The study investigated the extent to which 20 regular education teachers modified the mainstream learning environment for visually impaired children attending public day schools in British Columbia, Canada. Elementary teachers tried to make modifications to a greater extent than did secondary teachers, but both types of teachers made both…

This article presents the findings of the most comprehensive Canadian survey on disabilities, the 1986 postcensus Health and Activity Limitation Survey, which analyzed data on blindness and visual impairment. New information on prevalence rates, age at onset, cause of visual loss, and severity of visual impairment is presented. (Author/DB)

The study compared the performance of 30 blind Chinese children in Taiwan, 34 blind Indian children, and 40 sighted Chinese children on 8 conservation tasks. Although both groups of blind children performed considerably poorer than sighted children, those blind children with considerable experience handling tangible materials performed better than…

The study found that apartheid impacted the sociopsychological and physical circumstances of 12 African and 11 White people with retinitis pigmentosa in South Africa. Findings are discussed in terms of onset of condition, effects on subjects' lives, knowledge of social services, and needs unmet by existing services. (JDD)

The paper contrasts the traditional model of referral for rehabilitation services for blind and visually impaired persons in Israel with a new model--the rehabilitation information station, which links administrative, social, medical, and functional rehabilitation and results in faster receipt of services and increased ophthalmologists' awareness…

The article traces the experiences of the Malaysian Association for the Blind in developing rehabilitation services for rural blind persons. It explains the rationale for a community-based approach to rehabilitation and concludes that center-based and community-based approaches to rehabilitation complement each other in bringing services to rural…

The Synscentral (the institute for visually impaired people) in Vordingborg, Denmark, offers rehabilitation, teaching, and support in the home, the school, and the workplace. Regional centers such as the Synscentral provide expert advice, teach low vision people, and test special equipment. (Author/JDD)

The system of services to blind persons in two republics (Russia and Byelorussia) of the Soviet Union is described as a system in which employment and rehabilitation services revolve around factory operations and consumer-driven umbrella organizations. Also discussed are political changes occurring in Eastern Bloc countries and possible impact on…

This article describes the Rehabilitation Teachers Division of Migdal Or, an Israeli rehabilitation agency. It discusses the division's history, structure, features, and adaptations from other programs to the needs and cultures of blind and visually impaired people in Israel. (Author/JDD)

Though the Constitution of India guarantees the right to be educated and to work, only a minority of visually handicapped/blind citizens attain these rights. A new education policy includes integration of blind children at every educational level, followed by vocational training and job placement. Problems, possible solutions, and progress are…

A program of the Finnish Central Federation of the Visually Handicapped is described. The program's aim is to provide and develop teaching materials and instructional methods to help persons who lost their eyesight as adults to learn braille. Discussed are personal tutoring, correspondence studying, regional courses, and program plans. (Author/JDD)

The paper describes rehabilitation services provided by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (United Kingdom), focusing specifically on its Employment Rehabilitation Centers. Current vocational rehabilitation policy of the Institute is described, and a study in progress to determine the Institute's role in future programs is discussed.…

Queen Alexandra College of Further Education for Blind and Partially Sighted in Birmingham, England, is one of six rehabilitation centers to be involved in an initiative aimed at improving the training of disabled people as part of the HELIOS (Handicapped People in the European Community Living Independently in an Open Society) program.…

The history of services offered by the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind in Melbourne, Australia, is traced. Features of institute services include client involvement in vocational decision making, a variety of segregated and integrated services, and maintenance of a Tertiary Resource Service which produces study material for novel areas of…

The Royal Blind Society of New South Wales sponsors a program called Sportskills Week in which individuals with visual impairments are provided opportunities to pursue goals common to the population as a whole. Sighted athletes who assist in the program take their expertise back to local communities to develop additional programs. (JDD)