Utah B/VI & Deafblind Collective: 2026 Tools & Focus Group for families and those working in the B/VI Field
The Utah Parents Division is aware that working in the B/VI field is not easy, and we want our teachers and instructors to know that we appreciate each of you! Your individual and collective contributions are valued. One way we'd like to show our appreciation is to reserve some time later in the year for collaborative trainings. The purpose of this focus group is to hear from those who are working with B/VI students and clients so that you may share what approaches and methods are working well for you, and to help us know what the specific needs are across Utah. See the bios of our guest facilitators Casey and Julie, below. Casey and Julie have been collaborating for several months on tools to help TVIs utilize their work hours more productively.
Casey Robertson, TSVI
Lead braille instructor at Louisiana Tech University's TVI program, and a recipient of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award in 2025. In her awards speech, Casey shared, "Literacy is my love, and if everyone else has access to literacy, then so should blind people. So I have made it my life’s work to make sure that we can teach people braille in the best possible way..." Casey was a reading specialist prior to becoming a TVI, and has used both skillsets over the past 14 years to to bridge these 2 fields to yield confidence in IEP teams nationwide to help students to make not only meaningful progress, but remarkable gains, by providing full access to the student’s general education curriculum and tiered reading supports.
Julie Abe, AI Consultant
Julie Abe is an AI trainer and business consultant specializing in helping individuals, organizations, and educators do better work 1000 times faster. Special education takes extra time and expertise, and Julie intent is to find out how we can leverage technology in our favor to take education to the next level and beyond.
Participant Info
Name
*
First Name
Last Name
Phone Number
Format: (000) 000-0000.
Email
*
example@example.com
What is your role within the B/VI Community?
Parent of a B/VI child
Parent who is Blind/VI
Blind/VI Mentor
Licensed Educator- SpEd Teacher or Director
Instructor
UCB Team Lead
Licensed Educator- TSVI
Licensed Educator- O&M
Assistive Technology Instructor
Pre-Service Teacher
Para educator/Aide
In which setting do you most often work with clients or students?
*
Home
Public School
Division of Services for the Blind
Hospitals or Care Facilities
Client’s Workplace
Other
Will you attend virtually or in-person?
Virtually (Google Cal with zoom link is provided on confirmation page after registering.)
In-person
Not applicable
Which session/s will you attend?
Evening on Tuesday, March 10 @ 6:00 -7:30 pm MDT (Salt Lake City, Ballpark Library Lab)
Mid-Day on Friday, March 13, 1:00-2:30 pm MDT (Salt Lake City, DSBVI)
I won't be attending, but would like to be notified of outcomes and/or updates on these topics.
Please list any access needs
Audio Description
Sign Language
None
Other
Will you be attending virtually or in person?
Virtually (Link will be sent one day prior via follow up email alongside agenda)
In-person
Not applicable
Which focus group will you be attending?
Please Select
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