6 – Night blindness Excl.: Due to vitamin A deficiency   H53.8 – Other visual disturbances H53.9 – Visual disturbance, unspecified     H54Visual impairment including blindness (binocular or monocular) Note: For definition of visual impairment categories see table below. Excl.: Amaurosis fugax   H54.0 – Blindness, binocular Visual impairment categories 3,4,5 in both eyes   H54.1 – Severe visual impairment, binocular Visual impairment category 2.   H54.2 – Moderate visual impairment, binocular Visual impairment category 1   H54.3 – Mild or no visual impairment, binocular Visual impairment category 0.   H54.4 – Blindness, monocular Visual impairment categories 3, 4, 5 in one eye and categories 0, 1, 2 or 9 in the other eye.   H54.5 – Severe visual impairment, monocular Visual impairment category 2 in one eye and categories 0, 1 or 9 in other eye.   H54.6 – Moderate visual impairment, monocular Visual impairment category 1 in one eye and categories 0 or 9 in other eye.   H54.9 – Unspecified visual impairment (binocular) Visual impairment category 9.   As depicted on the WHO website, the provided table presents a categorization of the severity of visual impairment that has been endorsed by the International Council of Ophthalmology’s Resolution and the guidelines put forth by the WHO Consultation on “Development of Standards for Characterization of Vision Loss and Visual Functioning”. Figure 1: categorization of the severity of the visual impairment (Source: (ICD-10 Version:2016, n.d.))   “Note: The term visual impairment in category H54 comprises category 0 for mild or no visual impairment, category 1 for moderate visual impairment, category 2 for severe visual impairment, categories 3, 4 and 5 for blindness and category 9 for unqualified visual impairment. The term “low vision” included in the previous revision has been replaced by categories 1 and 2 to avoid confusion with those requiring low vision care.” (ICD- 10 Version:2016, n.d.)   Visual impairment represents the big umbrella to cover all previous categories (blindness and partial sight) in H54. However, the intricacies of each case are distinct. Only a minority among those registered as blind or partially sighted lack any form of vision, while varying eye conditions react diversely to factors like shifts in lighting. Some individuals might have the ability to read but require assistance for safe mobility. Whatever the condition, the best approach to ascertaining a person’s visual ability is to ask them when they are alone and discuss with them how they would prefer to be supported” (VISION, n.d.)   Virtual examples Before we proceed with providing instructions and guidelines for engaging with visually impaired (V.I) students both within the education system and in ceramics workshops, it seems appropriate to offer sighted users of this training program an insight (through examples) into the potential visual experiences of individuals with various types of visual impairments. The following slides, crafted by the SIGMA team, illustrate how individuals with specific eye conditions might perceive a given situation differently compared to those with full sight. It’s important to acknowledge that we can’t precisely comprehend the visual experiences of others, and these slides serve as an approximation. As noted above, the way people understand an object is influenced not solely by their visual input, but also by how their brain

The European project “CARE: Ceramic Artworks to Raise Esteem and Employability” aims to increase the chances of both social inclusion and labour integration of visually impaired young people (V.I), through their participation in ceramic workshops throughout and beyond the project. The processing of ceramics has in fact countless potentials and benefits that can contribute to the strengthening of both the intrapersonal and the interpersonal skills of visually impaired young people, thus contributing to their general well-being as individuals and as members of a group too. Specifically, the following “Handbook with specific guidelines on how to engage and fully connect with the V.I. learners” is a useful and hands-on guide for teachers, educators and trainers who want to engage visually impaired young people, providing general advice on how to relate and how to provide very personalized teaching based on the specific needs expressed by the V.I young learners (learner-centered approach). In the Handbook, a specific focus is on how to conduct ceramic workshops for visually impaired youth taking into consideration their specific needs and trying to encounter and overcome potential risks and criticalities. Specifically, the Handbook highlights a series of issues related to the management of emotions, the management of the materials, the management of risks, to give practical tips and useful recommendations for teachers who implement ceramic workshops with the V.I young learners.