The article identifies federal agencies which have been major sources of data for organizations providing services to blind and visually impaired persons, describes recent and possible changes in data collection and reporting, and cites organizations that watch the changing status of federal disability statistics. (MC)

Special career awareness and career exploration activities were developed for blind and visually impaired elementary and secondary students during 1981 and 1982. Thirteen career awareness modules were developed for use in regular class settings, along with modules for students on career clusters and career identification and job placement. (SEW)

The effects of passive exercise of the extremities on peripheral vision of muscular dystrophic children aged 9 to 13 years was investigated. Compared to control subjects, those who experienced six minutes of passive exercise evidenced increased peripheral vision. Curriculum revisions for muscular dystrophic children indicate the importance of…

A survey of 32 graduate and undergraduate university programs preparing teachers of blind and visually handicapped children and 13 orientation, mobility, and rehabilitation programs were surveyed to determine effects of reduced federal funding. Graduate programs were most affected by the funding cuts. Also severely affected were consultation…

Discusses a course of academic study and practical training in the education of visually handicapped children that might be adapted by other teachers requiring special training to work with children with special needs. (JOW)

The Purdue Teacher Opinionaire was used to determine the morale of 238 teachers of the visually handicapped (VH). No significant differences in total scores were found when compared to the morale of regular education teachers, although some significant differences were found in subfactor scores. (Author)

Describes a simple, relatively inexpensive, and easily implemented approach for introducing visually handicapped students to chemical instrumentation via experiments on operational amplifiers as examples of some of the electronic building blocks of chemical instrumentation. The approach is applicable to other chemical instruments having electrical…

Mobility training refers to activities that will better help the sightless move within the environment with a minimum amount of assistance. Activities that have been successfully used with blind students in self-contained classes are described. (JN)

Discusses career counseling for visually impaired students. Counselors can help reverse damaging employment stereotypes and help students succeed in the work world by using a positive approach and focusing on abilities and factual conditions. (JAC)

A coding scheme was developed which reflected individual differences among students with various handicapping conditions and their adjustment to "hands-on," activity-centered science materials. The scheme was utilized in the observation of four special education student's interactions with the science materials from Science Activities…

Researchers of physiological factors resulting in reading disabilities have studied intelligence, prenatal and postnatal influences, sensory factors such as adequate visual, hearing, and tactile functioning, and genetic predetermination. Chronic health problems which cause frequent absences from school can also result in lower achievement. (JN)

Children who are blind are among the most easily mainstreamed of children with handicaps. The child with visual impairments is in need of an educational program which will meet all the students' needs, including those resulting from the visual condition. (JN)

The study assesses the impact of a visual screening effort using the Ophthalmetron (a device which permits rapid screening for refractive error) on 550 kindergarten through eighth-grade students. Findings showed that only 38 percent of those children referred to an ophthalmologist actually went. (PHR)

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and Recording for the Blind, Inc. are two nationwide organizations which serve blind and handicapped individuals of all ages by providing materials such as tapes and records of books and magazine articles. (LRA)

The investigation involving 24 blind children (2-11 years old) set out to develop and validate a coding procedure which employed a set of 34 descriptors with their corresponding definitions. The use of the taxonomy enabled a detailed, systematic study of manneristic behavior in blind children. (Author/SBH)