The paper reviews approaches for making bibliographic instruction accessible to college students with visual, hearing, and mobility impairments. Needs assessment should focus on students, library staff, administrative officers, faculty members, and educational specialists. Consideration in program development should be given not only to special…

Visually handicapped students (10-19 years old) at the Nebraska School for the Visually Handicapped receive training on computer equipment for word processing, computer literacy, programming, and computer assisted instruction. Hardware and software used in the program include the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the VersaBraille system, Total Talk, and…

Physical changes in and conditions of the eye associated with the normal aging process are discussed with reference to their impact on performance in physical and recreational activities. Descriptions are given of characteristic changes in visual acuity in the areas of: (1) presbyopia (inability to clearly focus near images); (2) sensitivity to…

The paper discusses creative dance experiences with visually and mentally handicapped persons. A brief introduction is followed by comments on sensory stimulation during infancy, mobility and orientation, physical education and recreation techniques, and approaches (such as biofeedback and progressive relaxation) to deal with stereotyped movement…

Two studies examined the effects of handedness on braille learning. Experiment 1 featured 64 sighted undergraduates at North Carolina State University, all of whom were right-handed and had no experience with braille. Results revealed that females outperformed males, but that, contrary to expectation, no significant effects of handedness were…

The goal of the itinerant vision consultant is to enhance the education of Black visually handicapped students in a normal school environment by using special techniques, devices, and equipment--with the aim of helping students to live and work in a community with sighted people. To be considered for admission to special classes or for itinerant…

The development of a work practice center for visually impaired multihandicapped adolescents in a residential school for the blind is described. The purpose of the center is explained to be preparation of work habits and skills for adult placement in sheltered employment settings. Six stages in program development are traced: intake information,…

This paper reports on a 1999 study of services to visually impaired users in United Kingdom (U.K.) public libraries. Data were gathered using a mail questionnaire survey of all U.K. public library authorities: 208 in all, of whom 141 responded. Findings are reported in the following areas: (1) information needs; (2) the context of the provision of…

The article reviews historical challenges met by the blindness field including the epidemics of retrolental fibroplasia and Rubella. It discusses internal developments in the field including the trend from braille class to resource room, changed standards of teacher preparation, future functions of residential schools, and disability-specific…

A followup study of currently and previously enrolled students of the Michigan School for the Blind (MSB) and the Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD) is reported. Eligibility guidelines, services, enrollment, costs, and nature of the student body at each institution are described. Development and use of four questionnaires to evaluate eight…

Reporting long-term ophthalmologic sequelae among ex-prematures at 6 to 10 years of age, this study compares 42 ex-premature infants who had had regressed forms of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) during the neonatal period with 42 matched non-ROP ex-premature controls at 6 to 10 years of age. Subjects were subdivided into four groups: (1) ROP…

Successful approaches employed by a principal of a school for blind students in supporting regular class teachers of mainstreamed visually handicapped students are reported. Four factors of importance in evaluating the environment are described: (1) appropriate work space (height of chairs); (2) color contrast problems (work surfaces of adjacent…

Described are procedures used to assess reasoning in congenitally blind students. It is explained that the Piagetian Battery of Reasoning Assessments for concrete and formal or abstract thought measures the following basic abilities: reversability of thought, classifacatory thought, spatial orientation, and mental imagery. (CL)

Three workshops were held to acquaint interested parties with the growing need to prepare persons with non-standard physical characteristics for successful employment as Library/Media Technical Assistants (L/MTA's). The kinds of handicapped persons considered were the partially sighted, the totally blind, the partially deaf, the totally deaf, and…

(Purpose) The purpose of this paper was to reveal how stereotyped representations of disability are manifested in school curriculum through the textbook content and the attitudes of participants of education. Research questions of this study were: How is disability represented in Lithuanian textbooks? What is the real discourse--that of…