This article discusses the underemployment of individuals with visual impairments and technological barriers to employment. It then presents an overview of legislation, public and private rehabilitation agency programs, and federal agency programs that have an impact on the distribution and use of assistive technology to individuals with…

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)

Sighted (n=37), partially sighted (n=20), and blind (n=17) participants answered questions about their expression and interpretation of verbal and nonverbal cues during telephone conversations, face-to-face encounters, and dating. The groups used an equal number of cues. Results have implications for developing specific communication skills of…

Use of 11 kinds of visual aids by 458 clients of an Israel low vision clinic was evaluated by age, sex, work status, participation in a rehabilitation program, academic status, number of visual aids in use, and number of diagnosed eye diseases. Usage prediction was found to be complex and highly differentiated. (Author/JDD)

This article illustrates use of the alternating treatment design to assess effectiveness of individualized interventions in low vision rehabilitation. The design was used to determine whether enlarging copy (to one of two magnification levels) and adding contrast would be effective in reducing the time a visually impaired student required to read…

The Synscentral (the institute for visually impaired people) in Vordingborg, Denmark, offers rehabilitation, teaching, and support in the home, the school, and the workplace. Regional centers such as the Synscentral provide expert advice, teach low vision people, and test special equipment. (Author/JDD)

Nongovernment organizations providing services to visually handicapped persons in developing nations should direct increased efforts toward project evaluation, monitoring, documentation, and dissemination, to ensure that innovative, flexible strategies direct self-help information to the "grassroots" level in forms that are familiar,…

A study involving 424 Cuban Americans, 1,620 Mexican Americans, and 603 Puerto Ricans found that Mexican Americans with 0-6 and 7-11 years of education had significantly lower risks of visual impairment than those with 12-17 years. Prevalence rates were lower among Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans born outside the mainland. (Contains…

A study investigated the number of guide dog teams that have been trained and are active in the United States from 1993-1999. Results found 1,556 guide dog teams were trained in 1999, an increase of 7%, and that there were 9,000 active teams, an increase of 10% since 1993. (Contains eight references.) (CR)

This article discusses a systematic method for selecting assistive technology that enhances or enables people with visual impairments to perform literacy skills. The method identifies critical tasks, personal preferences and abilities, and the relationship of visual, auditory, or tactile media needs to the critical tasks and personal preferences.…

This paper examines common causes of visually impaired clients' noncooperation with activities recommended by rehabilitation professionals. Recent literature on effective strategies for increasing compliance is reviewed, and techniques such as contingency contracts, task analysis, and openness to client innovation and modification of activities…

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…

This article describes controversies over the use of personality tests with adults with visual impairments in applied occupational testing. It reviews studies of personality profiles of sighted individuals and individuals with visual impairments and studies in which the content of items has been adapted for adults who are visually impaired.…

This circular lists 384 magazines produced in media suitable for use by persons who are unable to read conventional print materials. The media included are braille, cassette, disc, large type, Moon type, and open-reel tape. The entry for each title gives frequency of publication, medium or media in which it is available, method or methods by which…