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Not many teens would say that the highlight of their summer was attending a conference, but that’s exactly how 16-year-old Ryder Schlafman-Hieb feels. Ryder, who is starting her junior year at Carrington High School this month, attended the CHARGE Syndrome Conference in Phoenix, AZ, at the end of July with her mom, her TSVI Lanna Slaby, and Lacey Long, the Director of the North Dakota Dual Sensory Project. Ryder was born with CHARGE Syndrome, which stands for Coloboma, Heart defects, Atresia choanae, Retarded growth and development, Genital and/or urinary abnormalities, and Ear abnormalities and deafness. These characteristics vary widely among individuals and not every person will have all the features that make up the acronym. In Ryder’s case, CHARGE Syndrome has caused vision loss, hearing loss, and other physical issues, but, more importantly, she said, “it has offered me opportunities to meet new people.” This summer was no exception, as Ryder met hundreds of individuals of all ages who have CHARGE Syndrome, as well as professionals, including those who are researching CHARGE Syndrome and people working for the CHARGE Foundation.

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by Cindy Williams
NDVS/SB Coordinator of Student Programs

Welcome to the 2025–2026 school year, and a warm welcome to Student Short-Term Programs at NDVS/SB! I hope you and your family are settling smoothly into your new school routine—or will be soon. I am honored to be the Coordinator of Student Programs and am excited about the year ahead. Our Short-Term Programs (STP) are designed to offer individual and small class instruction through collaboration with families and local schools. While attending our STPs, students share similar experiences unique to the world of low vision and blindness and take away self-awareness and confidence through this shared experience.

NDVS/SB offers students in North Dakota with low vision or blindness opportunities to come together in the summer to interact socially, learn new skills, experience lessons in the Expanded Core Curriculum and have fun. We had an exciting summer at NDVS/SB through the following programs.

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by Paul Olson
NDVS/SB Superintendent

Dear Families, Partners, and all Citizens of North Dakota,

As we begin another exciting school year, I am thrilled to welcome you all back. It is a time filled with anticipation and enthusiasm as we look forward to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

At North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind, our commitment to being responsive to the needs of those we serve and providing the highest quality service is of utmost importance. The reputation of our organization, as well as the reputation of each individual within it, is built on trust. We strive to earn and maintain that trust every day.

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by Lanna Slaby and Danielle Hillebrand, NDVS/SB Regional Coordinators

North Dakota Vision Servies/School for the Blind (NDVS/SB) has started to use a new infant vision screening tool called the Neonatal Assessment Vision European Grid, or NAVEG. This vision screening is used to identify neurological risks such as Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). It is standardized for preterm and newborn babies and infants up to 12 months of age.

In May 2024, NDVS/SB Regional Coordinators Danielle Hillebrand and Lanna Slaby traveled to Denver to the Anchor Center for Blind Children to become trained in administering this screening tool. During the 2024-25 school year, they trained the rest of the Regional Coordinators to administer this screening tool. This puts North Dakota on the leading edge with other states currently using this screening tool, including Colorado, Utah, Missouri, New Mexico and Washington.

Newborns receive a hearing screening prior to discharge from the hospital, but there is not currently a newborn vision screening. The plan is for the trained NDVS/SB staff to complete the NAVEG screening on infants referred to Early Intervention who were discharged from the NICU in their region of North Dakota.

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by Melissa Snyder, Region 5 Outreach Coordinator, COMS

One thing that I have learned about being a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) is the value of learning through hands-on experien

ces. At times this experience comes through working with students and clients when providing instruction, and at other times from being lucky enough to take part in opportunities like attending the Leader Dogs Pro Seminar. I am thankful for having the opportunity to travel to Rochester, MI, this summer and spend a few days at the Leader Dogs campus doing just that.

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