Colorado Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Handicapped

CIMC/VH is a project of the Colorado Department of Education and CSDB. Working from the campus of the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, the CIMC provides technical assistance and accessible educational materials for blind and visually impaired students in Colorado's public schools. This support may take the form of any of the following formats:

• Braille-- Students who are Braille readers receive Braille editions of the same textbooks as their sighted classmates. These texts are provided to the student's school district via the following methods:

  • Loans from the CIMC's current collection of over 9600 titles

  • Custom productions by the CIMC's staff and volunteers who are certified Braille transcribers

  • Purchase of materials by the CIMC from other agencies who produce Braille

Students also receive Braille paper, slates and styluses, Braille writers and other supplies for producing Braille.

• Large Print -- Students with vision impairments use a variety of tools and materials to successfully participate in regular education programs.

One of those tools is enlarged print text materials. The type size needed often differs according to the student's needs, and is dependent on the cause and stage of vision impairment. Large print texts are custom produced at the CIMC or purchased from agencies that produce large print.

To be called "large print," the print must be a minimum of 18 point type, like the following example:

Large Print (18 pt)

• ELECTRONIC TEXT-- Textbooks in an electronic format (on disk and formatted for software that reads the screen aloud), is an emerging alternate format for educational materials. CIMC has recently begun producing these for Colorado students.

• INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS -- Students who are blind/visually impaired may use an abacus for math, bold line paper to take notes, an adapted tape recorder to listen to textbooks on tape, and many other devices. Additionally, teachers of students with a vision impairment use specialized materials to teach Braille reading, the use of adaptive tools, or the use of magnifying devices such as the CCTV.

CIMC provides some of these instructional aids and technologies for students including software and hardware. Training for teachers who will use these with students is also provided upon request.

• PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY -- CIMC loans teaching guides, medical references and training videos to teachers of students with vision impairment.

Also available from the library are assessment and evaluation instruments, in-service training materials, Braille code references, and Braille instructional materials.

For further information or answers to any questions, please contact:

Ann Hicks
CIMC Director
1015 High Street
Colorado Springs, CO  80903
Phone: 719-578-2196
Fax 719-578-2207
Email at  CIMC@csdb.org