Ten "myths" about the Unified Braille Code (UBC) are debunked in this article. Myths address the official adoption of UBC, changes in literary Braille, input from users in determining the UBC's final form, the UBC and technical uses, the UBC and computer Braille translation, and continued availability of materials in current codes. (DB)

The writer, a rehabilitation teacher, describes her visit and volunteer work with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Canada's Northwest Territories. She describes the area's geography, people, and her experiences including learning to drive on the gravel highway and her rehabilitation teaching subjects. Closing reflections focus on…

This commentary by the president of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired uses a football analogy to point out the importance of positive reinforcement and encouragement in mutual support of colleagues working in the difficult field of rehabilitation. (DB)

An adventitiously visually impaired individual examines differences between the neurological, psychological, and educational development of persons blinded either very early in life or much later. (DB)

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,…

This article explores the impact of peer support groups on individuals who are elderly and blind. Peer groups are believed to provide members with an important link to others having a similar disability, a link that offers validation, affiliation, and insight. (JDD)

Provides an outline of knowledge areas in rehabilitation counseling and rehabilitation teaching related to visual impairments such as: core areas; planning and delivery services; job development, placement, and follow-along; job engineering; Braille and other tactual systems; communication systems; computers for individuals with visual…

This interview conducted with adult twin sisters legally blind since birth focuses primarily on their experiences with residential education--their relationship with their family, positive and negative aspects of residential education, how the experiences shaped their adult life, and changes needed in residential schools. (JDD)

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)

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)

The paper summarizes the reasons given for the decrease in Braille literacy and analyzes them as indicators of faults in the system of educating children with visual handicaps. Reasons include undercounting visually handicapped children, emphasizing use of vision, attitudes toward Braille, teacher competency, service delivery via itinerant…

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…

A young blind adult recounts his experiences in using a dog guide, describing psychological adjustment, trials and joys of being a student at a dog guide training center, bonding with the new dog, and adjusting to home life with a dog guide. Suggestions are offered for the improvement of orientation and mobility training. (JDD)

This article describes major issues in teaching Braille to students with acquired visual disability and presents results of a survey of 22 teachers of students with visual impairments in Texas. The survey addressed demographic characteristics, instructional schedules, materials, and instructional methods. Results have implications for development…

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)