Explains ...the automated reading of the printed page resulting in a sequence of character codes which can be further processed to make the information available to a blind person in the form of Grade II Braille, spelled speech, or synthesized speech." (Author)

Discussion from a public meeting sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Committee of the American Foundation for the Blind (April 29, 1970). (KW)

The study was designed to identify various problems encountered by 194 children who read braille and use conventional basal reading programs transcribed into that medium. The results showed educationally significant variability in chronological age, years in school, and grade level for blind children using basal reader materials designed for…

Contributions that have been and will be made by science and technology in reducing the handicaps experienced by blind and visually impaired individuals are reviewed. The contributions are examined in terms of two major categories of handicap: communication and mobility. (Author/DB)

This study investigated the effects of Braille instruction via interactive video-teleconferencing distance education on 12 South Dakota families and instructional assistants of students with visual impairments. Participants (and their children) were enthusiastic about the course and there was evidence of increased parental involvement in their…

This literature review examines the research on the use of right and left hands in the reading of braille. Results suggest that right-handed people may read braille more accurately with the left hand. Studies have also found differences between girls and boys and changes over the developmental period. (DB)

Discussion of assistive, or adaptive, technology highlights major technologies that help physically impaired individuals at home, work, and school. Technologies described include voice recognition, microswitches, communication boards, headsticks and mouthsticks, vision control, adaptive keyboards, word prediction software, electronic readers,…

Describes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and discusses its implications for both public and private libraries. The term "disability" is defined; sources of federal regulations that pertain to libraries are cited; the need for sign language interpreters is discussed; Braille materials are considered; and staff requirements are…

Twenty-six expert adult readers, 13 of whom were blind, were compared for how they perceived and retrieved written information. The study found that braille readers were not limited to the isolated identification of individual braille characters as previously thought, but could integrate greater quantities of written information. Implications for…

In this qualitative research, case study interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth examination of the meaning of braille in the lives of eight legally blind adults. Issues of self-esteem, self-identity, and the "stigma" of being a person with a disability were found to be integrally intertwined with the subjects' expressed feelings about…

The Texas Commission for the Blind's (TCB's) braille literacy initiative is an agency-based program designed to enhance the braille skills of teaching staff. In addition, TCB has established braille-production stations in 30 of its district offices and offers technical assistance to regional rehabilitation personnel. (Author)

A study used the Delphi research method to gain a consensus among 40 professionals on the appropriate levels of instructional service to address the need of students with visual impairments in 12 areas of Braille literacy skills. Recommendations are provided for designing Braille programs, including the need to individualize programs. (Contains…

Daily communication journals are a powerful tool to promote communication development in children with severe disabilities. Each page of the daily journal features three parts: a print or braille label, a recording device, and a tangible symbol. Children should participate in both the preparation of the daily journal and its review, thus gaining…

Kim Charlson believes everyone should live life to the fullest no matter what their handicaps. Blind since early childhood, she chose librarianship because, as a braille reader and avid user of talking books, she wanted to be "in a decision-making capacity in the library field and influence the direction of library services for people with…