Teachers (N=110) of students with visual impairments in Florida were surveyed to determine their use of various types of access technologies. Although each category of device, with the exception of refreshable braille devices, was used by at least 25% of the teachers, most respondents were not familiar with most of the devices listed, and lacked…

The National Sports Education Camps Project (NSEC), a joint partnership between Western Michigan University and the United States Association of Blind Athletes, provides short-term interventions to teach sports to children with visual impairments. A study comparing 321 students with visual impairments, ranging in age from 8 to 19 years, before and…

Electronic travel devices are used to transform information about the environment that would normally be perceived through the visual sense into a form that can be perceived by people who are blind or have low vision through another sense (Blasch, Long, & Griffin-Shirley, 1989). They are divided into two broad categories: primary devices and…

This study explored the factors that contribute to a successful work experience for employees who are visually impaired from the perspective of employers. The employers who were interviewed emphasized the dual responsibility that employees have to empower their own success and that employers have to enable the employees' success. In addition, an…

In this qualitative study, various professionals in specialized schools for students who are visually impaired provided information on assessment tools; how information was used to plan Individualized Education Programs; and their opinions on the reliability, validity, and usefulness of various measurements. The implications of the findings for…

The report examines the services provided to handicapped students at the Minnesota School for the Deaf and the Minnesota Braille and Sight Saving School. The evaluation focused on three critical concerns: adjustments to meet changing demands for service, efficient and effective operation, and the advisability of continuing to provide residential…

The report describes the sixth year in which a survey has been conducted on sensory impaired students in Texas. The survey resulted in information on student demographics and on performance on the Stanford Achievement Test for Hearing Impaired Students (SAT-HI). Demographic data revealed that hearing aids were widely used; that 43% of students in…

The system described represents a new technique for enhancing the fidelity of flight simulators during high acceleration maneuvers. This technique forces the simulator pilot into active participation and energy expenditure similar to the aircraft pilot undergoing actual accelerations. The Bionic Control of Acceleration Induced Dimming (BIOCONAID)…

Comparison of perceptions of 41 supervisors and 39 teachers of visually handicapped students concerning time spent on six different teacher job components (travel, administration, direct instruction, preassessment consultation, postassessment consultation, in-service training) found no significant differences between the two groups. (Author/DB)

In 1998, a state university received grant funding to convert their Special Education Blindness and Visual Impairment graduate degree program to an online format. At that time, commercial web course management systems were not accessible to blind and visually impaired users. As a result, grant designers developed a custom, accessible platform,…

Presents case studies of three adolescent boys with progressive vision loss who gradually became blind during adolescence. Examines the relationship between the boys' psychological adjustment to their blindness and their acquisition of braille reading skills. (Author)

The employment conditions of Swedish adults, aged 25-45, with recent onset of visual impairments were examined. A qualitative study identified phases in the rehabilitative process of adapting to work environments. Interviews with 261 persons found that the majority returned to work after onset but in many cases were underemployed. (Author/JDD)

Measures taken during the 1980s to increase the number of orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists to work with persons with visual impairments were evaluated, by means of a telephone survey of 15 university O&M programs. Survey findings indicated that efforts to address critical shortages in O&M personnel have been effective. (DB)

Describes a qualitative study that explored 12 older adults' successful adjustment to vision loss. These individuals identified factors (internal and external resources) related to their successful adjustment and offered advice to others facing the challenges of visual impairment. (DB)

A project developed and evaluated an intermediate form of presentation that provides a virtual dynamic tactile display for use with computers that could complement static tactile displays of graphical material. The device is a two-dimensional extension of the tactile mouse and provides contour and slope information to the user. (Contains nine…