This paper refutes criticism about industrial workshops for individuals with blindness and argues that they are a suitable vocational option that is often underutilized. The paper explores the role of the sheltered workshop as a continuum for multihandicapped blind persons, employment experience for teenagers, opportunity for older individuals,…

The article reports on two 1989 visits to the Soviet Union to observe rehabilitation services for the blind. Described are the demographics, the profit-making factory system in which many visually impaired persons work, rehabilitation centers, technology, and services to older blind persons. (DB)