The guide updates one section of a previously written manual on speech software for blind and visually impaired persons. The guide presents reviews of 14 specific commercially available software programs. Software is critiqued for IBM (Enhanced PC Talking Program, Soft Vert, Screen-Talk Pro, Artic Vision, Freedom 1, and Prompt-Writer), Apple…

The guide presents a non-technical approach to adapting battery-operated and electrical devices for persons with severe handicapping conditions. The material was developed through Project REACH (Reconstructive Equipment Adaptations for Children with Handicaps). Chapter 1 presents rationales for the use of adapted switches and devices, including…

Suggestions are made for incorporating finger-spelling with sound blending in spelling instruction for handicapped and nonhandicapped children. Teaching materials are described, and five steps in teaching how to spell a three letter word are listed. (CL)

A taxonomy of computer-based speech training systems is presented, based on the physical source of feedback, standards of evaluation, level and type of detail on which feedback is based, and the form and instructional context of feedback. Reasons for selecting a particular approach are discussed in relation to existing systems. (Author/JDD)

The article describes the Fishburne Code tactile labeling system as a practical alternative for those adult blind who are unwilling or unable to learn braille. Instructional materials, teaching methods, and practical applications of the Fishburne Code are noted. (Author/DB)

The use of fingermath, a form of arithmetic computation with the fingers, is compared to use of the abacus in helping visually impaired and blind students develop mathematic concepts. Fingermath is explained to be more concrete, simple, and accessible. (CL)

The article suggests the use of non-expert sighted volunteers to teach the reading and writing of Moon Script, a tactual system of raised-line characters similar to the Roman alphabet, to visually impaired people. Experimental courses with both blind and sighted volunteers are described. (DB)

Laboratory results are presented which suggest that hearing-impaired individuals' speech perception can be enhanced through use of tactile aids with a number of tactile transducers conveying information about the spectral content of the speech signal, and speech production can be improved through experience using a multichannel tactile aid.…

Experiments using portable tactile aids in speech perception are reviewed, focusing on training studies, additive benefit studies, and device comparison studies (including the "Tactaid II,""Tactaid V,""Tacticon 1600," and "Tickle Talker"). The potential of tactual information in perception of the overall…

The study sought to evaluate open-set word recognition in 54 French, English, and German patients using 5 different kinds of cochlear implants. Three experiments assessed their word recognition in word lists and sentences, environmental sound perception, and gap detection. (Author/JDD)

Design considerations for speech training systems include the types of information about speech to be used in training, whether acoustic or physiologic; and the use of models of speech production, whether partially perceptual and partially knowledge-based or explicit data-based models. A taxonomy of speech training systems is presented.…

The paper describes dynamic orometric instrumentation and procedures developed to measure, display, and guide changes in vowel and consonant production through visual articulatory modeling and feedback routines. Sensors are placed in the mouth to detect tongue shapes, positions, and actions during speech of hearing-impaired talkers, and online…

An approach to the transcription of visual art into tactile form is described, with regard to the effects of relief, texture, and picture context. The impact of such pictures on the blind user's understanding of spatial relationships, distance, and perspective and as a stimulus for creative artwork is discussed. (Author/DB)

This article explains minimal hearing loss in children and implications for the regular classroom setting. It describes audiograms and discusses developmental effects of minimal hearing loss, identification of minimal hearing loss, intervention, environmental modifications, and teacher strategies. Emphasis is on accommodations that can be provided…

This guide, designed for the elementary level, contains written and oral language activities involving the five senses which are intended to help teachers develop enthusiastic readers. The guide's five sections are as follows: (1) My Very Own Paul Bunyan Songbook; (2) A Logger's Log; (3) Teacher's Instructions for the Magic Wall and Parachute…