Perception of Low Vision Students In Saudi Arabia Regarding Their Integration Into Regular Schools

Abstract

Background: Low Vision, also referred to as “partial sight”, has been defined as “reduced central acuity or visual field loss which even with best optical correction still results in visual impairment from a performance standpoint. Low vision affects many aspects of life, the main goal in the field of low care therefore, is to assist the low vision patient in making the best use of remaining vision for a reasonable quality of life. Education of students with low vision has become a central focus of concern in special education in different countries such as Saudi Arabia. Student with visual impairments have received educational services in a variety of settings including schools for blind or in segregated classrooms in a public school building. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the subjective response of Saudi Arabia low vision students towards their integration into regular schools. Methods: Twenty-nine (29) low vision students who study in three regular schools participated in this study. The average age was 13.2 years. They have not used any Low Vision Aids either when they study in blind schools or after they have been integrated into regular schools. A questionnaire was used to measure the subjective response of the student towards the integration in comparison with segregation (School for the Blind). Results: The result of the questionnaire shows that 75.86% of normally sighted students deal friendly with low vision students. Also, it has been found that 79.31% of the visually impaired students were happy to be in regular schools; however, 3.45% was unhappy. Moreover, it has been found that 86.2% of them support the concept of integration in comparison with segregation. In other words, they are not supporting isolation in terms of education. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the study that the integration of low vision students in the regular schools can be very effective and play an important role in improving the quality of education provided to them. KEY WORDS: Integration, Segregation, Low Vision students, Regular Schools.