Fifty adults (ages 28-86) with macular degeneration were given the Low Vision Reading Comprehension Assessment (LVRCA) to test its reliability and validity in evaluating the reading comprehension of those with vision impairments. The LVRCA was found to take only nine minutes to administer and was a valid and reliable tool. (CR)

The article describes a consumer skills unit taught to visually impaired seventh graders. The unit covered advertising language and psychology, comparison shopping and label language, and budgeting and future planning. (DB)

An itinerant teacher of multiply handicapped students with low vision shares learning activities in which students learn to use coins with the aid of a computer program and make a shopping list using advertising flyers. (DB)

The paper argues that microcomputers can be useful in providing visual stimulation to young visually handicapped children. Monitors can present materials in a "back-lit" manner, and input devices such as the touch sensitive screen allow children to interact directly with the images on the screen. (Author/DB)

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…

Ten children (ages 7-10) with visuoperceptual problems were compared to sighted children on lexical decision tasks with words, nonwords, and format distorted items. The partially sighted children relied on phonological mediation as well as the "visual" route in word recognition. Regularity effects, as well as effects of intact and disrupted…

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…

Describes a qualitative study that explored 12 older adults' successful adjustment to vision loss. These individuals identified factors (internal and external resources) related to their successful adjustment and offered advice to others facing the challenges of visual impairment. (DB)

Discusses the development and implementation of the low-vision-therapist certification through the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Credentials for professionals in low vision are described, along with required written examination, and the role of the low-vision therapist. (CR)

Evaluation of the use of repeated readings to increase the reading fluency of four elementary students with low vision found the intervention was effective in improving all four students' reading fluency without adversely affecting error rates or comprehension. Students' improved reading rates also generalized to classroom reading. (DB)

This article presents a literature-based overview of emergent literacy and explores the fit between emergent literacy and the learning needs of children who are blind or visually impaired. Components of emergent literacy--reading aloud, concept of a symbol, emergent writing, and literacy environments--are discussed and applied to children with…

This article examines Windows 95, pointing out differences and improvements from Windows 3.1 for persons with low vision. Windows 95 is seen as providing substantially greater accessibility than Windows 3.1, though the graphical user interface may still pose serious problems for some users with low vision. (DB)

Thirty-seven students who were blind or had low vision listed as many examples of 10 categories as they could and the prototype order of examples was scored. No differences between blind or low-vision students were found, but categories with which the students had a greater degree of direct sensory experience produced more examples and higher…

Blind and partially sighted high school students were trained to serve as paid assistants to a residential school speech therapist during a 3-year pilot program designed to provide extra-class practice for younger visually impaired children with speech and hearing problems. (LH)

Recent emphasis on career education in elementary and secondary schools has led the American Foundation for the Blind to promote activities to develop relevant resources and materials for use with blind and partially sighted students. (LH)