UNITS, ACTIVITIES, LESSON PLANS, AND RESOURCE MATERIALS TO HELP ELEMENTARY TEACHERS REINFORCE INSTRUCTION IN BASIC PRE-CANE MOBILITY AND ORIENTATION SKILLS ARE PRESENTED. APPENDIXES INCLUDE A DEFINITION OF TERMS, AN ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY CHECKLIST WITH TEACHER INSTRUCTIONS, SUGGESTIONS FOR GUIDING BLIND INDIVIDUALS, AND SUGGESTED SUMMER…

The report describes an effort to develop and test instructional materials, techniques and procedures - ESSETS (environmental sensing, selection, evaluation and training system) - for teaching functionally blind young adults to use electronic travel aids (ETAs). Considered are development of training guidelines, field site selection and instructor…

A peripatologist taught 102 blind and partially sighted individuals of all ages mobility and orientation techniques. Volunteers assisted with transportation, followup, consultation, and direct teaching of mobility. Over a 3-year period, the number of lessons per client varied from one to 86, and the number of hours spent by the instructor in…

Upright walking posture was successfully trained, maintained, and transferred to a new setting in a 28-year-old profoundly retarded adult. An apparatus in the S's cap and vest provided reinforcement (radio) when the S's head was up. The first four phases of the study demonstrated stimulus control in the training setting, while the next nine phases…

The urban environment creates an atmosphere of external and internal pressures which cause immeasurable stress in a blind person attempting independent travel. (Author/SB)

The article offers suggestions to the resource or itinerant teacher who may be required because of limited finances in rural areas to become the first orientation and mobility instructor for young blind students. (CL)

Coping mechanisms and other strategies are needed to alleviate the anxiety experienced by visually impaired students and clients during the mobility training process. This literature review discusses the effects of stress, potential stress reduction techniques, factors which impact independent mobility, and suggested areas of future research. (VW)

The programed instruction was validated with 40 multiply impaired blind children in nine facilities in a 16-week field test. The experimental group using the programed instructional materials demonstrated significant overall performance gains over a control group. (Author/DLS)

This paper presents methods for visually impaired pedestrians assessing safety of street crossings in the absence of traffic controls, considering both limited detection ability and the difficulty of judging when approaching traffic is distant or slow enough to allow crossing. Alternatives for "uncrossable" streets and teaching methods are…

Discusses using the Timing Method for Assessing the Detection of Vehicles (TMAD) to help individuals with visual impairments develop the ability to judge their safety for crossing streets with no traffic control. Functional criteria for assessing risks are discussed. (CR)

A survey of 217 AER-certified orientation and mobility specialists (COMSs) found the median annual income for full-time employed COMSs was $39,000. Of the respondents, 63.7 were women, 91.5 percent were white, and the median age was 43 years. The majority entering into the field had master's degrees. (Contains references.) (CR)