ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the career development process and how children and youth with visual impairments (blindness and low vision or partial sight) are impacted by their loss of sight in attaining the skills and knowledge necessary in this content area, which is critical for success in life. A description will be provided of the critical career education needs that these youngsters have: for parents and service providers to convey their high expectations of them, to encourage socialisation with both other children who are visually impaired and those who are not disabled, to develop their compensatory skills (alternatives to using sight to perform tasks), to provide them with realistic feedback on their performance in relation to themselves and others and to promote opportunities for them to work at home, at school, and in the community. Following an explanation of the career development model, career education activities and resources for instruction are described by developmental level under the specific competencies that children and youth with vision impairment need to acquire.
