Leading the Way for Best Practices

By Kathy Mullen, VIPS Director of Education

The VIPS community was well-represented at the 2024 AER Biennial International Conference this year. Five team members traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina in late July to share news on the exciting things happening within the VIPS community and to learn from our amazing collaborators from across the country and well beyond. AER or Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind/Visually Impaired is the overarching professional agency supporting individuals working in fields serving those who are blind or have low vision.

While at the conference, we learned of new practices in the field, including updated assessments, screeners, and diagnoses; ways to embed the Expanded Core Curriculum for Students with Visual Impairments into the preschool day; new strategies used in low vision clinics and with vision devices; mental health care for our young children and their families; funding sources for continuing education; and much, much more. VIPS team members were able to share information on our podcast, “Feeling This Life” and our ongoing work in developing a curriculum resource for the ECC, “Every Child Can”. There were many opportunities to visit with friends, make new friends, and celebrate the friends who came before us. And there was FUN! Lots of fun! As it should be with any conference, our VIPS team came back with minds full of new information and hearts full of eagerness for the future!