Reading speed of 72 partially sighted adults was examined under conditions of simulated and real visual impairment. Visually impaired Ss with normal visual fields and defective central or peripheral fields performed similarly to normally sighted Ss participating in simulated visual impairment. It is concluded that reading speed depends on acuity.…

The article orients the reader to numerous aspects of low vision aids, including types of aids, function of aids, training sequence and considerations, a non-technical description of visual acuity, and favorable prognostic factors in using low vision aids. A brief annotated resource list is included. (Author)

A study involving two college students with visual impairments which made them incapable of accommodating visually revealed that Ss improved recognition efficiency with feedback but did not generalize the efficiency from trained to untrained stimuli of similar complexity. (CL)

The study assessed variations in the indoor and outdoor locomotor mobility of 22 low-vision adults, under normal and reduced illumination. Subjects' visual fields and contrast sensitivities accounted for 39 percent of the variation in mobility performance, whereas their visual acuities were not related to mobility performance. (Author/JDD)

Discussed is the nature of a central scotoma, or decreased central vision, and described are current techniques for training an individual to use the peripheral retina. (Author/IM)

This study of the effects of lenses of different colors on the visual abilities and comfort of 20 patients with retinal disease found that, in home trials, the critical issue was density more than color. Office tests of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity with colored lenses did not predict subjective benefit. (Author/JDD)

As follow up to a study which compared forced-choice preferential looking (FPL) with pattern visual evoked potential (VEP), this study increased the VEP success rate and improved agreement between the FPL and VEP acuity estimates by using horizontal bar stimuli for young preverbal children (n=17) with nystagmus. (Author/DB)

The visual acuity of 8 children, aged 2-7, with low vision and multiple handicaps was effectively tested using the Teller Acuity Cards and a preferential-looking procedure with operant modification. This inexpensive procedure was found to be suitable for at-home testing by itinerant vision specialists in developing countries or rural areas. (DB)