Central scotomas--areas of the nonseeing retina within the central 20 degrees of the visual field--are present in approximately 90% of vision rehabilitation patients. They vary in size and shape and can be small or large, symmetrical or asymmetrical, round or irregularly shaped. Most central scotomas border fixation on one side and can be overcome…

A study involving two college students with visual impairments which made them incapable of accommodating visually revealed that Ss improved recognition efficiency with feedback but did not generalize the efficiency from trained to untrained stimuli of similar complexity. (CL)

This study evaluated the Columbus (Ohio) Children's Hospital vision stimulation program, involving in-home intervention with 15 visually impaired infants. Comparison with controls indicated benefits of appropriate vision stimulation in increasing the neural foundation for vision and visual-motor function in visually impaired infants. (Author/DB)

Sixteen visually impaired children (aged 2-6) were exposed to a specially prepared visual stimulation video, and their vision attention was rated quantitatively and qualitatively. The results suggest that this technique could be useful in stimulating functional vision in young children. (Author)

The paper argues that microcomputers can be useful in providing visual stimulation to young visually handicapped children. Monitors can present materials in a "back-lit" manner, and input devices such as the touch sensitive screen allow children to interact directly with the images on the screen. (Author/DB)

The effects of positive reinforcement on an 8-year-old partially sighted girl's visual academic performance were assessed, using a multiple baseline design that involved tasks of matching and of counting number sets. (Author/DLS)

As follow up to a study which compared forced-choice preferential looking (FPL) with pattern visual evoked potential (VEP), this study increased the VEP success rate and improved agreement between the FPL and VEP acuity estimates by using horizontal bar stimuli for young preverbal children (n=17) with nystagmus. (Author/DB)

Lists strategies for promoting functional vision use in children with visual and motor impairments, including providing postural stability, presenting visual attention tasks when energy level is the highest, using a slanted work surface, placing target items in varied locations within reach, and determining the most effective visual adaptations.…

The video and standard audio portions of 2 television programs were presented to 25 adults with low vision and 24 adults with normal vision; 29 additional subjects only heard the standard audio portions. Subjects then answered questions based on audio descriptions (AD) provided by Descriptive Video Service. Results indicated that some AD…

As there is uncertainty surrounding black light safety, caution should be exercised in using it as a vision training tool with visually handicapped students--particularly aphakic and albino students, young students, and those taking photosensitizing drugs. The use of ultraviolet-blocking filters or lenses is recommended during black light…

A highly interactive multicamera-multimonitor closed circuit television system is described which permits a resource room teacher and her handicapped elementary school students to be in continuous visual communication with one another. On the basis of relatively short-term observation, data is reported to show that the system is of most help to…

Two visually impaired children, aged 8 and 10, appeared to have severe difficulty in recognizing faces. After assessment, it became apparent that only one had unusually poor facial recognition skills. After training, which included matching face photographs, schematic faces, and digitized faces, there was no evidence of any improvement.…

Specific and understandable suggestions are offered to parents of severely visually impaired children who have or may have the capacity to learn visually. Parents can assist children with even a small amount of vision to develop that vision from an early age. Vision development begins by ensuring that the child receives appropriate medical and…

THE THEME OF THE CONVENTION WAS "RESEARCH--KEY TO PROGRESS," AND PAPERS WERE DELIVERED IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS (1) RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF READING AND IMPROVING READING SKILLS, (2) RESEARCH ON INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS AND ORIENTATION, MOBILITY, AND TRAVEL, (3) RESEARCH ON THE CHILD WITH LIMITED BUT USEFUL VISION, (4) RESEARCH ON THE…