Blind/Visually Impaired Trainings
Basic Training
Both the INSITE and VIISA trainings are offered through either an all onsite format (two 2 1/2-3 days with several months between) or a hybrid format which uses some shorter ZOOM sessions with two 2-day onsites. The trainings require some homestudy projects to further participants' learning. The trainings are taught by national as well as state trainers. They usually take place at a central location in the state offering the training and are funded by state agencies such as State Part B and C agencies, State Schools for the Blind and Private Service Agencies for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
The trainings are hands-on, practical, and include take-make activities. Participants include a variety of professionals in the field working with these young children such as therapists (OT, PT, SLP), TVIs (Teachers of the Blind and Visually Impaired), O&M instructors (Orientation and Mobility), early intervention specialists, and special education teachers in preschool settings.
Some of the basic trainings taking place this year are as follows:
Florida School for the Deaf and Blind: VIISA Birth to Three, March 3-4 and May 15-16, 2026. Contact Kim Car (carrk@fsdbk12.org).
Best Program in Tennessee: Two, 2-day onsites with virtual sessions, September 2025 and April 2026. Contact Alison Clougherty (aclougherty@blindearlyservices.org).
Trainer Training
Both the VIISA and INSITE projects continue to work with new states to put into place these programs and training models as well as to provide ongoing support to states already using the programs. Keeping a strong network of trainers updated in their skills and refreshed with new, more current training materials makes for better services to children in the long run and programs that are long lasting. New trainers are given access to the training materials (guidesheets, powerpoints, short videoclips, course materials for trainees) online.
Each year, project staff offer a training session to states wanting to have new state trainers trained. This year;'s training took place August 4-7, 2025, at the Montana Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Great Falls, Montana. Fourteen trainers from Montana, Missouri, Georgia, and Florida participated. Many thanks go to their Outreach staff under the leadership of Miranda Biggs for their hospitality. A group picture is below.
The next trainer session will be offered Summer of 2026, but location and date have not been finalized. Elizabeth Dennison will send out an e-mail to sites when ready. We wish all the trainers the best in their upcoming trainings this year.
INSITE Training in Poland
Two trainers from the United States conducted an INSITE training with 36 participants from Poland and surrounding areas for the Polish National Association for the Blind in Bydgoszcz, August 17-23, 2025. The two trainers were Christine Spratling from Georgia PINES and Lisa Jacobs from the Perkins School for the Blind. They did an awesome job and enjoyed the interventionists they worked with there.
Materials
Even though the VIISA and INSITE curriculum manuals have older copyright dates, the training materials are being updated each year.
The INSITE checklist was updated in 2024 and is now available on the HOPE publishing website where the curriculum manuals are also available.
Contact
If you are interested in learning more about INSITE and/or VIISA training, contact Bess Dennison (elizabeth.dennison@usu.edu).
U of U EIBVI Credential
A birth to three credential in vision is being offered through the University of Utah (U of U) in Salt Lake City. VIISA staff have been involved in developing some of the courses. Students may register for campus or contract courses. The courses are available using the ZOOM platform and course materials are in CANVAS. There are texts, readings, assignments and tests for each course. The four main courses specific to young children who are blind or visually impaired include: Instructional Strategies Birth to Five, Early Literacy, Early Orientation and Mobility, and Vision and the Brain/Cortical Visual Impairment.
For more information on the program, the courses and costs, contact Chris Bischke who heads the vision teacher preparation programs at the University of Utah. Her email is chris.bischke@utah.edu.