As much as the field of visual impairment has advanced over the last half century and as growing populations of children and adults continue to be served by its practitioners, the issue of personnel shortages to meet the diverse needs of students and consumers seems to continue. More vision professionals are being trained than ever, but it seems…

Data show that people with disabilities are consistently less likely to be working than their non-disabled counterparts. In this Data Note, the employment rate for working-age people is compared across disability types, as well as those without disabilities. While employment rates across disability subpopulation groups vary, all disability groups…

The severe amblyopia induced by chronic monocular deprivation is highly resistant to reversal in adulthood. Here we use a rodent model to show that recovery from deprivation amblyopia can be achieved in adults by a two-step sequence, involving enhancement of synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex by dark exposure followed immediately by visual…

This paper aims to describe the process undertaken by Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy to assess a gentleman with learning disabilities and visual impairment with regard to his capacity to sign a tenancy agreement. It describes the method used to assess the gentleman's mental capacity before exploring the system used to provide…

Visual attention has temporal limitations. In the attentional blink (AB) a stream of stimuli such as letters or digits are presented to a participant on a computer monitor at a rapid rate. Embedded in the stream are two targets that the participant must try to identify. Identification of the second target is severely impaired if it is presented…

Relatively little is known about the health and fitness of adults with visual impairments. This article documents the physical activity levels and body-composition profiles of young and middle-aged adults with visual impairments and addresses the concomitant effects of these factors on perceived quality of life. (Contains 2 tables.)

A path-following experiment, using a global positioning system, was conducted with participants who were legally blind. On- and off-course confirmations were delivered by either a vibrotactile or an audio stimulus. These simple binary cues were sufficient for guidance and point to the need to offer output options for guidance systems for people…

To serve adults with disabilities without a high school diploma, the federal government and states have funded adult education and literacy programs that provide services to accommodate the needs of those adults. In addition, the Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests) provide adults with disabilities with testing accommodations to…

A social caseworker and a rehabilitation counselor led a group of eight visually impaired adults who were in various stages of the rehabilitation process. Combining the disciplines of casework and rehabilitation counseling was designed to assist clients in establishing or reestablishing their independence and sense of purpose. (Author)

Health promotion interventions for adults who are visually impaired have received little attention. This article reports what is currently known about the health, overweight and obesity, and levels of physical activity reported by these adults. Conclusions about the need for health promotion activities based on this information are provided, and…

The Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind is primarily responsible for services to visually impaired people in New Zealand. The article describes its history, structure, services, and plans for the future. (Author/JDD)

Over the past two decades, professionals in the fields of education and rehabilitation of people with disabilities have adopted person-first language, that is, language that subordinates the disability to the individual. This shift in language reflects the importance society places on sensitive issues and on changing stereotypes and reducing bias…

This article explores issues related to the use of supported employment and time-related transitional employment for blind and visually impaired persons. It defines the concepts; describes the characteristics that distinguish these services from others; and discusses the need for these services from ecological, philosophical, fiscal, and learning…

A profile is presented of the gender, age, and diagnoses of individuals with visual impairments in Finland. Services provided, current legislative measures, rehabilitation courses, and orientation and mobility training are also described. (JDD)

This article compares the economic status of adults with visual impairments with those with non-visual impairments using data from the National Health Interview Survey. Employment rates and mean household incomes were lower and receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance higher among those blind in both eyes than those with less severe visual…