It was found that clients who traveled often were younger (under age 25), women, had experienced little stress or change, needed no help when traveling or used a dog guide, and had become blind at a younger age. (Author)

To test ways of predicting how efficiently visually impaired children learn travel skills, a criteria checklist of spatial skills was developed for close-body space, local space, and geographical/travel space. Comparison was made between predictors of efficient learning including subjective ratings of teachers, personal qualities and factors of…

Four blind adults were observed to determine the extent of the natural movement of their centers of gravity in relation to arc height during the two-point touch technique for long cane travel. The Ss learned and practiced a modified technique using their center of gravity as much as possible. (Author)

The article describes studies of effectiveness of a secondary task as a measure of the blind mobility information processing workload. Secondary task performance is shown to be a useful index of effects of preview and route difficulty, as well as perceptual and cognitive demands of different mobility aids. (Author/CL)

Use of the Sonicguide, a binaural sensory aid, by a quadraplegic, totally blind 18-year-old student is described. The rationale for training, device adaptations, and the eventual use of the device as a primary mobility aid in areas familiar to the student are explained. (Author/MC)

Three blind adults were trained in a 7-step structured procedure for asking questions to solicit information concerning the location of businesses they wished to visit. Completeness of information obtained increased dramatically with the use of this procedure. (Author/DB)

Four groups (sighted, blindfolded sighted, legally blind, and blind) of adults were trained to traverse a five-block route in a residential neighborhood and were then asked to reconstruct the route from memory. Results showed the blind and sighted adults demonstrated similar abilities to learn routes but showed significant differences in memorial…

The article describes a case study of a 14-year-old deaf/blind girl who was taught to use a modified cane. With the use of the cane, the S learned to walk more swiftly and with more confidence and was able to travel without the frustration she had previously felt. (PHR)

The article reports successful training with traditional visually handicapped orientation and mobility methods of a woman with no visual impairment but a neurological processing deficit leaving her unable to process spatial relationships. (Author/DB)

Semistructured telephone interviews with 10 visually impaired adult cane users found that early negative attitudes of stigma were usually replaced by more positive attitudes and that there was a mean of 1 3/4 years between the onset of severe visual impairment and commencement of orientation and mobility training. (Author/DB)

This open-ended survey of 156 subjects (78 pairs of visually handicapped orientation and mobility specialists and adult clients) identified common low vision mobility problems (lighting conditions, drop-offs, street crossings, changes in terrain) and found a high degree of agreement between the reported perceptions of mobility practitioners and…

Three experiments examined the ability of blind individuals and individuals simulating the visual acuity of 20/400 to monitor the behaviors of a cane traveler in various environments and at distances between 10 feet and 25 feet. Results suggested that at least some vision is needed for instructors monitoring visually impaired individuals learning…

The article reports a retrospective study of the records of 183 blind men and women who had received mobility training. How well and quickly the trainees learned to travel was affected by age, sex, presence of other handicaps, visual acuity, and whether or not they still traveled at intake or had previously received mobility training. (Author)

Adventitiously blind adults (n=79) who had accepted mobility training were compared to 60 subjects who had rejected training. Personality profiles varied significantly between groups on seven scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory: psychasthenia; schizophrenia; psychopathic deviate; depression; hypomania; paranoia; and…

This study compared the effectiveness of a long cane and a precane device as initial protective devices for preschool children with blindness. The precane device was found to be easier for the children to use, and it protected the children from body contact with travel obstacles better than did the long cane. (Author/DB)