Introduction: The pilot study reported here determined the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary group rehabilitation program, Visually Impaired Elderly Persons Participating (VIPP), on psychosocial functioning. Methods: The single-group pretest-posttest pilot study included 29 persons with visual impairments (aged 55 and older) who were referred…

Introduction: Vision loss influences both basic and instrumental activities of daily living. There is limited information, however, on the relationship between vision loss and leisure activities. The research presented here was part of a larger study that aimed to understand the importance of participation in leisure activities for those with…

Introduction: This study sought to describe and better understand barriers to accessing low vision rehabilitation services. Methods: A qualitative description research paradigm was employed. Focus group participants were recruited through their involvement in the Montreal Barriers Study in Montreal, Canada. Six focus groups (n = 21 participants)…

Cortical or cerebral visual impairment (CVI) can result when the visual pathways and visual processing areas of the brain have been damaged. Children with CVI may have difficulty finding an object among other objects, viewing in the distance, orienting themselves in space, going from grass to pavement or other changes in surface, and copying…

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in the United States for persons aged 60 and older. Compared to individuals without disabilities, individuals with low vision demonstrate a 15% to 30% higher dependence on others to perform activities of daily living. In addition, low vision can adversely affect a person's quality of life.…

This article discusses the challenging process of developing a common data set for independent living programs serving older adults who are visually impaired. The three-year project, which included collaborative efforts among many stakeholders that encompass diverse program models, resulted in the development of the Internet-based Nationally…

Persons who are elderly, visually impaired, and primary caregivers for ailing or disabled spouses or significant others are a unique population that has not been studied previously. By definition, "informal caregivers" are family members or friends who provide unpaid day-to-day assistance with activities of daily living and are familiar with the…

A low vision rehabilitation program with a structured curriculum was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. The treatment group demonstrated large improvements in self-reported visual function (reading, mobility, visual information processing, visual motor skills, and overall). The team approach and the protocols of the treatment program are…

Many persons with low vision have diseases that damage the retina only in selected areas, which can lead to scotomas (blind spots) in perception. The most frequent of these diseases is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in which foveal vision is often impaired by a central scotoma that impairs vision of fine detail and causes problems with…

Demographic projections indicate that the population of the Western world is aging, and evidence suggests an increase in the incidence of conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), that produce visual impairments and result in low vision (Maberley et al., 2006). It is expected that in the United States and Canada, the annual…

The study presented in this paper represents the first organized attempt to examine the population of individuals who are deaf-blind in Thailand. This study began as a master's thesis in a university rehabilitation program; in 2004, the results were concisely presented at a conference in Asia (Sukontharungsee, 2005). The research activities were…

This study explored if and how vision rehabilitation services address important life goals of young and middle-aged adults who are visually impaired. It found that services that teach functional skills and offer psychosocial therapeutic-type services were instrumental in addressing life goals and that independence-related goals were most often…

This study of a national sample of elders served by the Independent Living Program for Older Individuals Who Are Blind found that, overall, they were highly satisfied with the quality and timeliness of services and help in achieving independent living goals. A slight improvement was found in their perceptions of functional outcomes from 1999 to…

Many questionnaires attempt to assess the quality of life of individuals who are visually impaired (that is, those who are blind or have low vision), but few apply to those who are undergoing visual rehabilitation and hence are difficult to adapt as an outcome measure Massof & Rubin, 2001). The Reading Behavior Inventory (RBI) was developed as…

One major objective of programs for persons with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities is to teach these persons occupational and vocational tasks and to enable them to carry out these tasks independently (Davis, Brady, Williams, & Burta, 1992; Lancioni et al., 1991; Steed & Lutzker, 1997). The performance of such tasks has…