Blindness or significant visual impairment can be very difficult for families to cope with. In this article, the authors present an in-depth case study of a family's journey through diagnosis and treatment for retinoblastoma (RB), a rare form of childhood eye cancer affecting the retina. As a part of the analysis of this family?s experience, the…

Human beings both sense the immediate environment and navigate beyond the immediately perceptible environment to find their way (Golledge, Loomis, Klatzky, Flury, & Yang, 1991; Golledge, Klatzky, & Loomis, 1996; Blasch, Wiener, & Welsh, 1997). People who are visually impaired (that is, are blind or have low vision) often lack the…

This empirical study compared the average ages at which four congenitally blind children acquired 29 gross motor skills with age norms for sighted children. The results indicated distinct developmental delays in the acquisition of motor skills and a high degree of variability in developmental delays within and across the six subdomains that were…

Carl Augusto, currently president and executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), describes his personal and professional experience with the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and the talking books program. Topics discussed include AFB's history with its own talking book program founded…

Basic principles, goals and techniques of transactional analysis are discussed, and its use in rehabilitating the blind is described. (LH)

Described is the use by blind persons of the Cranmer abacus, a computational device adapted from the Japanese abacus. Noted is the lack of carefully controlled research on its use. A comparison of calculation by abacus and by paper and pencil is said to indicate that the use of such mechanical devices does not give the blind competitor an undue…

The study examined whether spontaneous variations in the frame of reference occurring over time have a more substantial effect on haptic mental rotation abilities of four blindfolded sighted subjects than of four adventitiously blind subjects. Results indicated the mental rotation functions for the two groups were virtually identical. (Author/DB)

The study examined the ability to estimate the number of dots in Braille symbols by 21 legally blind and 21 sighted adults. Results indicated that this task was difficult for both blind and sighted subjects with little improvement over trials. Errors of underestimation exceeded errors of overestimation. (DB)

Determined whether a videotaped presentation by a speaker who is blind would more positively influence attitude change and information retention than would a presentation by a sighted speaker. Findings suggested that there were no significant main effects for either presenter or pretest conditions on the measures. (Author/BL)

Contends that blindness is not a single clinical determinant, but, rather, that two groups of blind people exist. For those congenitally blind, lack of vision can cause developmental difficulties. For those who later acquire blindness, the premorbid psychodynamics and object relationships are most important in understanding the persons' reactions…

Following a review of the history of education of the deaf and the blind in Canada, the development of teacher training programs for low-incidence disabilities is examined. Two such programs at the University of British Columbia are described. It is suggested that such programs should continue even in a provincial climate of economic restraint.…

Advantages and disadvantages of means of access to microcomputers for blind persons are considered. Electronic braille, paper braille, OPTACON, synthesized speech, and enlarged print are discussed. Future improvements in access technology are projected. (CL)

Rehabilitation teaching of blind persons employs many of the principles used in the allied professions of special education, social case work, orientation and mobility, vocational rehabilitation and guidance counseling, and occupational therapy. (Author)

Outlined briefly is a theory of personality which can account for the effects of adventitious or congenital blindness. (Author)

The problems of cooking and working in the kitchen were the focal point of a series of six lessons given by the Hampden County, Massachusetts, Extension Service for 16 blind men and women. The basic purpose of the course was to help them develop self-reliance in relation to meal preparation. (Author/MF)