Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

The significance of developing a self-concept is illustrated through a review of the data-based and descriptive research conducted with both sighted and blind individuals. Practical implications for encouraging the growth of positive self-concepts in blind children are also discussed.

It would be preferable if every child had a professional eye examination prior to entering school and every two years thereafter. This ideal is rarely realized. As a second choice, a vision screening program to identify high-risk children should be a part of a school district's comprehensive screening program. The purpose of this article is to describe Manitoba's program, detailing organizational strategies, instrumentation, and results of a study designed to measure the effectiveness of the screening process. The results of the study indicated that two-thirds of the children identified by the vision-screening process as high-risk children required professional care, or that some incipient condition was present.

A survey was conducted of fifteen veterans who had been issued Mowat Sensors to determine applications, frequency of use, and device reliability. All subjects reported the aid to be helpful and continued to employ it although the amount of use varied. Reports of mechanical reliability were high. Particular uses of the Mowat are specified.

The aim of the study was to determine whether blind children in a well-equipped modern institution are receiving enough physical education activities to maintain good physical condition. Toward this end, the physiological characteristics of 20 institutionalized blind children were measured according to body composition, pulmonary function, and tolerance for exercise. The volunteer sample was characterized by “creeping overweight,” weak upper limbs, and a low aerobic capacity. No clinical or physiological contraindications to vigorous physical exercise were observed.

Because blind children cannot rely on many cues that sighted children use when making judgments about their own and other people's behavior, the authors conducted an exploratory study on blind children's ability to differentiate between normal and two disordered behaviors and their attitudes toward the behaviors. Twelve congenitally, totally blind children in three age groups (5-8, 9-12, 13-17) were selected from public schools in New Jersey. After the children heard three stories describing normal, withdrawn, and antisocial behavior, they were asked two sets of questions related to factors such as causality, changeability, similarity, desirability, assertiveness, and well-being. The authors found that age did not seem to be an important factor either in the children's ability to differentiate between the behaviors or in the causes the children attributed to them.

The School District of Greenville County, Greenville, South Carolina provides homebound instruction to its students who cannot, for medical reasons, attend regular school. This is a description of the teaching methods and materials used with a multiply handicapped, visually impaired boy, who was in a body cast. With the help of the parents, the student was able to progress at the pace set by the homebound teacher and his regular classroom teacher.

Describes the computerized braille production system installed in the Royal N.S. W. Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. Over 500 original volumes of braille have been produced. The system has been upgraded to twice its original capacity and the staff increased to ten persons. The benefits and the disadvantages of the computerized approach are described.

A special forum for individuals to respond in detail to material published in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness or to raise issues which relate to the specialized field of work with blind and visually handicapped persons. Contributions should be 350-1000 words in length.