Introduction: Surveys conducted in schools for blind students have become useful alternatives to population-based surveys in generating data on childhood blindness and low vision. This survey determined the prevalence of low vision, causes of visual impairment, and the proportion of students requiring low vision devices and provided the low vision…

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…

Since much of what constitutes successful vision rehabilitation is measurable, specific quantifiable goals are key to ensuring a commitment that is shared by the patient. There are many nonmeasurable goals, however, that are also important, and these areas had not been addressed in a system based on metrics. The consideration of how the patient's…

This paper reports on an exploratory research-and-development project concerning a device for conveying a conductor's gestures wirelessly to a visually impaired (blind or partially sighted) performer as a haptic signal. The research team developed this device from January to July 2017 under a University College London (UCL) Institute of Education…

Introduction: Accessibility of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems was tested with a hands-on usability study and an online survey of VoIP users who are visually impaired. The survey examined the importance of common VoIP features, and both methods assessed difficulty in using those features. Methods: The usability test included four paid…

Introduction: The Israel Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services subsidizes computer-based assistive devices for individuals with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) to assist these individuals in their interactions with computers and thus to enhance their independence and quality of life. The aim of this…

"I want to make the most of my college experience…pass the courses I need to get into law school, make new friends, and travel. Maybe study abroad." These are the sentiments of one undergraduate student. These goals are not so different from those of hundreds of students attending college, yet, the mere fact she is blind creates a…

Purpose: To develop a suitable mobility course for the assessment of mobility performance as part of a user evaluation of Electronic Mobility Aids (EMA) aimed at obstacle detection and orientation. Method: A review of the literature led to a list of critical factors for the assessment of mobility performance of persons who are visually impaired.…

Persons with visual impairment have consistently shown a preference for one alternative reading format over another, often because of factors outside their control. This study adopted survey research design to investigate alternative format preferences among secondary school visually impaired students, focusing on Southwestern Nigeria. Using total…

Increasingly, students with visual disabilities are pursuing higher education. The students need to face the challenges and difficulties of disorganized services and technology to be independent learners. Institutions should provide the support services to meet the requirements of the students. Such students in the United States expressed their…

In affluent societies how people use technology is symbolic of various values and identities. This article investigates the symbolic values and use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology (ICT) in the daily lives of 11 visually impaired young Norwegians. The article draws on a qualitative interview…

Using touch screens presents a number of usability and accessibility challenges for blind people. Most touch screen-based user interfaces are optimized for visual interaction, and are therefore difficult or impossible to use without vision. This dissertation presents an approach to redesigning gesture-based user interfaces to enable blind people…

Orientation and wayfinding are critical skills for successful mobility of people with visual impairments. The inability to perform these skills successfully may result in a person becoming lost, injured, and discouraged from further mobility. At times, it may be impossible to maintain orientation. The person may temporarily travel without cues…

A few decades ago, Braille was on the wane. Technology was seen as likely to replace the tactile communication method, as text-to-speech readers and recorded books, for example, offered access to classroom materials. Students at special schools for the blind moved into regular classrooms, which are rich in text, but not text that is accessible to…

This article presents the universal design features that were identified during the alpha development of a scheduler software program, known as MySchoolDayOnline, for use in schools, and provides preliminary research on the usability of these features. The study presented here investigated the accessibility and usability of MySchoolDayOnline for…