She'd benefit from preferential seating on the right side of the room. Does your district have a teacher of the visually impaired you can consult with? That person will want to have your daughter on their radar and can provide more advice. The good news is that most kids with only one eye are successful with minimal accommodations. Reading may be more fatiguing, so request that she be allowed to take visual breaks. Another thing you'll want to think about is protecting her good eye during gym activities involving fast moving projectiles. Either glasses or an alternative activity.

Some suggestions that warrant discussion with the principal about a 504: being provided notes in an alternative format (large print or digital), a reader for exams, a word processor for exams that include a written component, extra time for exams.

How is she accessing a computer? Can she read with her left eye? Even if she has sight in her left eye, when reading on a screen she would be used to her eyes converging on the screen (assuming she was sighted in the right eye before this injury), so she may find her left eye fatigues quickly or she cannot focus on the screen (or paper or whiteboard) for as long as she could prior to the injury. Depending on how it affects her, that would be a reason for the accommodations of extended test time and receiving notes.

Is there any reason you guys are considering a 504 instead of an IEP?

In later years (especially middle school and high school) it's really beneficial to be working towards goals sighted peers may not have. E.G. O&M related services, since you said that your daughter is having problems navigating in your house, I'm fairly certain the same thing will happen at school.

I’ve been completely blind in my left eye since birth. Please let me know if I could be of any assistance. I’d be happy to help.

My parents were advised by my teachers in preschool to get me a handicap placard, and I’ve had one ever since my whole life, despite being unable to drive myself. I had an IEP all throughout K-12, a 504 was never even considered.

Services included a teacher for the vision impaired (TVI), lessons with an Orientation & Mobility specialist, and modified/adaptive physical education. The ophthalmologist stated that flying objects or contact sports are too hazardous given the lack of depth perception. You said navigation around the house is cumbersome – maybe having an Orientation and Mobility specialist provide white cane training would be helpful? They can also help with the lack of depth perception and trouble with stairs.

I was in mainstream general education classes. My accommodations included preferential seating in the front row and large print classroom materials. I had time and a half extended testing time on exams and quizzes, and could mark my answers directly on the test without using a Scantron. My TVI also worked with me to explore any equipment I needed (talking calculator, large print keyboard, magnifiers, large print textbooks, a CCTV, etc). The specifications in the IEP can be extremely precise – mine stated that the use of dark whiteboard marker colors (black, brown, blue, purple) was preferred over lighter colors like orange or yellow.

Hey. I’m exactly the same but the left eye.

Some tips. Make sure she always wears good sunglasses outside. Safety goggles for anything potentially dangerous. Protect her “good” eye. Yearly eye exams.

She will get through it.

Does she have someone who can help her as she navigates? She's liable to have problems with depth perception. She might also have problems with steps or areas with poor contrast. How does she have lunch? Does she bring lunch or is there a lunch room? She might need assistance there as well.

Does she have access to a therapist? She might be dealing with being scared of falling or hurting herself. Also she might be dealing with unkind comments or bullies.

Good luck to both of you.

The Jobs Accommodation Network has a list of modifications that might be helpful. $1 You may also want to have her tests and quizzes be oral instead of reading the questions and writing answers.

Ask her if she really wants to return to that system. Offer her online learning/packet education as a alternative.

Therapy btws. Trauma like that can sink in like mold on cracked flooring. Ruining the whole thing if not properly treated early.

Definitely worth asking when making a plan. My understanding is that something like double time gives her time for breaks when it is needed, or having someone read it to her and write for her could be an option so she can essentially sit with her eyes closed and complete the exam.

There are a lot of considerations when accommodations are being made, and with her being young they will change as time goes on if she continues to need them. If you look into 504 plans online you will find that there is a frequency with which the district has to meet with you and her teachers to discuss her plan and make changes.

I work with college students so often the initial goal is independence in preparation for the workforce- but the goal for your daughter may be maintaining pace in the curriculum. So having a test read aloud and scribed for a college student does not lend to the goal of independence - but it would lend to the goal of keeping up with her learning at such a young age.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse things more! Keep in mind that if the principal has offered a 504, he can likely answer a lot of questions about it. If you ever feel like the district is not providing what is needed, you can discuss that at a 504 planning meeting- or even have an advocate assist you with navigating these sometimes complicated processes.

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Well if she recovers that’s the best of the best. I hope for her sake everything will be recoverable and everything will be great! If not then I would have her get some training on independent living skills, starting to learn some assistive tech and such and maybe a little bit of mobility but with one eye working things should be fine. And that I think still doesn’t make her legally blind because she’s got one perfect eye unfortunately. But she can still use tools. May not be easy getting lessons for those things though.