Research indicates that students with exceptionalities such as visual impairments are more academically successful when they are included in the regular classroom setting and have opportunities to engage in active learning. Therefore, science educators must address their needs by motivating visually impaired students in science and making…

A consortium of universities in Utah developed a teacher training program in sensory impairments to address a long-term critical shortage of teachers qualified to service hearing-impaired/deaf and visually-impaired/blind students. The teacher shortage was a direct result of program cuts at the University of Utah. An advisory board was selected to…

Papers on library services and developments in reading materials for the blind and disabled presented at the 1984 IFLA general conference include: (1) "The Establishment of a Library Service to Visually Handicapped People in African Developing Countries" (Paulli Thomsen, Denmark); (2) "Sources of Assistance for Establishing Braille…

This booklet examines the role and outlines the activities of Australian libraries in meeting the educational, cultural, recreational, and information needs of the physically, sensorily, and mentally disabled. The origins of library services for the handicapped in Australia are discussed, existing services are reviewed, the library needs of…

The inservice teacher seminars and instructional materials described here focus on understanding development-oriented education principles and prescriptive/diagnostic teaching skills and aiding students whose visual and hearing problems affect their behavior and learning. Inservice topics include: learning concepts of humanistic educational…

Addresses the need to provide qualified special education personnel in rural school districts. Describes a flexible teacher training program that includes intensive short-term summer courses, correspondence course options, and relevant practicum experiences in rural areas. Presents demographic data from the first two years of field testing the…

"Tomorrow's Teachers" (Holmes Group, 1986) expressed the need to reform teacher preparation programs. Implications of this report for preparation of visual disabilities teachers are discussed, focusing on a five-year training program, three levels of educational licenses, professional entry examinations, strengthened ties between…

A set of developmental norm data for reflexive and voluntary visual-motor development was compiled, revised after extensive clinical use, and found to have highly significant interrater agreement. Use of the resultant Erhardt Developmental Visual Assessment is illustrated with a multiply handicapped three-year-old. (Author/JDD)

Provides overview of recent technological developments in microcomputer technology for the physically disabled, including discussion of view expansion, "talking terminals," voice recognition, and price and convenience of micro-based products. Equipment manufacturers and training centers for the physically disabled are listed and microcomputer…

This paper describes the learning center approach of the preschool and kindergarten programs at the Maryland School for the Blind. Units are presented in monthly themes suggested by the local school curriculum, and this thematic approach is incorporated into the specific learning centers. The classroom is divided into six main learning areas: (1)…

School systems that allow handicapped students to participate in athletics may be open to liability suits if injury occurs; yet systems with a policy of excluding all physically impaired students from sports may be sued under Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act for denial of equal opportunity. (Author/JM)

A father relates his family's efforts to provide early stimulation to a son diagnosed with cerebral palsy and visual impairments. As the boy developed, he listened to audiotape recordings of music and nursery rhymes, explored household objects, watched television, played computer games, and was eventually enrolled in a mainstreamed kindergarten.…

Five articles discuss designing library interiors for ergonomic needs and requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Highlights include elements of library furnishings for use with technology; directories of vendors that supply libraries and distributors of technological devices for the blind and physically handicapped; adaptive…

A Tennessee program awards stipends to teachers to attend summer classes and a practicum and earn 18 hours of credit in education of children with visual impairments. The program requires that teachers have assurance from their superintendents that they will teach visually impaired students in their school systems after endorsement. (Author/JDD)

The Carroll Center for the Blind operates the Ed-Tech Loan Program which enables Massachusetts schools to borrow adaptive computer devices for blind students. For $50 per month, with a three-month maximum, schools can borrow braille printers, large-print processors, talking software, or speech or braille laptop computers to evaluate before making…