The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) manufactures educational, workplace, and independent living products for people who are visually impaired. At the beginning of each year, every state conducts a census of visually impaired persons to determine the amount of APH’s federal funds it will receive for the coming year. These quota funds are then used throughout the year to purchase textbooks and adaptive and educational aids for eligible students and adult clients. If you are a service provider, watch for information about the census in January to ensure all eligible North Dakotans are counted.
APH Educational and Adaptive Aids
The Vision Resource Center keeps many educational/adaptive aids from APH on hand, and these can be requested for any eligible student or client in North Dakota. These items include braille paper, tactile rulers, stickers, signature guides, student workbooks, etc. All items found in the APH catalog can be requested for eligible students. If an item is not on hand, and the item is deemed educationally necessary, it will be ordered and paid for with quota funds, as long as adequate funds remain. Please note that funds are limited and no request is guaranteed. To request an item, please contact the APH Coordinator at NDVS/SB. Be sure to include both the product name and catalog number in your request.
Adapted Textbooks
Regional coordinators, vision teachers, and regular classroom teachers can all request textbooks in alternative formats for eligible K-12 students. These orders can be placed at any time during the year but please order as early as possible, because 4-6 weeks of production time may be necessary. It is suggested that textbooks needed for the following school year be requested before May 31. To request a textbook for a student, please contact the APH Coordinator.
When requesting a textbook, please include the complete title of the textbook, publisher, copyright year, ISBN of the student edition, and the format needed (large print, braille, audio, etc.). After receiving your request, the APH Coordinator will search for the needed book and let you know what options for obtaining the book are available. If the book is available from APH and the student is eligible for APH funds (and adequate funds remain), the book will be ordered from APH. In all other cases, the APH Coordinator will assist you in determining how to obtain the requested materials, but it is ultimately up to the school district to obtain and pay for the textbook.
To search for APH products online, visit www.aph.org/shop