This article gives an overview of a three-year qualitative study following the transition pathways of one blind and four partially sighted young people in Wales, beginning with the transition from compulsory to post-compulsory education at the age of 16. The study highlighted the inequity in provision for young people who remain in school sixth…

The author encourages the use of visual braille for children and adults with partial vision. A method of learning visual braille is described. (DB)

Choroidal neovascularization is a rare condition where aberrant blood vessels behind the retina grow and then bleed, eventually becoming blind areas called Fuchs' spots. A woman suffering from this rare eye disease speaks about the challenges of coping with the visual disability and her determination to make the best of what life has to offer.

This qualitative study investigates the views of clients with low vision and vision rehabilitation professionals on the involvement of family and friends in group-based rehabilitation programs. Both groups outlined advantages and disadvantages to involving significant others, and it is essential that clients are given the choice. Future work is…

The Ticket to Work (TTW) program is a federally funded program meant to assist persons who receive disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) in obtaining employment, with the ultimate goal of terminating SSA benefits and thereby providing a cost savings for the government. With its focus on employment, the TTW program would…

This article presents a survey of the demographical, educational and visual functional characteristics of children attending a specialist paediatric low-vision assessment clinic at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. Comprehensive data were collected retrospectively from children attending the paediatric low-vision clinic between January 2003 and…

Demographic projections indicate that the population of the Western world is aging, and evidence suggests an increase in the incidence of conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), that produce visual impairments and result in low vision (Maberley et al., 2006). It is expected that in the United States and Canada, the annual…

During a 3-month introduction to precision teaching, a legally blind special education teacher was trained to record student progress on a daily behavior chart by using thin pieces of elastic stretched between a series of brads placed as reference points on graph paper. (Author/LH)

Patterns of play behavior in 18 young low vision children in a structured free-play situation with toys were analyzed. The presence of visual impairment was associated with significantly less functional and more stereotypical play behavior indicating quantitative and qualitative differences between groups. (Author/CL)

An assessment instrument of the visual skills required for reading among macular loss individuals is presented along with a study involving 48 adults to evaluate its reliability. Data are included to verify claims regarding aspects of reading that are particularly problematic for macular loss individuals; rehabilitation techniques are suggested.…

Guidelines for rehabilitation counselors working with legally blind individuals focus on approaches to overcome mobility and communication barriers, socialization training, understanding social and self perceptions, rehabilitation assessment and planning, and techniques useful to field and facility counselors. (CL)

The world of the partially sighted is described briefly as that of a rejected minority. (CB)

A videotape of a legally blind seven year old at home in her regular elementary class was developed for use as a learning tool for other teachers and classes and as a technical experience for the college student producers. (CL)

Using Social Security Administration data, the author evaluated the characteristics of beneficiaries who were blind and visually impaired and who assigned their tickets, the characteristics of beneficiaries who assigned their tickets to employment networks (ENs), and preliminary employment outcomes. The characteristics that predicted assignment of…

The study examined whether individual levels of optimal illumination could be reliably determined for visually impaired adults and whether the level identified in the assessment had validity in relation to a practical reading task. The assessment procedure was found to be reliable and valid and reading performance improved. (Author/DB)