No matter how well teachers are prepared to teach, no matter what accountability measures are put in place, no matter what governing structures are established for schools, educational progress will be profoundly limited if students are not "motivated and able to learn". Health-related problems play a major role in limiting the motivation and…

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…

A project was developed which successfully taught individuals with visual impairments to read commercial large-print books, with either their own reading spectacles or with lower levels of magnification than usually prescribed. Over the course of the project, print sizes were systematically reduced and healthy reading habits were re-taught. (JDD)

This article describes a model project for delivering comprehensive vision care and educational support services to children who are deaf-blind. It characterizes 170 children served by the project, including the conditions that caused their deaf-blindness, other medical conditions, and visual conditions, and discusses intervention strategies that…

This article reviews the structure, development, function, and assessment of the visual system and then considers: common eye problems of young children with visual impairment; impacts of severe impairment on child development; and the roles of early intervention professionals, ophthalmologists, and pediatricians in working with these children and…

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)

The Ebbinghaus (Titchener) illusion was examined in a remote culture (Himba) with no words for geometric shapes. The illusion was experienced less strongly by Himba compared with English participants, leading to more accurate size contrast judgments in the Himba. The study included two conditions of inducing stimuli. The illusion was weaker when…

As part of a study of 198 residents with low vision in 28 nursing homes, 91 participated in a low vision rehabilitation intervention. Among the rehabilitation participants, 78% received simple environmental modifications, such as lighting; 75% received low vision instruction; 73% benefited from staff training; and 69% received simple nonoptical…

Prolonged visual deprivation from early childhood to maturity is believed to cause permanent visual impairment. However, there have been case reports of substantial improvement of binocular vision in human adults following lifelong visual impairment or deprivation. These observations, together with recent findings of adult ocular dominance…

A low vision clinic is using Fresnel press-on prism lenses to aid veterans with extremely restricted visual fields. (Author/SB)

Intended for the specialist in low vision rehabilitation, the manual provides information on low vision evaluation, low vision aids, and perceptual learning. A large section of the document is devoted to illustrations and information on (including use, cost, and source) 15 near and 8 distance vision aids such as the Coil Hi-Power Reader, hand…

The initial role of the low-vision teacher involves helping patients psychologically adjust to their situation and assessing patients' readiness for rehabilitation. Then training can begin to effectively use remaining vision, to determine fixation angles for reading text, and to function both with and without optical and other aids. (JDD)

The paper describes a software system which uses microcomputers to aid in the assessment of functional vision in visually impaired students. The software also aims to be visually stimulating and to develop hand-eye coordination, visual memory, and cognitive abilities. (DB)