This study investigated problems that children with visual impairments experience with sexual health education. The participants identified themes that affected their knowledge of sexual health and the need for sexual health education. Strategies that address sexual health issues for individuals with visual impairments are described.

This paper describes two techniques for rendering visual concepts encountered in an organic chemistry course into tactile representations for students who have low vision. The techniques--which utilize commercially available products--facilitate communication of organic chemistry between student and instructor. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables and 1…

This study investigated the background of personnel who are responsible for transcribing braille in Texas. Most respondents were not certified by the Library of Congress and believed that they had begun their careers less than adequately prepared, yet they rated the quality of the materials that they produced as either excellent or good. (Contains…

Seventy-three children with visual impairments aged 2-10 and their parents participated in a project that examined the children's interest in and exploration of tactile graphics. The parents reported that the children's interest in and conceptual understanding of the project's tactile workbook were high and that the children explored the…

The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of embossed picture technique when used in teaching reading to the pupils with hearing impairment. The study was guided by Piaget's theory of human mental development. The study adopted an experimental design. The study was carried out at Kambui School for the hearing impaired located on…

Five focus groups explored concerns about adopting the Unified English Braille Code. The consensus was that while the proposed changes to the literary braille code would be minor, those to the mathematics braille code would be much more extensive. The participants emphasized that "any code that reduces the number of individuals who can access…

Every year on or near October 15, the California School for Blind celebrates National White Cane Day. Over the years, all kinds of events have been planned to celebrate the day. About two years ago, the school decided to do something different. Early that fall, staff members in the Orientation and Mobility Department at the school started teaching…

In this observational case study, a 13-year old boy, Carlo, who was born completely blind, was invited to explore and identify, a set of raised-line pictures without receiving feedback about the accuracy of his identification. He was then asked to explain, verbally or by drawing, why he believed that the names he suggested accurately identified…

Tactile maps are an important means for the education and mobility of people who are visually impaired (that is, are blind or have low vision). Because of the importance of tactile maps, it is essential that they are accessible to people who are visually impaired and correctly interpreted. There has been considerable research on the design of…

A tactile toy for visually impaired children, the "learning pillow" combines a written text (story or poem) with a page-size pillow that has tactile images related to the text. Exploration of the pillow in conjunction with hearing the text stimulates a number of learning experiences. (Author/CL)

More than 60 different tactual maps were created on capsule paper to examine the effectiveness of this process. The medium's composition, steps necessary for map compilation and processing, equipment costs and operations, appropriate symbolization, and advantages and disadvantages of the process are discussed. (Author/CL)

The bibliography containing more than 2,000 references on tactile aids was prepared as a resource guide for teachers and clinicians who must make informed decisions about the relative benefits of tactile aids for hearing-impaired individuals. (Author/CL)

The report describes the development and evaluation of an instructional program in tangible graph interpretation for braille readers. Because graphs frequently appear in textbooks and in other printed sources, lack of appropriate translation for blind persons can be a significant educational obstacle. Based on anlyses of typical graph reading…

The authors review their work on the role of attentional variables, such as in exploratory hand movements, selection and pickup of haptic shape information in the education of blind students. Efforts to design a technology to permit unobtrusive study of hand movements during braille reading and to link observed differences in scanning to reading…

Intended to alleviate the confusion about the Nemeth Code of Braille Mathematics (a system designed to meet the mathematical symbol and computation needs of visually impaired readers of all levels), the article presents the most frequently used symbols and rules in a simple and ordered format. (Author/DLS)