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Visionary Day: Exploring Art for Blind & Visually Impaired Students and Their Parents

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Two free events for western Kentucky students who are blind or visually impaired and their parents or siblings as well as school administrators are scheduled for mid-April in Madisonville. On Sounds Good, Kate Lochte speaks with Kentucky School for the Blind Outreach Consultant with the West Kentucky Special Education Cooperative Robbin Cox, whose office is at Lone Oak Middle School.

Robbin Cox is the Kentucky School for the Blind Outreach Consultant with the West Kentucky Special Education Cooperative. Visionary Day 2015 includes a 6 p.m. Soup Supper for Parents on April 16, giving parents an opportunity to speak with professionals from agencies in the field. A 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. program for students who are blind or visually impaired is on April 17. Both events are in Madisonville. The 9 to 1 program features sessions on art, dance, low vision skills, orientation & mobility and technology. Register at 270-994-3395 or with your student's teacher.

Robbin Cox serves 19 counties and their school districts. She has nine teachers for the visually impaired in the region and coordinates with them. They work with children ages three to 21. They take a census every January of the number of visually impaired or blind students in the region and the most recent numbers have 153 school aged kids between 3 to 21.

Funding is available for teachers interested in traning. University of Kentucky offers a program for certification. Teachers can gain certification through paid training, which is administered by Northern Kentucky Unviersity. Much of the training can be done online, but groups meet a few times a year in Louisville for in-person coursework like practicing Braille. More information can be found here

Cox says if a student needs something in Braille it tends to be available in Kentucky. The American Printing House for the Blind produces materials in Braille and happens to be located in Louisville. She says almost anything in schools available in print is also available in Braille. For adults, there aren't as many materials available, but the library of audiobooks continues to grow. Also, she adds, that one can produce their own Braille with a braillewriter.

Robbin Cox is the Kentucky School for the Blind Outreach Consultant with the West Kentucky Special Education Cooperative. Visionary Day 2015 includes a 6 p.m. Soup Supper for Parents on April 16, and a 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. program for students who are blind or visually impaired on April 17. Both events are in Madisonville. The 9 to 1 program features sessions on art, dance, low vision skills, orientation & mobility and technology. Register at 270-994-3395 or with your student's teacher.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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