The paper reviews research on the development of communication in visually and mentally handicapped persons. Communication difficulties are traced from the preverbal stage, through imitation and turn-taking, visual co-orientation and objects, and the effects of visual loss on early development. The added impact on a mentally handicapped person of…

Presented is the case history and interdisciplinary approach used with a partially sighted 8-year-old girl including vision training, large print instruction, and regular class placement. The viewpoints of the optometrist, the child's parents, the educational consultant, the principal, the regular classroom teacher, and a resource room teacher are…

The paper examines aspects of prevocational program development for visually impaired students (physical setting, task selection, teacher behaviors, trainee behaviors, discrimination deficits, sensory motor deficits, slow motor behavior, and interfering behaviors). Five assessment areas are listed, including amount of teacher assistance required,…

The three papers describe current projects in the field for the visually handicapped which are directed toward improvement of educational programs in both day and residential settings. The first paper (by F. Roberts) reviews the process employed for revising the standards for residential schools. Discussed in the second paper (by G. Scholl) is the…

Presented is an abstract of a lecture-workshop presentation on vision problems and their relation to learning, working, living, and health. Areas covered by the author in his lecture are outlined as including the essential tests of the primary vision examination; the value of testing depth perception at the reading distance; the testing and care…

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…

The study examined the feasibility of adapting commercially available educational software to a speech synthesizer compatible with the Apple II for use with 15 visually impaired students 8 to 12 years old. Ss were pre-tested on measures of auditory discrimination, computer literacy, keyboard proficiency, spelling, and language. Ss then received…

The study examined modality effects in the learning of Braille through providing a variety of either study or test trials in either the visual or haptic modalities. Subjects were 144 right handed college students. Results supported previous experiments demonstrating the visual modality superior to the combined visual-haptic or the haptic modality…

Two experiments, each involving 96 sighted undergraduates, investigated the effects on braille learning of presenting information about the number of dots a symbol contains at the beginning of the study interval (prompting condition). In study 1, prompting was compared with presenting no information during the study interval. In experiment 2,…

The paper addresses considerations in planning a new school for visually impaired students in Nigeria. Site considerations touch upon safety, maximum educational achievement, adequate space for practicing mobility and future expansion, catchment area, and financial involvement. Curriculum considerations include use of a braille production machine,…

Capabilities and limitations of 251 severely visually impaired persons (senior high school age or older) were assessed on a range of visual environmental adaptation problems to learn how they are organized and influenced. Factor analyses indicated that problems can be grouped on the basis of eight functional domains, among which an independent…

Three papers address the competency based teacher education (CBTE) movement, particularly as it relates to teachers of the visually handicapped. In the fist paper, I. Holman and G. Scholl review some of the activities related to CBTE in regular, special, and visually handicapped education to determine current status of the field, to identify major…

The United Nations 1981 International Year of Disabled Persons offers a unique opportunity for broadening the basis of understanding of the library needs of the blind and print handicapped. There is room for both national and international development if traditionally publicity-shy and mostly nonaggressive librarians come forward and seize the…

This paper presents the results of a survey that investigated which countries follow the United Nations recommendations by having a national policy for library services to visually impaired and other print handicapped children. Questionnaires were distributed to the 78 members of the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and…

The paper examines the impact of a visual disorder on the emerging self. Sources of self-esteem are considered in the developmental process. The implications of a competence model in regard to the experiences of visually impaired persons are noted. Problems to be resolved include developing coping skills and adaptive behaviors, maintaining…