Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

The literature supports the importance of adequate lighting for people with visual impairments, but little is known regarding ambient color temperature at home, and the evaluation process is not standardized. Thus, this study aimed to test a method for evaluating the preferred ambient color temperature, established with a near-vision assessment in clinic, and by using standardized tools to evaluate the effects at home for people with central visual field loss.

An exploratory quasi-experimental study was conducted with three interventions and six observation times. A convenience sample of eight women and two men with central visual field loss, aged 64–91 years with visual acuity between 6/21 (20/69) and 6/48 (20/158), was recruited. Two certified low vision therapists realized evaluations with Minnesota Low-Vision Reading Test, International Reading Speed Texts, a Visual Comfort Scale, a Digital Light Meter LX1330B, and Home Environment Lighting Assessment. The LuxIQ and various illuminated magnifiers were used for clinical interventions. Home lighting interventions were individualized and aimed to apply participants’ preferred color temperature in a selected room.

The use of the LuxIQ and illuminated magnifiers showed positive effects in near-vision for all participants by increasing reading speed and visual comfort. Home lighting interventions in participants’ kitchen (n = 4), living room (n = 4), or office (n = 2) also had beneficial effects on their visual comfort and ability to perform activities of daily living. The choice of preferred color temperature was transferable from near-vision to ambient lighting for all participants but one and varied widely.

Innovative preliminary data support the importance of ambient color temperature for people with visual impairments and suggest an efficient standardized evaluation method. Further research is needed to obtain statistically significant empirical evidence in this field. Implications for practitioners: It could be beneficial for low vision therapists to evaluate the individual ambient color temperature preferences of people with visual impairments by using standardized tools.

Within the field of visual impairment, there is no set of standards that guide teachers of students with visual impairments as they conduct, report, and share functional vision assessment (FVA) results with other educational team members, and university instructors vary in how they teach the assessment process to preservice teachers.

In parallel, a group of teachers of students with visual impairments and a group of university instructors completed three rounds of a Delphi study. After providing background information in Round 1, they rated 84 statements about the FVA process. The level for consensus was set at 80%.

Of the 84 statements, consensus was reached for 45 statements regarding the level of importance by both groups. Participants rated 11 of 22 visual skills (e.g., near acuity, distance acuity) as extremely important to include in the FVA process.

There continues to be a need to build consensus on when FVAs should be conducted, what visual skills should be included when conducting them, what should be included in reports, and with whom assessment information should be shared. The importance of conducting such assessments for all students, including students under the age of 5 years and those with additional disabilities, needs to be recognized by the field of visual impairment.

University personnel need to work together to develop consistent curricula that focuses on the FVA process. Future studies that examine the FVA practices of individual teachers are necessary.

Audio description (AD) in museums is crucial for making them accessible for people with visual impairments. Nevertheless, there are limited museum-specific AD guidelines currently available. This research examines current varied international practitioner perspectives on museum AD, focusing on imagery, meaning, emotion and degrees of objectivity, and the regional differences (Europe and United States) in AD traditions, in order to better understand how AD can be used to enhance access to museums.

Forty-two museum describers from 12 countries responded to a questionnaire requiring fixed-choice and free-text responses about the purpose and construction of museum AD.

Inference tests showed that European describers agreed more strongly than American describers that AD should “explore meaning” (U = 91.00, N1 = 24, N2 = 14, p = .03), and “create an emotional experience” (U = 89.50, N1 = 24, N2 = 14, p = .03), rating the use of cognitive prompts as more important (U = 85.50, N1 = 21, N2 = 14, p = .04). Qualitative data enriched this understanding by exploring participant responses on the themes of mental imagery, objectivity and interpretation and cognitive prompts. This highlighted broader agreement between regions on mental imagery, but more acceptance of interpretation in AD from the European respondents.

American and European describers’ opinions differ regarding the purpose of AD: whether it is about conveying visual information or whether broader interpretations should be incorporated into descriptions for audiences with visual impairments.

These findings indicate that further discussion is needed regarding the purpose of museum AD and, in particular, the way in which objectivity is contextualized. They raise questions about AD providing visual information and/or seeking to address a wider museum experience, including the stimulation of curiosity or emotion.

Ethical practices and technology are current trends in education for individuals with disabilities. This study investigates the perceptions of assistive technology expressed by teachers of students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) in Jordan.

The research involved 20 teachers. Data were collected via semistructured interviews and analysis carried out via the constant-comparative method.

The results highlight the challenges that teachers perceive in using assistive technology with their students, particularly regarding computer use, the willingness of a child to use a particular device, the lack of such technologies in schools and in the home, and a lack of training in the home. The results highlight perceived external barriers to the effective use of assistive technology, including those related to finance, training, societal attitudes, and family support. It appears that assistive technology can also have negative effects, which can be considered an ethical issue, since such technologies can expose students with visual impairments to negative community attitudes, addiction, bullying, abuse, and extremism.

Teachers highlight the issues they experience in using assistive technology with students with visual impairments in Jordan, which can be explained by the contextual conditions in the country.

Decision-makers in the field of visual impairment need to consider these issues through providing professional development, addressing financial barriers, and conducting awareness programs for students regarding the effective use of assistive technology.

The purpose of this study is to determine the physical activity (PA) status of adolescents with visual impairment, their enjoyment of the PA, and their perception of barriers to PA.

This descriptive study was conducted with 110 adolescents with visual impairment. The data collection tools consisted of the (ALP-R2)-Physical Activity Subscale, the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES), Barriers to Physical Activity Questionnaires, and an Observation Form. The data were analyzed using frequencies, correlation, and Kappa tests.

It was observed that 60% of the participants stated that they did not engage in PA, 58.2% said they did not engage in PA to the extent of breaking out in a sweat and increasing their heartbeat, and 48.2% indicated that they never did PA 3 times a week for 20 minutes or more. The PAES mean score was 55.1 ± 5.5; the Physical Activity Subscale mean score was 12.5 ± 4.1 (r = 0.42; p < 0.01).

Our findings were consistent with the results of other studies in that the changeable external factors and parental attitudes perceived as obstacles were similar.

Most of the participants wanted to be more active. Most of the adolescents’ answers to the questions about the perceived barriers to PA were contrary to what had been expected. Although the adolescents said they did not engage in PA, the number of adolescents who perceived changeable factors such as the environment and parents’ attitudes as barriers was not negligible.

This study investigated the relationship between physical fitness, anthropometric characteristics, visual acuity of athletes with visual impairments, and their right shot performance.

The participants of the study involved 34 male athletes with different visual acuities who participated in the 2015 Visually Impaired Schools Goalball Championship in Alanya, Turkey. The means of the participants’ age, body weight, height, and sport age were 14.95 ± 1.28 years, 52.06 ± 8.89 kilograms, 163.58 ± 10.39 centimeters, 02.39 ± 1.50 years, respectively. The participants’ physical fitness, body fat percentage, handgrip (right–left), and spine flexibility were measured. Upper and lower extremity lengths were obtained through anthropometric measurements, and the athletes’ right shot performance was calculated. To analyze the data, the Shapiro–Wilk test was used, and one-way analysis of variance and independent sample t-test were performed, because the data showed a normal distribution (p = .106). In addition, multivariate regression model analysis was utilized to investigate the relationship between all parameters and the athletes’ right shot performance.

A significant difference was found among the groups’ right shot performance (p = .03), specifically on behalf of the athletes with low vision. When the participants’ anthropometric features, physical fitness values, and their right shot performance were examined, a positive relationship was observed between their dominant (right) handgrip strength and right shot performance (stepwise method; p = .03, R² = 0.14). However, no significant difference emerged between their anthropometric characteristics and right shot performance.

It is considered that visual acuity and upper extremity muscle strength are of vital importance in goalball.

Whereas the International Blind Sports Federation applies rules according to visual acuity to offer equal conditions for some areas of sport, in goalball such a rule does not exist. It is important to make a change in the regulations for competition groupings according to visual acuities in goalball like in other sports for individuals with visual impairments. More frequent workout oriented to upper extremity muscle strength during right shot performance is suggested in the training sessions.