Background: To support people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), it is essential to understand how they experience their environment. Insight into perception behaviour may provide an entry point for improved understanding. Materials and Methods: A random sample of a 30-min video registration of five participants with PIMD…

The authors describe personal experiences with Usher's Syndrome, a condition involving visual impairment (due to Retinitis Pigmentosa) and deafness. Prevalence and onset of Usher's Syndrome are described along with characteristics of two different types. Problems connected with diagnosis are reviewed, including genetic aspects and the progressive…

The Low Vision Service of Perkins School for the Blind (Massachusetts) developed a model project to provide comprehensive vision evaluations and follow-up services to 169 children with dual sensory impairments throughout New England. This article describes the project's objectives, the population served, and the procedures for implementing…

The conference report contains background information on organizing the April, 1979, New York, conference on educational issues of students with visual impairments; results of a preliminary needs assessment questionnaire; texts of 12 conference presentations; the conference evaluation results; and the program. The needs assessment questionnaire…

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)

A vision evaluation and enhancement program was used with 59 elementary multihandicapped students to prevent future problems in educational and social development. Ss with eye-movement difficulties, eye-hand coordination problems and/or difficulty in visual perception skills improved after program participation. (CL)

This article reports on a study of the methods that 21 ophthalmologists used to assess the visual acuity of children with multiple impairments and the difficulties they encountered. Additional means of assessing visual function and alternative means of communicating the results are suggested. (Author/DB)

Designed to assist in the selection of appropriate literacy media for students with visual impairments, this guide outlines the essential elements of learning media assessments. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the learning media assessment (LMA) process. Included is a discussion of Texas law and regulations that govern LMA. Chapter 2 documents…

This article discusses issues in the identification of learning disabilities in students with low vision and examines the academic performance of one 8-year-old student and the methods that his multidisciplinary team used to document a dual diagnosis of low vision and learning disabilities. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Intended for either the general educator or the specialist, this text offers principles and teaching strategies for teaching students with visual impairments including both blind students and those with low vision. The book is organized into three sections: "Vision,""Learning," and "Testing and Transitions." The four chapters in the "Vision"…

This resource guide assists teachers in offering optimum educational opportunities to visually impaired students. Introductory material describes the range of visual impairments and the cooperative process recommended for the planning and implementation of students' education programs. Answers are provided to some common concerns of teachers with…

The bibliography presents 47 references for parents of visually disabled preschoolers and 33 references for professionals. Citations include information on title and author, audience, disability focus (blind, low vision, deaf blind, and multidisabled), and a brief description. (CL)

Techniques used by the Special Visual Assessment Clinic for the Handicapped at the University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry are designed to serve handicapped children and adults generally considered "difficult to assess." This article describes the clinic's assessment goals, clientele, and methods for assessing visual ability and…

Specific suggestions for minimizing and living with their handicap are made to legally blind hard of hearing persons (with some usable residual hearing) and to their friends and relatives. (KW)