In order to determine whether speed listening practice could improve comprehension of pitch-altered rapid speech, 66 high school students blind since at least age 6 were divided into experimental (E) and control (C) groups, matched on the basis of age (range 15 to 19 years), IQ (range 85 to 130), and pretest comprehension of material presented at…

Ten articles treat mobility aids and training for the blind. The following subjects are discussed: "Development of Mobility Programs Which Used Canes as Aids,""Expansion of Mobility Training to Children and Aged,""Basic Techniques Essential to Orientation and Mobility,""Long Cane Training: Its Advantages and Problems,""The Cane as a Channel for…

The manual contains rationales, general approaches, and specific procedures for educators and parents to use in teaching daily living skills to visually impaired students. Detailed suggestions are given with regard to learning objectives for blind or partially sighted children, age levels, and instructional adaptations for developing competency in…

The report lists the staff and states the activities of the Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center (SAEDC). Work accomplished is reviewed, including work on the following; compiled speech output for the DOTSYS Information System; monotype reader; braille embosser; folding canes; pathsounder; Perkins brailler; evaluation of braille; speeded…

Several school districts participated in a project providing orientation and mobility instruction to 50 visually handicapped students. Students received four to five lessons a week and were instructed in long cane usage. Tactual maps were used for orientation. Evaluation by their instructor and an outside expert rated 21 of 27 students as having…

Directed toward practitioners and program administrators in the field of vocational rehabilitation, the report deals with current concerns, issues, and practices related to rehabilitation of the blind in public and private agencies. The first chapter provides an overview of the document. Chapter 2 reports on existing and emerging occupational…

Research sought to test the utility of the Optacon (an optical-to-tactile converter, which enables the blind to read ink-print materials), to identify predictors of success with the Optacon, and to observe the Optacon's effect on student attitudes. Matched groups of blind students in grades 4 through 8 and 9 through 12 received instruction…

The goal of the institute was better library service for the thousands of handicapped children in New York State. Librarians, special educators, and others in allied fields have concern for these children and wish to offer service or improve existing programs. Some do not know where to start and may even be afraid to make the first step. Others do…

The research reported in these papers covers a variety of communication problems. The first paper covers research on sound navigation by the blind and involves echo perception research and relevant aspects of underwater sound localization. The second paper describes a research program in acoustic phonetics and concerns such related issues as…

While students who are blind and visually impaired represent less than one-half of one percent of the school age population, they are a group of students with multiple and often complex educational needs. One of these needs is for a specialized teacher trained in the methodologies of blindness and the adaptations necessary to facilitate access to…

This monograph summarizes the status of the Library of Congress's National Library Service (NLS) Talking Book Digital Conversion Project, a project to offer digital sound reproducers and its library materials in digital format beginning in 2008. Following an introductory section describing National Library Service services and users and the…

The University of Northern Colorado developed a master's degree program to train specialists in the education of students with visual disabilities in the 14-state region of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. The program is student-centered, stresses effective interaction between faculty and students and among students, and uses…

This text, one of two volumes on the instruction of students with visual impairments, focuses on the history and theory of teaching such students. The following chapters are included: (1) "Historical Perspectives" (Phil Hatlen) with emphasis on the last 50 years; (2) "Visual Impairment" (Kathleen M. Huebner) which provides general information…

A study explored the types of services that 40 schools for students with visual impairments provided to students in local education agencies, the extent of collaboration, and perceived changes to improve the process. Most schools continue to serve a dual role as residential/day schools and as outreach service providers. (Contains 8 references.)…

A mother of an adolescent daughter with blindness and learning disabilities focuses on how she helped her daughter improve reading and writing skills by finding a meaningful purpose for those skills in daily life. This article discusses early signs of learning problems, the learning environment, talking books, books in braille, technology,…