Children of 8 and 11 years and college students were tested for reorientation of visual attention to a target following a cue. The first, but not the second, experiment showed an interaction between distance of target from fixation and stimulus onset asynchrony. The second experiment suggested children can orient attention through valid, neutral,…

Statistical analyses of scores on subtests of the Intelligence Test for Visually Impaired Children were done for two groups of children, either with or without usable vision. Results suggest that the battery has differential factorial and predictive validity. (Author/DB)

Habituated 180 neonates to white lights of varying luminance and tested for recovery of habituation to green, yellow, or red lights varying in excitation purity. Found that newborns discriminated chromatic stimuli from white only when excitation purity exceeded levels much higher than those for adults. Results reinforce view that neonates' vision…

This study examined the contribution of the home environment to the reading achievement of 49 children and adolescents with low vision. It found that children with no books at home read less well than those with books at home, but that no other home variables were related to reading achievement. (DB)

This article discusses issues in the identification of learning disabilities in students with low vision and examines the academic performance of one 8-year-old student and the methods that his multidisciplinary team used to document a dual diagnosis of low vision and learning disabilities. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) causes restriction of the visual field, progressive vision loss, and night blindness. This article presents an overview of the most common problems in orientation and mobility (O&M) for individuals with RP, appropriate interventions, vision science discoveries related to RP, and the impact of RP on functional visual…

Describes five problems that contribute to causing schools to ignore their guiding statements and recommends six ways to solve them. Concludes with an example of an ideal set of guiding statements. (PKP)

Visual object processing in infancy is often described as proceeding from an early stage in which object features are processed independently to a later stage in which relations between features are taken into account (e.g., Cohen, 1998). Here we present the Representational Acuity Hypothesis, which argues that this behavioral shift can be…

Public schools must provide an appropriate education for students with complex health needs. Chronic illnesses such as asthma and diabetes, social morbidities, injuries, and conditions that limit learning such as poor vision commonly affect school-aged children. School nurses often assume a leadership role in providing services for these children.…

Visual impairment (blindness or low vision) is a leading cause of disability among older adults and is most often due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is predicted that 2.95 million people will have AMD by 2020 (Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group, 2004). Unfortunately, there is no cure for AMD, nor can lost vision be restored.…

Teaching in general and teaching of mathematics in particular are matters of great importance for contemporary society. Over the years, societies have established institutions in order to incorporate mathematics and science into the culture of society with the clear intention of encouraging a scientific vision of the world among the population.…

When assessing the visual function of young children, it is important to use a variety of tests. It is essential to have a structured observation method when it is not possible to use ordinary acuity tests. A structured observation method can be created by using a checklist. An ideal checklist should be handy and reliable and include a minimum of…

The records of 1,661 children and adolescents who received 3,188 clinical low vision evaluations from a single examiner at low vision clinics sponsored by the Iowa Braille School over a 22-year period were surveyed to determine the characteristics of this population. The factors that were reviewed included age, sex, ocular condition,…

James Wandersee asked in 1986: "Can History of Science help science educators anticipate students" misconceptions?. This paper aims to answer the same question by attempting a comparative bibliographical study between the assumptions of early philosophers and the conceptions of children relating to the roles of light and the eye in the process of…

Of the 150 working-age visually impaired adults in this study, 59 were in paid employment, 36 were either actively seeking employment or interested but not actively seeking it, and 55 were not interested in employment. Of the 59 who were employed, 22 were considered to be underemployed. The amount of usable vision, gender, and the presence of…