Every year, the California Transcribers and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI) holds a conference for blind and low vision students, their families, and the schools and organizations that support their education. LightHouse is honored to, once again, be invited to co-host the Youth Institute with our fantastic Youth Programs staff and hold informational sessions around tactile maps and graphics with LightHouse’s Media and Accessible Design Lab (MAD Lab) team. Below is an outline of the sessions LightHouse will be participating in this year.

MAD Lab Sessions at CTEBVI

104 The Tactile Graphic Rich Elementary Classroom: Supporting Inclusion and Literacy

Friday, April 21, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am
Jessica McDowell, Teacher for the Visually Impaired, Marin County Office of Education
Naomi Rosenberg, Senior Designer, Media and Accessible Design Laboratory, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, San Francisco

Tactile graphics…not just for math and science! They support literacy and a child’s enjoyment and engagement with reading. Early elementary classrooms are filled with books with pictures. How can we support our students in accessing books and instruction? How can tactile drawing skills help our students build skills in interpreting tactile graphics? Discussion will include ways to make a blind student’s drawings on a Draftsman visually accessible to others. Options for tactile graphic creation will be explored with focus on ways to produce unique graphics quickly on-site. Session will include hands-on time making quick and easy tactile graphics.

208 Hands-on Introduction to Reading Tactile Maps Using TMAP

Friday, April 21, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Jerry Kuns, Frank Welte, Divina Carlson

Tactile Graphics Literacy is an important skill that will contribute to the success of today’s blind and visually impaired students, both inside and outside of the classroom. Participants will learn essential techniques through hands on exercises for reading tactile graphics in general and tactile maps focusing on TMAPs, a unique form of tactile street maps. Each participant will receive a presentation packet to keep. A working knowledge of braille is recommended.

308 Hands-on Introduction to Reading Tactile Maps Using Tactile BART Station Maps

Friday, April 21, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Jerry Kuns, Frank Welte, Divina Carlson

Tactile Graphics Literacy is an important skill that will contribute to the success of today’s blind and visually impaired students, both inside and outside of the classroom. Participants will learn additional techniques through hands on exercises for reading tactile graphics in general and tactile maps as they explore the rich set of symbols and textures that comprise the detailed, multi-level views comprising each tactile BART station map. Each participant will receive a presentation packet to keep. A working knowledge of braille is recommended. Attendance at both sessions of this workshop is strongly encouraged but not mandatory.

2023 CTEBVI Youth Institute 

Saturday, April 22, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

The day will be filled with interactive activities and challenges that will address concepts that are important to youth such as technology, navigation, and networking. Each lesson will be led by professionals and a group of mentors who are also blind or have low vision.

This year’s Youth Institute is open for all blind and low vision students in the K-12 school system, as well as our transition age college students that are under the age of 22. To register for the Youth Institute, please complete the online form linked here.

If you have questions about this year’s Youth Institute, please reach out to Jamey Gump, Youth Services Coordinator, by email at JGump@lighthouse-sf.org or by phone at 415-694-7372.

Other CTEBVI Presentations from LightHouse Youth Programs and Enchanted Hills Camp

206 Taking on the “Real World”: A Conversation with LightHouse’s Pre-employment Program Graduates

Saturday, April 22 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Daisy Soto and Jamey Gump

Foundational soft-skills, leadership, and confidence-building experiences are essential building blocks as students begin planning for college, work opportunities and the “what comes next” conversations. During this workshop, audience members will hear from a panel of blind and low vision graduates of LightHouse’s YES (Youth Employment Services) Academy about how they have taken on college and career opportunities after finishing the program. Students will share on what techniques worked best for them, what training experiences they found most valuable, and what they would like to see in future pre-employment programming. Attendees will have opportunities to ask questions of both the YES graduates and program coordinators.

The 10 Truths of Residential Camping for Children and Adults Who Are Blind & VI

Saturday, April 22 from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Tony Fletcher, Mark Lucas and Jamey Gump

This presentation is designed to educate participants about the importance and benefits of why children, youth, and adults who are visually impaired, and their families, should participate in summer residential camping. Co-presenters Mark Lucas from Wayfinder Family Services/Camp Bloomfield and Tony Fletcher from the LightHouse for the Blind/Enchanted Hills Camp utilize research-driven outcomes and testimonials from campers, parents and professionals. They provide their observations from their combined 50 years of providing camping and recreational services for people who are blind to discuss the 10 Truths of Residential Camping for people who are blind and visually impaired.