College Preparation Tips for Blind and Low Vision Students
College will be very different from high school for students who are blind or have low vision. In high school, you likely received support from a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) who adapted coursework to meet your specific needs. This may have included providing enlarged graph paper, transcribing material into braille, or making charts and tables accessible.
This article provides support and insight for blind or low vision students who want to feel prepared for all aspects of college before embarking on their next chapter. Mastering the following skills before college can help you build independence, confidence, and success in both academic and non-academic areas of campus life.
Skill 1: Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
Whether you’ve been working on your orientation and mobility (O&M) skills since elementary school or are just beginning to develop them, it’s important to feel comfortable traveling independently around your college campus. Strong O&M skills are essential for navigating new environments with confidence.
Dr. Brandi Levingston, Interim Director of the Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity (SAEO) office at Virginia Commonwealth University, notes, “Go to the campus and familiarize yourself with the campus. Once classes begin, it becomes more difficult to familiarize yourself with campus” (B. Levingston, personal communication, June 2024).
Some examples of O&M skills include:
- Building familiarity with wayfinding in unfamiliar locations
- Knowing how to ask for assistance in new settings
- Proficiency in white cane or guide dog use
- Navigating familiar routes independently
- Practicing with tactile or digital maps
These skills are critical before starting college because you’ll immediately encounter many new environments. You’ll need to find your classes, travel to and from dining halls or campus eateries, locate your residence hall and room, and use transportation such as shuttles, buses, or ride-share services.
Practicing routes helps you develop confidence and strengthen your orientation skills. It’s normal to repeat routes several times while learning your way. O&M lessons may be available when you first start classes, but you may also need to ask for help locating new lecture halls or buildings in later semesters. Once you feel confident in your O&M skills, you’ll be able to navigate a wide variety of environments both on and off campus.
Jackie Cortez-Garcia, a Clemson University graduate student, shares: “You will want to look for any resources that you would need on campus before you actually get there. Figuring out where lecture halls are, where the testing center is [for example,] just so that you would be more prepared and not so stressed the day-of. I would try to do this by myself because I could take my time and really take this [information] all in. [What I thought] about a lot was mobility; big city areas vs. college-town areas. Look into transportation systems on and off campus. Proximity of restaurants, etc” (J. Garcia-Cortez, personal communication, June 2024).
Skill 2: Assistive Technology
Becoming proficient in the assistive technology that works best for you is key to thriving in college. Most college courses have online components, so you’ll rely heavily on technology such as your phone, tablet, or computer. Whether you use a screen reader like JAWS, NVDA, or VoiceOver, or magnification tools to read text, being fluent in your technology gives you a significant advantage in managing college coursework.
Technology is integrated into nearly every aspect of college learning, from digital textbooks and readings to exams and quizzes. Understanding how to use your assistive technology allows you to navigate course materials more effectively.
Most exams are now taken on computers, and some professors use lockdown browsers or testing software that may not be compatible with your assistive technology. Having a solid understanding of your tools before starting college enables you to identify and address accessibility barriers early.
You may also want to explore additional tools such as accessible note-taking apps, braille displays, and e-readers. Learning to format documents, access PDFs, and utilize accessibility features on learning platforms such as Canvas, Blackboard, or Google Classroom is equally important.
If you encounter access barriers while navigating online course materials, contact your university’s disability or accessibility services office. Whether it’s an online exam that won’t work with your screen reader or a scanned PDF with handwritten notes, these offices can help you resolve the issue. The more you understand your assistive technology before college, the better equipped you’ll be to collaborate with faculty and staff to find solutions when accessibility issues arise.
“Assistive tech! Get it! Use it! Know how to use it! Whatever [your technology] is, make sure that you have it and know how to use it”
Dr. B. Levingston, personal communication, June 2024
Skill 3: Communication
Communication skills are essential for success in college. In high school, you may not have had much experience requesting classroom accommodations or explaining your access needs, but in college, that responsibility shifts to you.
Knowing how to explain your access needs and how your vision impacts your understanding of course material is crucial in both written and verbal communication. This includes emailing professors with questions, meeting with disability services professionals, and speaking up during class discussions or group projects.
You might feel like you’re over-explaining, but often, this will be the first time your professors or peers have interacted with a student who is blind or has low vision. Clear and confident communication helps others understand what you need and ensures you can fully participate in your academic and campus life.
Skill 4: Organization and Time Management
College often offers greater freedom in your daily schedule, which means greater responsibility for managing your time effectively. This new level of independence can feel overwhelming at first, so it’s helpful to start developing organizational habits in high school.
Professors may use a variety of methods to share assignments and deadlines, including syllabi, online calendars, learning platforms, and email reminders. You’ll be responsible for tracking multiple schedules across these platforms. Finding an organizational system that works for you is key.
For students who are blind or have low vision, navigating various organizational tools can be challenging. Consider using accessible calendars, apps, and task-management systems to streamline your efforts. Maintaining a consistent system will help you balance classes, assignments, self-care, and social activities. Strong organizational skills also help you stay ahead in the event of access delays or other unexpected barriers.
Skill 5: Independent Living Skills
Equally important as academic preparation are the daily living skills that support independence in college. Tasks such as doing laundry, cooking, managing finances, and traveling independently require confidence and practice before you begin your college journey.
Whether you attend classes online or in person, independent living skills will be critical to your success. The more self-sufficient you are with everyday tasks, the less stressful your transition to college life will be.
Before you leave for college, practice using common household appliances such as microwaves, stoves, ovens, and washing machines. These may seem like simple tasks, but when you’re adjusting to a new environment, familiarity with how these tools work can make a big difference.
While practice doesn’t always make perfect, it builds tolerance for mistakes and helps you adapt more easily to new spaces and tools. For example, you may need to learn how to use a shared kitchen in your residence hall or become familiar with using and accessing an app for a shared laundry machine. Establishing strong independent living skills before college will help you navigate and manage the unfamiliar environments you’ll encounter. You may also wish to request assistance from Vocational Rehabilitation to enhance your skills or help you learn new devices once at college.
Dr. Levingston shares the importance of connecting with these resources early and often: “Connect with your local vocational rehabilitation services before starting college. They can connect you to everything. That, along with your college’s disability office, would be my two starting points. You’ll want to figure out your options when your technology will not work. This would be [a conversation] with the accessibility services office on your campus. When you arrive at college with a clearer understanding of the type of technology that works best for you, this will help inform your discussions with your campus accessibility services office and your professors about how you will engage with course materials. Remember, resources are available to help get you started on your assistive technology journey in college” (B. Levingston, personal communication, June 2024).
Conclusion
College is an exciting time full of change and new challenges. By developing these five skills—orientation and mobility, assistive technology, communication, organization, and independent living—you’ll be prepared to embrace those changes with confidence and flexibility. These skills will not only support your success in college but also help you grow in ways you may not have imagined.
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