The University of Northern Colorado has expanded its multicompetency approach to teacher education to include training in teaching the severely/profoundly handicapped and blind component. Coursework emphasizes such areas of sequences as child growth and development, roles of ancillary staff, and application of specialists' reports. (CL)

The Apple Foundation awarded a two-year joint project to Peabody College for Teachers and Tennessee School for the Blind (TBS) to study development of word processing skills by visually handicapped students. The article discusses the project's conceptual framework, activities at the project site, and a module developed to introduce students to the…

The paper describes the beginnings of a total developmental language learning system for mainstreamed visually impaired children in Israel. The readiness program is divided into five sections: auditory perception and discrimination, tactile perception and discrimination and fine motor coordination, gross motor coordination, body image awareness,…

An analysis of legal and factual bases for designing an appropriate program for sensorily impaired children, consistent with P.L. 94-142, The Education For All Handicapped Children Act, asserts that state schools for the deaf and blind must continue to exist. (CL)

A study of currently and previously enrolled students revealed general agreement that past and present placements were appropriate. A higher percentage of students at the state school had access to specialized instruction and aids. Other advantages of the residential situation were specialized curriculum and extracurricular activities, training in…

Professionalization of rehabilitation services is discussed, based on questionnaires completed by state agency directors. The criteria of a profession are considered, and the problems of funding adequate training, whether in the universities or by the agencies themselves, are noted. (Author/CL)

A tactile toy for visually impaired children, the "learning pillow" combines a written text (story or poem) with a page-size pillow that has tactile images related to the text. Exploration of the pillow in conjunction with hearing the text stimulates a number of learning experiences. (Author/CL)

The history of residental programs for the blind is reviewed, and the impact of the deinstitutionalization thrust on those schools is examined. The author asserts that residential schools must re-orient themselves to serving multiply handicapped students. (CL)

A panel addresses some of the concerns of blind parents. One partially sighted mother focuses on raising infants and preschoolers, a blind mother talks about raising a school-aged child with her blind husband, and a blind father discusses raising teenagers. (Author)

A statewide survey of the extent of visual impairment in the population served by regional centers revealed more than 3,700 of the 63,000 center clients have a serious visual impairment. Many visually impaired developmentally disabled Ss also have hearing impairments, additional medical problems, or behavior problems. (CL)

Comparison of occupational classifications of visually handicapped women in Illinois with those of both visually impaired men and women revealed that larger percentages were placed in clerical and service occupations and a smaller percentage were placed in professional occupations than for the total cases (both men and women). Salaries and incomes…

Based on interviews with 12 parents of visually handicapped children, the article describes strangers' responses to their child. The sequence and content of three stages of interaction between strangers and visually impaired infants and their mothers are described along with effects of these encounters on mothers. (CL)

Clinical techniques for visual screening of infants that are not used in routine pediatric examinations include optokinetic nystagmus, preferential looking, and visually evoked potential. Greater use of such techniques might increase success of nonsurgical remedial intervention. (CL)

Blind children, blind adults, and sighted children were compared on the extent to which they showed a psuedohomophone effect, which is held to reflect phonological coding. While the sighted Ss showed strong evidence for such an effect, the blind Ss did not. Results were interpreted to indicate a differential allocation of attention to levels of…

The challenges of after-dark travel for low vision children are examined in terms of physical effects of low light on normal and abnormal vision and consequences for low vision travel and orientation skills. Techniques for efficient vision use are suggested along with night travel aids and considerations in night driver vision. (CL)