Module 3: Vision

The Function of Vision

For most students, vision is the primary means of gathering information, planning movement, and receiving feedback from the environment, including:

  • The size, space, and orientation of the environment around them
  • Recognizing people and objects around them
  • Planning and monitoring a path as they move
  • Feedback about people’s reactions and changes in the environment

For example, vision can provide information about:

  • The room they have just walked into
  • Who is in the room
  • The path they need to take an empty chair next to a friend
  • The environment, such as someone smiling and waving to get their attention as they walk towards the chair

Some visual conditions such as refractive errors, can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Others may be treatable with surgery or other medical treatments. A visual impairment occurs when vision cannot be corrected to a level that allows vision to be easily used to gather information, plan movements, or gain feedback.

Wooden walkway

The image above is of a raised walkway made of wooden planks winding through grassy terrain. An example is of a route that, for sighted students, would be largely navigated using visual information.