Walking behavior was established in a 20-month-old Down's Syndrome girl by a parent trained in behavior analysis. During a series of 7-minute sessions, the child was given edible reinforcement for taking unsupported steps between two chairs which were gradually moved from 18 to 70 inches apart. In three final generalization sessions, the chairs…

A severely handicapped 20-year-old woman in a public school setting was taught to ride the city bus. Results indicated that skills acquired in the classroom, for both bus boarding and bus departing, generalized only minimally to the natural environment. (Author/SB)

Twenty-six children (ages 6-11) with visual impairments were given tactile maps and asked to locate themselves on the map as they walked a short route. On 75% of the trials the children indicated their positions accurately, and on 81% they identified the routes they had traveled. (CR)

A survey of 120 orientation and mobility instructors found that 75% have taught their students to use alternative mobility devices. The type of device taught most often was a two-shafted device (such as the Connecticut precane). Other devices included riding toys, upright push toys, and probing devices. (Author/CR)

A study evaluated the ability of a dynamic visual assessment and training protocol to improve the ability of 65 persons with legal blindness to detect environmental hazards. Training improved the ability of the majority to detect hazards. The assessments also identified those who did not need training or would not benefit. (Contains references.)…

The report describes an effort to develop and test instructional materials, techniques and procedures - ESSETS (environmental sensing, selection, evaluation and training system) - for teaching functionally blind young adults to use electronic travel aids (ETAs). Considered are development of training guidelines, field site selection and instructor…

Upright walking posture was successfully trained, maintained, and transferred to a new setting in a 28-year-old profoundly retarded adult. An apparatus in the S's cap and vest provided reinforcement (radio) when the S's head was up. The first four phases of the study demonstrated stimulus control in the training setting, while the next nine phases…

The programed instruction was validated with 40 multiply impaired blind children in nine facilities in a 16-week field test. The experimental group using the programed instructional materials demonstrated significant overall performance gains over a control group. (Author/DLS)

A survey of 217 AER-certified orientation and mobility specialists (COMSs) found the median annual income for full-time employed COMSs was $39,000. Of the respondents, 63.7 were women, 91.5 percent were white, and the median age was 43 years. The majority entering into the field had master's degrees. (Contains references.) (CR)

This study assessed the possibility of guiding a person with blindness and intellectual disability during indoor travel with fewer auditory cues. Results indicated that infrequent presentation of the cues and the provision of extra cues in case of errors maintained high levels of independent moves, albeit of increased duration. (Author/CR)

A survey of 69 people investigated their response to individuals with deaf-blindness holding cards soliciting aid for crossing the street. Results found travelers should stand at the curb facing the street, hold the card up at the shoulder, and the card should first state the desire to cross the street. (CR)

This study compared the effectiveness of a long cane and a precane device as initial protective devices for preschool children with blindness. The precane device was found to be easier for the children to use, and it protected the children from body contact with travel obstacles better than did the long cane. (Author/DB)

Article discusses research on orientation and mobility (O&M) for individuals with visual impairments, examining constant, variable, and absolute error (descriptive statistics that quantify fundamentally different characteristics of distributions of spatially directed behavior). It illustrates the statistics with examples, noting their…

A 2-year study on the shortage of personnel serving children with visual impairments found a need for 5,000 teachers and 10,000 orientation and mobility specialists. Proposed action steps include preparing new and existing personnel, preparing new leaders and researchers, and expanding the capacity to recruit new and retain existing personnel.…

Thirty-eight people with visual impairments learned a 483-meter novel route through a university campus in four groups: verbalization, modeling, pointing, and control. The performance of all four groups improved with greater experience of the route, but the modeling group improved more than the control group. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)