To best support students with low vision in the general education classroom, special education teachers can facilitate use of several adaptations including: (a) attention to curriculum access (e.g. text magnifiers), (b) mechanisms for promoting social connectedness, (c) managing physical space, and (d) effective instructional techniques. This…

This brief report describes the growth and expansion of the Art"Access" program at Queens Museum in New York, NY, that is shaped and operated by art therapists and teaching artists. Art"Access" was first piloted in 1983 as Please Touch for individuals who are blind or have low vision. The authors conducted oral history research…

This paper presents some results of research carried out with a group of blind and partially sighted youths who are enrolled in a school for people with visual disabilities in Brazil. This research aims to promote different articulations between the body and cognition. Based on actor-network theory, it considers that having a body means learning…

The Independent Laboratory Access for the Blind (ILAB) project has developed a suite of speech accessible tools for students who are blind or low vision to use in secondary and postsecondary science laboratory classes. The following are illustrations of experiments designed to be used by educators to introduce them to the ILAB tools, and to…

This article suggests that approaching vision loss from age-related macular degeneration from a sociocultural perspective, specifically considering perceptions of aging, blindness, disability, and generational viewpoints and norms, may be critical to understanding older adults' responses to vision loss and visual rehabilitation.

The article describes the structure of a volunteer program in a social service agency serving the blind and visually impaired in Seattle, Washington. The program's manual, screening, placement, job descriptions, evaluations, and statistics are reviewed. Examples of volunteering, including opportunities for disabled volunteers, are given.…

The large majority of the 300 blind and partially sighted students in British Columbia public schools are enrolled in regular day schools. Students are supported by a system in which textbooks and other materials are translated to braille, specialist teachers assist regular class teachers, and special equipment is made available.

Discusses various methods used to teach Braille, beginning with pre-Braille skills that must be developed before children reach school age. Also discusses various techniques used to teach Braille skills to students who have a severe vision loss or low vision and reviews different commercial programs designed to teach Braille reading to various…

The article describes a project in which blind and partially sighted children used a computer-guided floor turtle to develop spatial concepts such as right and left and accurate facing movements. (Author/DB)

The article describes the Parent and Toddler Training Project, a research-based early intervention program for visually impaired and blind multihandicapped infants, toddlers, and their families in the Western Pennsylvania area. Project purposes include increasing infant social responsiveness, developing parenting skills, reducing family…

This report describes Project MAVIS (Materials Adaptations for Visually Impaired Students in the Social Studies), a three year project of the Social Science Education Consortium in Boulder, Colorado. The purpose of the project was to adapt social studies curriculum materials for use by visually handicapped students in grades K-6 in both integrated…

A survey examined attitudes of teachers toward children with visual impairment and implications for inclusion. Teachers with direct or indirect experience with students with either low vision or blindness held a more positive attitude toward inclusion than randomly selected teachers, but only toward students with low vision. Teachers demonstrated…

Nigeria is starting to put into practice recommendations for blind children from the Oxford Conference of 1949. Recommendations include general and vocational education in schools adequately equipped and with qualified teachers, and education according to interest and aptitudes equal to what they would have received had they not been blind.…

Ninety-nine adolescents with blindness or visual impairments were interviewed about their vocational aims, marriage plans, and recreational activities. Career ambitions included the helping professions, commercial/industrial work, support services, and self-employment; over 50 percent were looking forward to marriage; and favorite hobbies were…

Describes the prevalence and patterns of vision impairment in the Sultanate of Oman. Reviews the types of special education and rehabilitation services offered and future priorities. Concludes that, although at present, few visually impaired children are receiving services, a special education system is evolving into a community-based approach to…