This article describes a setup smart access card that enables users with visual impairments to customize magnifiers and screen readers on computers by loading the floppy disk into the computer and finding and pressing two successive keys. A trial with four elderly users found instruction took about 15 minutes. (Contains 3 references.) (CR)

This article compares the economic status of adults with visual impairments with those with non-visual impairments using data from the National Health Interview Survey. Employment rates and mean household incomes were lower and receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance higher among those blind in both eyes than those with less severe visual…

Semistructured telephone interviews with 10 visually impaired adult cane users found that early negative attitudes of stigma were usually replaced by more positive attitudes and that there was a mean of 1 3/4 years between the onset of severe visual impairment and commencement of orientation and mobility training. (Author/DB)

Rehabilitation teaching involves instructing blind/visually impaired persons in homemaking and daily living skills, an area likely to increase as an aging population develops vision problems. Academic requirements for certification have some overlap with home economics, making it a potential career option for home economics graduates. (SK)

Techniques used by the Special Visual Assessment Clinic for the Handicapped at the University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry are designed to serve handicapped children and adults generally considered "difficult to assess." This article describes the clinic's assessment goals, clientele, and methods for assessing visual ability and…

This open-ended survey of 156 subjects (78 pairs of visually handicapped orientation and mobility specialists and adult clients) identified common low vision mobility problems (lighting conditions, drop-offs, street crossings, changes in terrain) and found a high degree of agreement between the reported perceptions of mobility practitioners and…

Briefly described is a sample 10-week program combining a supportive environment for the exchange of ideas, a support group, and a learning opportunity for individuals with both diabetes and visual impairment. (DB)

Two studies examined the effectiveness of external-speaker announcements in identifying incoming buses to 21 adults with visual impairments, including the placement of external speakers, the ability to understand simultaneous bus announcements, and the speech enhancement of announcements. Announcements could be heard above ambient traffic sounds…

A study interviewed 25 individuals with visual impairments who received Career Incentive Awards between 1986 and 1995. Results found the participants were a diverse group in terms of personal and educational backgrounds, career goals, and age, yet all demonstrated a common drive to succeed and were highly educated. (Contains references.) (CR)

This study compared effects of visual occlusion on the motor and spatial learning of 28 legally blind adult males, half due to acuity loss and half due to peripheral field restriction. For both groups, occlusion appeared neither to facilitate nor impede motor learning but did significantly impair acquisition of spatial relations. Results have…

This interview between Mark Laird, statewide employment specialist with Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, and Gil Johnson, director of American Foundation for the Blind West, describes an innovative rehabilitation model that forges relationships with businesses and has doubled the number of consumers with visual impairments who find…

Describes a national advocacy campaign to preserve funding for specialized services for older people with visual impairments. Outlines steps for developing a similar campaign, including: identifying critical issues, identifying key decision makers, developing a clear message, determining desired results, identifying potential advocates, and…

This article presents the eight laws of association theory and applies four of them to strategies for teaching transferable skills to individuals with visual impairments. Strategies described include situation forecasting, generalization, sense shifting, performing skills repetitively to facilitate the transfer habit, and assigning an intensity…

A survey examined the perceptions of 169 adults with low vision about their personal experiences with abuse, violence, or both. A relatively small number of respondents (56 of 35 percent) reported experiencing harm or physical abuse, but many experienced emotional abuse, and some witnessed violence in their families. (Contains extensive…

Examines the assumption that the parvocellular system is suppressed by the magnocellular system during saccadic eye movements and that this visual deficit is associated with dyslexia. Evidence from six studies indicates the magnocellular system is suppressed during saccadic eye movements, disproving the magnocellular deficit theory of dyslexia.…