To take a physics course blind students must be assisted using teaching methods and aids adapted to their own perception capabilities. Touchable objects are very important for them because they have huge difficulties to visualize the third spatial dimension. However, appropriate resources and methods for blind students are not yet available. In…

The paper offers suggestions to improve today's climate for technological aids for the blind, describes some currently available aids and some future possibilities from research, and addresses the question of programed implementation. (Author/SBH)

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…

Twenty-seven blind college students were interviewed on notetaking and studying techniques and were asked to participate in a study of voice indexing, which facilitates access to segments of audio tape. A programed text in recorded form on voice indexing was then pretested by 12 blind participants and revised, based upon findings. The text…

Factors influencing the use of nonacoustic aids (such as visual displays and tactile devices) with the hearing impaired are reviewed. The benefits of tactile devices in improving speech reading/lipreading and speech are pointed out. Tactile aids which provide information on rhythm, rate, intensity, and duration of speech increase lipreading and…

Originally part of a symposium on educational media for the deaf. Describes a system for synchronization of continuous speech with printed text. Explains the function of a glossynograph, which combines speech and printed text in accordance with synchronization information supplied by synchronization programs. Identifies synchronization routines.…

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…

The study contrasted the learning of the Rebus and Bliss symbol systems by language-delayed preschoolers. Subjects included 26 black preschool children, aged 4-6. Results showed that Rebus pre-test and post-test scores were significantly higher than Bliss pre-test and post-test scores. Results also showed a 35% improvement in identification of…

The study involving three blind elementary school, six blind high school, and four blind college students was designed to establish oral reading rates and oral reading error rates for Ss reading conventional braille volumes and brailled materials with the Digi-cassette, an electronic braille reading and writing machine. Data suggested several…

A study was initiated with 60 blind children (kindergarten through grade 2) in order to validate the order of a sequence of tactual discrimination tasks leading to the use of braille and the Optacon. Ss were tested with tasks designed for the readiness level (discrimination of large solid geometric shapes, flat puzzle pieces, embossed dot…

The paper explores the possibilities for applying the knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) research to aids for the disabled. Following a definition of artificial intelligence, the paper reviews areas of basic AI research, such as computer vision, machine learning, and planning and problem solving. Among application areas relevant to the…

A 52-point questionnaire was developed to evaluate the success of each of 270 device/client matches at the Technical Resource Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The center provides physically handicapped persons with any of over 200 devices in the areas of communication, mobility, environmental control, and computer evaluation. The first questionnaire…

Research in the United States and abroad has led to advances in rehabilitation technology that enables blind and visually impaired persons to compete with sighted persons for employment. Relatively inexpensive devices such as pocket calculators, transistor radios, cassette recorders, and digital watches have become aids for the blind; some…

Reviewed is an American Institutes for Research (AIR) study to identify predictors of Optacon success and to develop and field test appropriate Optacon training materials for use by 112 blind elementary and secondary students in 15 U.S. public and residential schools. Potential use of the Optacon (an optical to tactile conversion device that…

Virtual reality is a newly emerging tool for scientific visualization that makes possible multisensory, three-dimensional modeling of scientific data. While the emphasis is on visualization, the other senses are added to enhance what the scientist can visualize. Researchers are working to extend the sensory range of what can be perceived in…