Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, April 2007. / Major professor: Russell A. Joki. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 333-349). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Michigan. / Reproduced from type-written copy. "List of texts used": p. 35-38. Bibliography: p. 49.

The Western Division of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind offers a varied program of services to their clients, including casework, home teaching, vocational counselling, job training, certain kinds of employment and residential care. The present study undertakes to describe and make a preliminary evaluation of only part of these services, namely casework services, and only one important section of its clientele, namely, adult males whose numbers in the past few years have increased considerably. The study covers the registration of the blind client, the services of the Social Welfare Department, and the role of the social worker in offering casework services and co-ordinating the services of other departments. Casework services have been discussed under three classifications; (1) short-term, (2) long-term, and (3), intensive services, the division being made on the basis of the number and focus of interviews. Intensive services were offered to clients whose initial reaction to blindness was extreme, requiring more than supportive casework to assist them in their adjustment. Discussing the importance of employment in rehabilitation, problems that hinder the blind client vocationally have been identified, also the manner in which social work services aid in their solution. Areas of which the social worker has to be aware are: (a) the feelings of the client about his blindness, (b) the relationship between health and handicaps and adjustment to blindness, (c) family relationships and the acceptance of the client by his family, (d) social isolation, and (e) community attitudes toward blindness. Severe limitations of recording are discussed, and recommendations made for improving this aspect of casework services. A proposed registration inventory is submitted as a means to obtaining essential diagnostic information. While the study is of localized relevance it does point up the need for a more intensive study of casework services for the young blind adult male and for research in the areas of psychological, social, economic, and physical needs of the blind, for the establishment of future rehabilitation programs. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of a programme of physical education for Grade One blind and partially-sighted children at Jericho Hill School, the British Columbia Provincial Residential School for the Deaf and Blind. The programme instituted was devised by the author in a problem-solving, child-centered manner where the activities were performed at the level of interest and ability of the individual child. The programme included the following activities: 1. Orientation 2. Physical Education Activities: (a) Body awareness (b) Stretching, pulling, twisting (c) Small equipment (d) Large apparatus (e) Creative movements to music (f) Trampolining (g) Water activities (h) Outdoor running, walking (i) Visit to Santa Claus (j) Activities with a sighted class. The programme extended from September, 1965 to March, 1966 with two or three sessions per week lasting from one-half hour to three-quarters of an hour each. Three evaluative measures were used to assess the programme: 1. Objective scores from the pre- and post-programme tests were given where a numerical value could be assigned to these tests. 2. Film loops¹ of the objective test items were used to show pre-and post-programme performances. These were subjectively evaluated by eleven experts in the field of physical education. 3. The classroom teacher reported on her personal record of the effect of the programme on individual children and on the group as a whole. The improved objective test scores, the film loop evaluation by the physical education experts, and the subjective evaluation of the classroom teacher and the Vice-Principal of the Blind Department showed that the programme was successful in producing improvement in the children, especially in the areas of confidence and basic physical skill development. A film² was produced in conjunction with the programme but not as an actual part of the study, showing various activities performed by the children throughout the year. This 23 minute black and white 16 mm film was produced and titled by the author. ¹Stored in the Library of the School of Physical Education and Recreation, The University of British Columbia. ²"Learn to See", available from the Extension Department, The University of British Columbia. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Delay in language development can be the result of failure of a child to use language for purposes of communication. The notion that productive control of language can be considered separately from competence in language emerges as an important investigative concept. A non-verbal blind child whose delay in language was accompanied by indications that language was comprehended is the subject of this study. Demonstration of language acquisition and comprehension of both structural (syntactic) forms and understanding of meaning was achieved by a transformational analysis of spontaneous utterances, sentence completions, word associations, and the Brown and Berko Usage Test. The investigation of the language usage of the subject is considered in terms of social usage and the acquisition of public and private symbol systems. Three major premises emerge from the study: 1. Language may be acquired and competence attained while productive control remains undeveloped. 2. The structural forms employed provide an accurate reflection of deviance in language and speech development. 3. The question of reference to the external world is crucial to the development of language for social communication. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This thesis describes the effects of dichotic presentations on the reading speed of the users of the Lexiphone - a reading machine for the blind. The dichotic presentations investigated are: a) single delay: one signal to one ear and a delayed version of this signal to the other ear; b) multiple delay: the same signal with three interdelayed versions, two signals coming to each ear. Experiments with the Lexiphone subjects indicated that dichotic presentations (compared with ordinary binaural presentation, i.e. without delay) brought a significant improvement to their reading speed. A similar investigation has also been made on spelled speech which has been proposed to replace the code sounds. The results indicated that multiple delay (as has been found in the case using the Lexiphone subjects) produced a little less improvement than single delay. Nevertheless, both these two dichotic presentations produced an improvement on the intelligibility of the material. The effect of the word length (number of letters contained in a word), on the intelligibility of spelled speech was also analyzed, it showed that the word length has a great effect; it was found that the percent correctness decreases with the word length. This effect also seems to be due to the longer time required to perceive the word from the spelling, thus it is suggested that a longer pause should be provided for those words with a large number of letters. Confusions of some letter sounds were observed when spelled speech was compressed, these are the consonant sounds which are articulated either at the same place or in the same manner. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

This study investigated the relationship between use of Light Rapid or Light Rail (LRT) by persons with severe visual impairments and independence in orientation and mobility. Use of the LRT poses special problems to blind users and requires skill in mobility. The premise of the study was that blind persons who felt confident in travelling independently were more likely to use the LRT than those who do not. The study also examined the difficulties blind persons experienced in LRT use. The subjects were 63 persons between the ages of 19 and 65 who responded to a survey questionnaire. Thirty five of these individuals were male and 25 were female. All the subjects were registered as legally blind with the C.N.I.B. The range of visual loss included total blindness, light perception, tunnel vision, central vision loss and low vision. The results indicated that orientation and mobility training on the LRT system would resolve many of the difficulties that users of the systems encountered. Modification of the systems by transit companies to make the systems more easily accessible to visually impaired travellers are suggested. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The trend to mainstream visually impaired students in British Columbia over the last seven years has resulted in new teacher roles--those of itinerant or resource room teachers. Changing caseloads, teaching technology and philosophy have created a dynamic milieu in which such teachers operate. This study was undertaken to fill a gap in exploratory research data on some of the factors that determine the role of these teachers in this province. A questionnaire was designed and completed by the 44 teachers of the visually impaired in British Columbia. Results of the study gave information from 40 responding teachers regarding teaching training characteristics, work setting, details on the size and characteristics of caseloads and the orientation of services. A beginning was also made in determining some common concerns and issues in the field. The need for further research in many of these areas in addition to role definition was suggested to be of benefit to both specialist teachers and other professionals with whom they consult. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Touchscreen technology is on the rise as the new standard in smartphone design. But, the usability of touchscreen is hindered for consumers that lack the physical ability to navigate such devices. Two focus groups were conducted in order to identify specific uses and gratifications that people with visual impairments had when using mobile phones. Additional questions were presented to the participants to determine if touchscreen technology limited access to communication and entertainment. The responses revealed an upward trend in touchscreen smartphone adoption among the participants. These users chose to adopt touchscreen smartphones that had built-in and downloadable assistive features which contributed to user-friendly designs.

This study was conducted to discover the most significant factors associated with the present functioning and attitudes and the success of the adult outcomes of graduates of the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver, Washington.