A study investigated the efficacy of using the Buddy Road Kit, an interactive, wooden model, to teach environmental concepts to 4 children with visual impairments ages 7 to 11 years old. Results indicate the model was effective in teaching environmental concepts and traffic safety to the children involved. (Contains references.) (CR)

Drawing on nursing home records, examines the relationship between vision impairment and disruptive behaviors among nursing home residents (N=89). Results indicate that vision status is a significant independent contributor to disruptive behaviors among long-term care residents. Findings show vision to be an important comorbid impairment in…

This study compared effects of visual occlusion on the motor and spatial learning of 28 legally blind adult males, half due to acuity loss and half due to peripheral field restriction. For both groups, occlusion appeared neither to facilitate nor impede motor learning but did significantly impair acquisition of spatial relations. Results have…

Describes a transdisciplinary model of blind rehabilitation service delivery used at the SouthWestern Blind Rehabilitation Center (SWBRC). SWBRC brought together representatives from orientation and mobility, rehabilitation teaching, low vision, and manual skills to provide comprehensive services to veterans with visual impairments. A case study…

This interview between Mark Laird, statewide employment specialist with Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, and Gil Johnson, director of American Foundation for the Blind West, describes an innovative rehabilitation model that forges relationships with businesses and has doubled the number of consumers with visual impairments who find…

Describes a national advocacy campaign to preserve funding for specialized services for older people with visual impairments. Outlines steps for developing a similar campaign, including: identifying critical issues, identifying key decision makers, developing a clear message, determining desired results, identifying potential advocates, and…

This study of 40 adolescents with visual impairments and 23 of their best friends found that adolescents with visual impairments are successful in establishing and maintaining reciprocal, intimate best friendships. The friends engaged in typical activities and felt that visual impairments did not have a strong negative impact on their friendships.…

Presents an acoustical model and evidence from four experiments that children with visual impairments use the buildup of low-frequency sound along walls to guide locomotion. The model differs from the concept of echolocation by emphasizing sound that is ambient, rather than self-produced, and of low frequency. (Author/CR)

A study of 27 residential schools for students with visual impairments found the majority thought that at least an average amount of collaboration with local education agencies takes place during student transitions. They expressed concerns, however, related to cooperation, acceptance of students, and understanding of each other's programs.…

A study explored how four Swedish adolescents with low vision and two sighted adolescents spent their leisure time and whether their activities were bound to places or people. Adolescents with low vision performed fewer activities, did not regularly spend much time with friends, and were dependent on parents for transportation. (Contains…

This article presents the eight laws of association theory and applies four of them to strategies for teaching transferable skills to individuals with visual impairments. Strategies described include situation forecasting, generalization, sense shifting, performing skills repetitively to facilitate the transfer habit, and assigning an intensity…

Describes the Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (SLO) and how it can help people who are visually challenged use their sense of sight. Suggests uses in higher education where it can be modified to individual needs; explains the language of seeing; discusses the use of virtual reality to create spatial animation; and outlines future developments. (LRW)

Describes how to teach a visually-oriented biology lecture and laboratory course to blind students. Using several techniques in the laboratory enabled a student to have a meaningful laboratory experience. (SAH)

Comparison by 40 users of 2 technologies--Verbal Landmark and Talking Signs--that provide speech messages to hand-held receivers for blind travelers found that, on all measures, the Talking Signs system proved superior to the Verbal Landmark system. This was attributed to Verbal Landmark's more cognitively demanding technology. (DB)

This discussion of theoretical perspectives on disability's economic aspects urges development of better measures of productive activity by persons with blindness in paid and unpaid work; considers other personal characteristics that may account for dependence, such as old age or illness; and suggests that some costs are created by social…