Eleven basic types of visually displayed information that can be, and should be, rendered accessible to the visually impaired user are discussed. Speech, braille, and tactile technology are addressed as well as the innovative technique of "haptic-tactic" display combining a raised dynamic image of the screen's page with speech. (Author/DB)

Mnemonic and non-mnemonic pictures were used as teaching aids with 67 learning-disabled students in grades seven, eight, and nine in reading expository passages about the extinction of dinosaurs. Both types of pictures aided students' free recall, while only mnemonic pictures facilitated recall of the plausibility order of the passages. (TJH)

Investigated relationship between critical flicker fusion (CFF) thresholds and five personality characteristics (alienation; social nonconformity; discomfort, expression, and defensiveness) under three auditory stimulus conditions (quiet, noise, meaningful verbal stimuli). Results from 60 college students revealed that auditory stimulation and…

Examines the effect of organizational word-visuals which are designed to facilitate accurate and efficient storage of new material within the learner's cognitive structure, resulting in better recall. Concludes that word-visuals can increase learner's recall of factual information from mediated instruction and from textual materials. (RS)

A choice assessment was used to categorize reinforcers as high, middle, and low preference with 4 males (ages 7 to 19) with multiple disabilities including severe/profound mental retardation. High-preference stimuli consistently functioned as reinforcers for all subjects whereas low-preference stimuli did not function as reinforcers. (Author/DB)

In three experiments, three normal preschoolers were presented with sorting tasks ordinarily insoluble for four-year-olds. Found that, although the subjects had difficulty correctly sorting the pictures when told what criterion to sort by, they could provide correct answers when asked what they were looking for. This self-instructional effect was…

Obscene verbalizations in an individual with traumatic brain injury were treated using stimulus fading as the singular form of intervention. Results of a functional assessment revealed the obscenity was maintained by negative reinforcement. Stimulus fading (the gradual reintroduction of instructional demands) produced immediate and substantial…

Describes an in-depth, comprehensive method that enables students to understand the basic concepts of visual perception. (JRH)

This article offers teaching strategies for developing number sense for children who are blind and braille users. Suggestions focus on developing number meanings, exploring number relationships with manipulatives, understanding the relative magnitude of numbers, developing intuitions about the relative effect of operating on numbers, and…

The relationship between odd-man-out reaction time tasks and intelligence was examined in 2 experiments involving 79 college students. The two experiments indicate that tasks that assess the ability to perceive relationships among stimuli rapidly are good measures of general intelligence. (SLD)

A forced-choice procedure was used with two children, ages three and seven, with profound mental retardation to identify reinforcers. Preferred stimuli were selected using approach responding and latency between stimulus presentation and the first occurrence of aberrant behavior (hand mouthing). Results indicated that latency may be useful in…

This study examined effects of visual impairment on the performance of typical educational tasks requiring visual accommodation to print material at three different distances. Subjects were 18 visually impaired and 19 nonimpaired children (ages 6-10). Findings indicated that visually impaired children exhibited more fixation shifts per task.…

Examined children's emotional and cognitive responses to emotionally evocative vignettes. Results indicated age-related increases in children's responses. Found limited increases with age in children's concordant emotions, or emotions identical to emotions of persons in the vignettes, and continuous increases with age in children's attributions…

Scores of 66 elementary students (referred for poor learning progress) on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) were below mean performance on all Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (SB:FE) area scores except memory. The study refutes the assertion that the PPVT-R is an appropriate screening instrument for the SB:FE.…

The influence of visual signals (echo and reverberation) on speech fluency in 60 stutterers and nonstutterers was examined. Visual signals were found to exert a corrective influence on the speech of stutterers but less than the influence of acoustic stimuli. Use of visual signals in combination with acoustic and tactile signals is recommended. (DB)