This study evaluated the Columbus (Ohio) Children's Hospital vision stimulation program, involving in-home intervention with 15 visually impaired infants. Comparison with controls indicated benefits of appropriate vision stimulation in increasing the neural foundation for vision and visual-motor function in visually impaired infants. (Author/DB)

This open-ended survey of 156 subjects (78 pairs of visually handicapped orientation and mobility specialists and adult clients) identified common low vision mobility problems (lighting conditions, drop-offs, street crossings, changes in terrain) and found a high degree of agreement between the reported perceptions of mobility practitioners and…

Children need to protect their eyes from the sun's harmful rays. Sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) protection can help enhance the eye's ability to filter out damaging rays, but sunglasses without such protection may allow in more harmful rays. The article presents guidelines to help parents select safe, appropriate sunglasses for their children.…

The Perky effect, identified in 1910, is the reduction in performance from the no-imagery to the imagery condition. A series of experiments with over 100 undergraduates and graduates shows that the reduction reflects a true reduction in visual sensitivity, not just alteration in criteria for responding or response organization. (SLD)

At the NASSP's Alaska Assessment Center for Principals, aspiring administrators and assistant principals consistently scored lowest in a key characteristic--the leader's strongly held values and ability to create a shared school vision. This article underlines the principal's role as author and choreographer of a shared school vision that must be…

This article describes a visual assessment procedure (VAP) which evaluates capacity, attention, and processing (CAP) of infants and preschool children with visual impairments. The two-level battery considers, first, visual capacity and basic visual attention and, second, visual perceptual and cognitive abilities. A theoretical analysis of the…

Visually impaired persons (N=1,657) from 20 national rehabilitation centers in Japan and 230 patients of a low vision clinic were surveyed to gather information on patients' age, sex, cause of disorder, visual acuity, and results of treatment and rehabilitation. (Author/JDD)

This article presents information on macular degeneration for professionals helping persons with this disease adjust to their visual loss. It covers types of macular degeneration, the etiology of the disease, and its treatment. Also considered are psychosocial problems and other difficulties that persons with age-related macular degeneration face.…

Drawing on nursing home records, examines the relationship between vision impairment and disruptive behaviors among nursing home residents (N=89). Results indicate that vision status is a significant independent contributor to disruptive behaviors among long-term care residents. Findings show vision to be an important comorbid impairment in…

This study compared effects of visual occlusion on the motor and spatial learning of 28 legally blind adult males, half due to acuity loss and half due to peripheral field restriction. For both groups, occlusion appeared neither to facilitate nor impede motor learning but did significantly impair acquisition of spatial relations. Results have…

Three studies of Spanish students with low vision, aged 4-7, 8-11, and 12-17, found that, overall, the participants' scores for some dimensions of self-concept were lower than those of comparison groups of sighted students. Teaching strategies such as cooperative learning are suggested to help improve the self-concept and academic performance of…

Comparison by 40 users of 2 technologies--Verbal Landmark and Talking Signs--that provide speech messages to hand-held receivers for blind travelers found that, on all measures, the Talking Signs system proved superior to the Verbal Landmark system. This was attributed to Verbal Landmark's more cognitively demanding technology. (DB)

This discussion of theoretical perspectives on disability's economic aspects urges development of better measures of productive activity by persons with blindness in paid and unpaid work; considers other personal characteristics that may account for dependence, such as old age or illness; and suggests that some costs are created by social…

Three experiments tested the ability of 11 children (ages 6-10) with low vision to recall black-and-white line drawings. Unlike fully sighted age-matched controls, children with low vision recalled best when left to study pictures without verbal intervention. They also named significantly fewer of the remembered pictures correctly. (Author/PB)

Argues that balance between assessment of learning, which is being practiced, and assessment for learning, which is not, are essential to maximize student achievement. Suggests a plan of action to actuate assessment for learning. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)