BVIPsych Webinar Series

BVIPsych (Google Form) is a Google Group for school psychologists working with blind, low vision, and deafblind students. BVIPsych is planning a free webinar series for the 2025 - 2026 school year with topics ranging from giftedness, autism, specific learning disability, mental health, and more!

This page includes information about the following:

• Upcoming Presentations and Panel Discussions
• Previous Presentations and Panel Discussions
• Resources for School Psychologists
  

Upcoming Presentations and Panel Discussions

More webinars and panel discussions will be posted throughout the year. Recordings will be posted to the California School for the Blind's YouTube page for presentations and panel discussions if the speakers involved have granted permission. Please note that Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will not be offered for any of the webinars.

Date and Time	Topic	Description	Registration Link
Thursday, September 25, 2025 1:00PM - 2:30PM PT	Giftedness Panel Discussion	This webinar is intended for practitioners who work with blind and low vision students, especially those who work with students they are attempting to identify as gifted and talented. This panel discussion will address questions related to giftedness and visual impairment submitted during registration for the event, such as examples of gifted traits, alternative assessment strategies, and advocacy for students who might be twice exceptional. Check out the panelists' bios . The panelists include: Brian Mullin, EdS, LSPP, NCSP Meaghan Adams, EdS Kimberly Avila, PhD, COMS Mandy Gauld, MSc Marnee Loftin, MA, LSSP	Register for the giftedness panel discussion .
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 11:00AM - 12:30PM PT	Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Presentation	Students who are blind or have low vision (VI) and also experience learning disabilities (LD) present unique challenges - and opportunities - for educational practitioners. This webinar will be presented by Dr. Beth Jones. This session is designed for professionals working with students with visual impairments who may also exhibit characteristics of a specific learning disability. Participants will gain insight into why accurate identification of co-occurring conditions is essential for appropriate support and equitable access to learning. This presentation will examine how Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) can be adapted to help distinguish between the impact of visual impairment and a possible learning disability.	Register for the SLD presentation .
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 11:00AM - 12:30PM PT	Specific Learning Disabilities Panel Discussion	This panel discussion will address questions related to specific learning disabilities in relation to blindness, low vision, and deafblindness submitted during registration for the event. Check out the panelists' bios . The panelists include: Beth Jones, PhD Meaghan Adams, EdS Carol Evans, PhD Heather Haynes Smith, PhD Megan Mogan, CCC-SLP May Nguyen, MS, NCSP, LEP Leah Read, M.Ed., LDT, CALT-QI, SLDS, TVI Alessia Spiesz, EdS, NCSP, LEP	Register for the SLD panel discussion .
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 12:00PM - 1:30PM PT	Autism Presentation	This webinar will be presented by school psychologist Lauren Rosenbaum, EdS, NCSP. This presentation is designed for professionals working with students with visual impairments who also exhibit characteristics of autism. The presentation will discuss how autism can be accurately identified in students with visual impairments, and how these co-occurring diagnoses can interact. It will highlight a variety of recommendations and strategies that can be used with students with both visual impairments and autism. All discussions will be presented through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.	Register for the autism presentation .
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 10:00AM - 11:30AM PT	Mental Well-being	This webinar will be presented by Shawn Marsolais, MEd, RCC. Additional details to come.	The registration link will be posted once it is available.

If you are passionate about supporting blind, low vision, and deafblind individuals and have valuable knowledge and experience to share with fellow school psychologists and educators, we invite you to submit a presentation proposal (Google Form).

Please note that there are no honoraria for presenters or panelists.

Previous Presentations and Panel Discussions

Presenter(s) or Panelists	Topic	Description	Recording
Brian Mullin, EdS, LSP, NCSP	Giftedness Presentation	This workshop is intended for practitioners who work with students who are blind/visually impaired, especially those who work with students they are attempting to identify as gifted and talented. Different theories of giftedness will be discussed, including the Tripartite Theory, different assessment tools, and eligibility criteria that will help practitioners differentiate between high achievers and giftedness.	Recording of the 9/25/2025 BVIPsych Giftedness Presentation webinar (Video; 53:45)

Resources for School Psychologists

If you are looking to better support blind, low vision, and deafblind students, here are some valuable resources to explore.

• Comprehensive Evaluations of Individuals with Visual Impairments offers important insights into testing blind and low vision students. Information from this document may assist you in considering factors related to interpreting and reporting your results.
  
• Psycho-educational Assessments in Children with Visual Impairments (Engle et al., 2024) is a free ebook designed for psychologists with expertise in psychoeducational assessment of children and adolescents and provides guidance in applying evaluation skills to assessing blind and low vision students.
  
• Essentials of Assessing Students with Visual Impairments for School Psychologists (Video; 1:57:35) is a recorded webinar from January 26, 2024. The information presented includes necessary steps to prepare for the evaluation, best practices for evaluating blind and low vision students, tests and other assessment tools, and possible adaptations. Review the webinar handout for the links mentioned in the presentation.
  
• This regularly updated handout contains ample information regarding psychoeducational evaluations of blind and low vision students and includes a section for assessing deafblind individuals. Review the subtest tables by Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) area for ideas for tests that are administered primarily in an auditory format and tests that are available in large print or braille .
  
• Mental well-being fact sheet and activity ideas is a parent and educator handout with practical strategies and various resources, including audio-described workouts, books with blind, low vision, and deafblind representation, and community resources.