Activities of orthoptists as outside specialists at a school for the visually impaired

Abstract

[Purpose] As a part of the Emergent School Counselor Dispatching Program responding to the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, 3 orthoptists visited the Miyagi Prefectural School for the Visually Impaired as outside specialists. This program began in April 2012 and concluded in March 2016. Here, we describe the orthoptists' activities over those 4 years and also analyze their role as an outside specialist.

[Methods] (1) As outside specialists,the orthoptists'activities from April 2012 to March 2016 were retrospectively inspected. (2)A questionnaire survey to the 65 teachers at the special school was conducted.

[Results] (1) The orthoptists visited 138 times and responded to 284 cases in total. The number of the cases per visit increased over the 4 years. The contents of the responses were classified into "consultation," "study session," and "others." "Consultation" accounted for 91.9% of the responses. Most of the consultations were about visual functions, eye diseases ,and visual aids. (2)As shown by the results of the questionnaire to the teachers, 75.0% of the teachers felt that the orthoptists had been helpful.Remarks from the questionnaire indicated that the professional advice provided by the orthoptists was meaningful and necessary.

[Conculsion] The role of orthoptists as an outside specialist is to provide advice and explanation to teachers,students,and parents for better understanding of visual functions and to create a better educational environment in response to the individual's special needs.