This paper examines common causes of visually impaired clients' noncooperation with activities recommended by rehabilitation professionals. Recent literature on effective strategies for increasing compliance is reviewed, and techniques such as contingency contracts, task analysis, and openness to client innovation and modification of activities…

This experiment employed simple exercises to ascertain whether 49 children (ages 9-16) with partial or complete blindness had lesser levels of physical fitness than 24 fully sighted controls. Results found low rates of fitness among both groups, but considerably lower among students with visual impairments. Possible problems with test validity are…

This survey examined benefits received by 56 vocational services customers through the Illinois Bureau of Blind Services (BBS). Consumers reported high levels of satisfaction with the services, substantial improvements in mobility and daily living skills, and a sense that the BBS had improved their overall quality of life. (PB)

This paper describes meetings by a panel of travel, access, and public transit professionals to discuss detectable warning systems (devices to notify individuals with visual impairments of hazards along their path of travel). Recommendations of the panel for universal design standards and educating communities about detectable warning systems are…

The ability of 16 school-age children with visual impairments and their sighted peers to recognize faces was compared. Although no intergroup differences were found in ability to identify entire faces, the visually impaired children were at a disadvantage when part of the face, especially the eyes, was not visible. Degree of visual acuity also…

Selected demographic data are presented on three topics: the benefits to employers for making accommodations for employees with disabilities, the impact of visual problems on social roles and health care utilization, and residential mobility patterns of Americans for geographic regions and selected states. (SW)

Ideas for expanding vision-related rehabilitation services, possibly through the health care system, are addressed. Need areas include gaining support nationally and within states, professionalizing the vision-related rehabilitation field, using innovative health care practices, acquiring funding, and improving accountability. (SW)

Obstacles to full access to electronic information-based technology and assistive devices for people who are blind or visually impaired include: high costs and limited financial assistance sources for assistive technology, insufficient resources for providing instruction in the use of new technology, and developments such as the graphical user…

Issues concerning the job preparation and development system for persons who are blind or visually impaired were identified by public and private sector leaders and used to develop a plan for full employment. Issues affected by factors external to the rehabilitation system and those influenced by the system are discussed. (SW)

A 5-year-old preschool child with a visual impairment and significant developmental delay underwent training to learn to reach and locate objects from a sitting position and to locate and move toward given objects in the environment using the Infant Sonicguide. Time constraints prevented achievement of the second goal. (Author/SW)

Issues related to promoting orientation and mobility training for individuals with visual impairments and diabetes are discussed, including effects of insulin, hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, the timing of training, complications to the feet, and fluctuations in vision. Major lifestyle changes required by diabetes are stressed. (Author/SW)

This case study examines the effects of a systematic functional communication training program on the self-injurious behaviors of an 8-year-old girl who is blind and has severe disabilities. The girl was offered choices among preferred activities and learned to use a communication board. Self-injurious behaviors decreased. (Author/SW)

This study examined the performance of 16 children (ages 4 through 12) with visual impairments on tasks designed to assess their understanding of false belief, a central aspect of social understanding. The development of understanding of another's false belief was found to be delayed in children with severe visual impairments. (Author/SW)

This article presents a literature survey and conceptual model of the perceptual-motor performance of children with visual impairment, in relation to their social development. The relationships between visual impairment and orientation, visual impairment and mobility, and motor performance and social integration are examined. (Author/SW)

Personal accounts describe the lives of 2 individuals with deaf-blindness, one an 87-year-old woman who was deaf from birth and became totally blind over a 50-year period and the other of a woman who became deaf-blind as a result of a fever at the age of 7. Managing activities of daily life and experiencing sensory hallucinations are among topics…