Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

The first study of the Social Network Pilot Project provided quantitative data on the lifestyles of 32 adolescents with visual impairments and 16 who were sighted. This article reports on the second study, an in-depth ethnographic analysis of 3 of the visually impaired adolescents from the first study.

This article presents a study of the use of the Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach (VISTA) by seven individual student planning teams and its impact on the students with deaf-blindness they educated in general education classes with individually determined support services.

This article describes the conceptual and empirical development of a scale to assess psychosocial adaptation to age-related vision loss. Psychometric analyses, conducted on two samples of older people with age-related vision loss, supported the reliability and validity of the scale.

In a study of the career maintenance needs of 35 employees with visual impairments (blindness or low vision) in Vermont and Massachusetts, barriers to job retention were assessed in four areas—accessibility of work sites, performance of essential functions, job mastery, and job satisfaction. This article presents the findings of the study and strategies for incorporating the survey that was used into a postemployment services framework.

This article presents proactive strategies to help visually impaired children (those who are blind or have low vision) with neurodegenerative diseases deal with their challenging behaviors. These behaviors include general noncompliance, difficulty with changed or novel routines, difficulty maintaining physical movement, significant variations in affect, and intense tantrums and other types of emotional outbursts.

A portable control device linked via radio to acoustic sources was used for promoting independent travel and activity in two adolescents with severe multiple disabilities. The control device allowed the subjects to enter activity destinations with a simple, standard response, which activated acoustic sources that indicated the way to each destination. Both adolescents learned to use the device effectively and were successful in reaching the destinations and carrying out activities on their own.

This article describes ocular and other complications of diabetes that orientation and mobility instructors should consider in determining the most appropriate mobility training for persons with diabetes who are visually impaired. It compares the benefits of using dog guides and long canes in dealing with these various complications.