Individualized education program meetings
Blind and Low-Vision Individualized Education Program Preparation Checklist
Set priorities, review disability-specific instruction, and leave the meeting with clear next steps.
Practical tools for families
Start with what you need.
Find reliable information, prepare for a meeting, understand disability-specific evaluations, or plan for education, work, and adult life.
Find help with blindness and low vision
Search practical lessons by everyday goals, tools, or skills. Build a small skill plan and schedule practice. For families, teachers, and caseworkers.
Family guides
Prepare before the meeting.
Read all three guides online without entering an email address. Newsletter signup is optional. Five-page print editions are also available. The online editions support text resizing and assistive technology. The PDF editions are designed for printing and are not certified as tagged accessible PDFs.
Free to share for educational and advocacy purposes with attribution. Please credit Rob Harris / AdvocateDadCO and retain the original source link.
Evaluation
Essential Evaluations for Students Who Are Blind or Low Vision
Understand vision-specific assessments and the questions that connect evaluation to educational need.
Skills and transition
Expanded Core Curriculum and Transition Readiness
Connect the nine Expanded Core Curriculum areas to the student’s goals for education, work, travel, and community life.
Featured resource · Blind and low vision · Complex needs
Communication & Access: Start with the person.
Explore communication and participation supports for blind and low vision people with complex needs. This AdvocateDadCO guide brings together iPad accessibility, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), tactile and object communication, auditory scanning, text and braille, routines, literacy, and self-advocacy.
For families, caregivers, teachers of students with visual impairments, speech-language pathologists, assistive technology teams, and other support professionals. Use it to compare options and plan an individualized trial.
Read the accessible guide
Download the printable chart (PDF, 2 pages)
Download the chart image (PNG)
Free to read and download. No email required. The online guide supports screen readers and text resizing; the PDF is designed for printing. Includes publisher sources and questions to guide a trial. Published October 2026.
Featured collection · Braille STEM
Project INSPIRE
Free braille STEM professional development and student programs that strengthened Isabelle’s education and our family’s advocacy. Read the AdvocateDadCO feature, then go straight to the Paths to Literacy resources—no PDF gate.
Trusted resource · Literacy and music
Library of Congress: National Library Service (NLS)
Free braille and audiobook library services for eligible readers, including people who are blind or have low vision and people with qualifying print disabilities. During our Washington, D.C., advocacy trip, Isabelle and I experienced a custom tour with tactile access and met with NLS leadership. These resources bring reading, learning, and music into everyday life.
- Read what interests you. Borrow books and magazines through the NLS library network, receive materials by mail, or download available titles through BARD. Equipment loans are available for using NLS materials.
- Keep a favorite braille book. Braille on Demand lets registered patrons request up to five existing NLS braille titles each month in hardcopy to keep for personal use. It does not provide custom transcription of any book.
- Make music with friends. Explore braille and large-print scores, audio instrument lessons, music theory, and popular-song lead sheets. Ask the Music Section about the piece your choir, teacher, or friends are using.
- Find a music transcriber. NLS provides a directory of certified braille music transcribers. Custom work and any fees are arranged directly with the transcriber.
Explore NLS Music Service and Materials · Request Braille on Demand books · Learn about NLS and enrollment
Already an NLS patron? Contact the Music Section at [email protected] or 800-424-8567, extension 2. Music services are requested directly from NLS.
Literacy for all. Including the music.
Open access · ONH
Optic nerve hypoplasia resource hub
Find 28 curated resources covering medical care, hormone monitoring, family support, education, research, and Colorado services. Includes questions to bring to appointments and school meetings.
Family support · Epilepsy
Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Alliance (PESA)
PESA supports families of children with drug-resistant epilepsy before and after surgery, with parent support navigators, education resources, and help finding services. For families navigating ONH alongside epilepsy, these resources can help connect medical care, school, and everyday support.
Explore PESA’s resources and family support
Featured guide from PESA
The (Almost) Everything List: Your Essential Guide
PESA’s curated guide covers surgery preparation and recovery, school supports, therapies, transition to adulthood, caregiver support, and financial resources. PESA notes that many resources also help families managing drug-resistant epilepsy whose child has not had surgery.
Read PESA’s introduction and access The (Almost) Everything List
Read “When ONH and epilepsy overlap” in the ONH resource hub
Open access · Colorado
100 Colorado parent questions
Find concrete next steps and checked resource contacts for dyslexia, individualized education programs (IEPs), Medicaid, caregiving, health care, and adult life. Includes the Dyslexia Foundation of Western Colorado and the family guides on this page.
Explore Colorado questions and resources — no email required