DISCUSSED IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF BRAILLE-TYPE SCIENCE SYMBOLS FOR BLIND SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE STUDENTS. A REVIEW OF SECONDARY SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS, STATE SCIENCE SYLLABUSES, COURSES OF STUDY, AND VOCABULARY LISTS WAS USED TO IDENTIFY 50 IMPORTANT RECURRING SCIENCE TERMS. THE TERMS WERE SUBMITTED FOR EVALUATION TO UNIVERSITY SCIENTISTS,…

THIS THREE-PART REPORT DESCRIBES THE STATUS OF BRAILLE READING INSTRUCTION IN LOCAL AND RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1965, PRESENTS STATISTICS DESCRIBING PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF 200 STUDENTS TESTED AS PART OF THIS STUDY, AND PRESENTS ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA GATHERED FROM THE TESTS. THE STATUS OF BRAILLE READING…

A BATTERY OF TESTS WAS DEVELOPED AND STANDARDIZED TO MEASURE MASTERY OF TWO BRAILLE CODES--THE GRADE 2 LITERARY CODE AND THE NEMETH CODE FOR MATHEMATICAL NOTATION. DESIGNATED AS THE "COLORADO BRAILLE BATTERY," THESE TESTS PROVIDED OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT DATA REGARDING A STUDENT'S OVERALL DEVELOPMENT IN BRAILLE, AS WELL AS A MEANS OF…

Analysis of late-blind Norwegian adults' (N=35) reading rates (texts and single words) in contracted and uncontracted Braille revealed that: rates were higher for reading contracted versions of text and single words, and highest for contracted single words. "Slow" readers saved more time when reading texts which frequently used…

The article outlines advantages and limitations of five types of access to microcomputer technology for visually impaired students: electronic braille, paper braille, Optacon, synthetic speech, and enlarged print. Additional considerations in access decisions are noted. (CL)

In one of several 2-week workshops, 35 blind and visually handicapped persons increased their braille reading speed from an average of 138 words per minute (wpm) to 710 wpm. (Author)

Discusses teaching methods and instructional aids developed to integrate blind students into a private class for elementary-school-aged piano students. Instructional aids incorporate auditory and tactile stimuli to teach music notation skills. Commercial games, like Bingo, were modified with Braille symbols to teach rhythm concepts. (AM)

This article describes a strategy for using Braille Lite, a portable notetaking device that combines synthetic speech and Braille, to produce mathematical expressions that can be easily interpreted by sighted teachers who do not use Braille. The strategy also allows students to review their work tactilely on the Braille display. (Contains 2…

The requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) concerning public school building accessibility are summarized. Requirements discussed include facility design and braille and raised letter signs. (DB)

Outlines the history of the National Library Service (NLS) for the blind and physically handicapped. The nature of the collection and services provided are discussed, including formats available (such as large print, flexible disk, audio cassette, braille); monthly and bimonthly publications announcing available texts; application procedures for…

Describes adaptive technology for personal computers that accommodate disabled users and may require special equipment including hardware, memory, expansion slots, and ports. Highlights include vision aids, including speech synthesizers, magnification, braille, and optical character recognition (OCR); hearing adaptations; motor-impaired…

A survey of 51 teachers licensed to teach children with visual disabilities in Minnesota found they had high abilities for using references when transcribing Braille, producing Braille with Braillewriters, interlining Braille, and using software for Braille transcription, low abilities for writing with slate and stylus and that few had Braille…

This brief article describes "Move, Touch, Read", a set of adaptations of commercial books to develop early Braille literacy prerequisites in young children and to systematize the transition from adapted to unadapted books. (DB)