A birding program developed as part of the leisure-time instructional program at the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind is described. Visits to the local aviary and field trips in which birds were identified by sound made this a particularly suitable activity. Sample activities conducted to involve participants are described. (DB)

Implementation of recommendations of a position paper on training Orientation Mobility (OM) assistants is considered with suggestions concerning the roles of the OM specialist and OM assistant, specific skill areas for training, the role of the agency or school, and a preparation program for the mobility assistant leading to certification. (DB)

This column describes activities for use with students having visual impairments, focusing on various types of calendars, including a sensory calendar and voice calendars produced by the Voxcom tape recorder (which uses magnetically striped cards to record and play brief messages). (DB)

Guidelines are offered for recruiting and hiring personnel in the field of visual impairment. These include start looking early; visit universities; offer incentives; emphasize the community, not just the position; plan the interview; evaluate the applicant (application form, letters of recommendation, resumes, and transcripts); and make the…

This paper offers guidelines to compare the characteristics observed in children with autism and blindness and those observed in children with blindness alone. It distinguishes between stereotypic behaviors (blindisms) in blind individuals and similar stereotypic behaviors of children with autism. A table presents typical behavior patterns of…

This collection of innovative ideas for rehabilitation of individuals with visual impairments or blindness describes procedures for making a custom desk for a low vision learner, teaching orientation and mobility to blind individuals with multiple disabilities, and teaching music notation using cuisenaire rods. The paper makes a request for…

Reviews the development of spatial organization in children with blindness. Discusses the importance of motor exploration, tactual development, and spatial representation as critical factors in developing spatial and cognitive organizations of their surroundings. Suggests seven specific activities to improve spatial organization in blind children.…

The article suggests that Belcastro rods, which retain the basic properties of Cuisenaire rods but allow instant identification by touch, may be useful in teaching mathematical concepts to blind children. Drawings illustrate use of the rods in teaching such concepts as addition and subtraction. (Author/DB)

Teachers of children with visual impairments are encouraged to create their own useful and age-appropriate songs to help teach orientation and mobility skills to children in preschool to grade three. The songs can be created by writing new lyrics to well-known tunes or by writing new lyrics and melodies. (DB)

Visual accents can create unique communication graphics to increase attending behavior necessary for learning symbol/referent relationships by students with severe vision loss. Accenting procedures use size, color, contrast, shape, and graphic pattern to enhance the probability that the learner will self-initiate attending to the visual symbol.…

Five individuals involved in literacy for blind and visually impaired young people respond to the position paper of the Council of Executives of American Residential Schools for the Visually Handicapped (EC 232 322). They are Evelyn Rex, Virginia Sowell, Alan Koenig, Elaine Mose Sveen, and Barbara Cheadle. (DB)

A placement counselor offers his personal guidelines for a vocational placement process to serve blind individuals. Guidelines address the counselor's value system; the functional limitations of visual impairment and adaptive options; and the role of the employing agency in enhancing counselors' motivation for placement. A model placement policy…

Analysis of completed surveys from 230 teachers of blind and visually impaired learners found that preservice training programs emphasizing the methodology of teaching Braille and the development of tactual perception tended to produce teachers who have positive attitudes toward Braille and feel competent in teaching Braille to children. (DB)

This article describes a three-month orientation and mobility (O&M) program conducted for four potential teachers of individuals with blindness in Taipei (Taiwan). Challenges in residential areas, business areas, buildings, and use of mass transit are illustrated. Although the travel environments were more complex than those in the United…

A blind individual offers career education guidelines concerning helping blind children make realistic vocational choices, providing job awareness, setting up work-experience programs, and developing special job-seeking skills. (DB)