Training a Child with Blindness on the Basic Use of Computer with the Aim of Internet Socialization; an Intervention Program.

In the present intervention program an eleven-year-old student with visual impairments was introduced in the basic use of a computer for the first time. The key tools for achieving this goal were the screen reading software "NVDA" as well as the development of a well-structured educational program. The purpose of the intervention was to enhance the student's technological skills, to make him familiar with the use of assistive technology and to enable him to exploit these new skills for his internet socialization. The evaluation of the intervention program's results was completed on three stages: a) after testing the student's knowledge and skills in the basic use of a computer (pre- and post-assessment ), b) after measuring his social network, his self-esteem and the perceived social support, and c) after analyzing the content of the student's written speech based on a series of criteria. (pre- and post-assessment). The results showed that the basic use of a computer was acquired and internet socialization increased his level of self-esteem, his social network and simultaneously created a sense of belonging. Finally, there was an improvement in his writing.

Individuals with and without Visual Impairments Use a Force Feedback Device to Identify the Friction and Hardness of Haptic Surfaces.

The general purpose of this study is to promote access to haptic virtual environments. Using a haptic device, people with and without visual impairments (VI) are able to feel different textures and compare these textures based on different surface properties, i.e., friction and hardness. The objectives of this study were to examine the following: (a) whether the variables of friction and hardness were identifiable through the Touch device (Phantom Omni) and could therefore function as 3D haptic variables; (b) if there were differences between people with VI and sighted individuals in terms of their performance; (c) the differences that should exist between the values of each variable so that the virtual surfaces could be identified as different to each other; and (d) if the individual characteristics of participants have an impact on their performance. The results showed that it is necessary to use surfaces which are differentiated based on the degree of friction and hardness because the haptic properties of a virtual object are then better perceived. Individuals with VI need more time and more effort to understand friction and hardness, respectively. With the motivation of increasing access to object perception for people with VI in a virtual environment, accessibility advisors and experts can extract useful information for the development of functional and efficient 3D objects for haptic perception.

Orientation and mobility aids for individuals with blindness: Verbal description vs. audio-tactile map.

Individuals with visual impairment face significant challenges traveling in the physical environment. Independent movement is directly connected to the quality of someone's life, and thus, orientation and mobility issues are always listed among the top priorities of research in the field. The aim of the present research was to examine the level of accuracy of the cognitive map developed through the use of a verbal description versus the cognitive map developed using an audio-tactile map. A comparison of the effectiveness of the two mobility aids in detecting specific points of interest in the physical environment was an objective of the research. The procedure involved the study of a map using the two mobility aids, and an assessment through the transfer to the corresponding physical environment. The results suggest that an individual with visual impairment can acquire and use a functional cognitive map through the use of an audio-tactile map, while relying on a verbal description entails greater difficulty in detecting specific points of interest when he/she comes into the physical environment.

Comparison of three orientation and mobility aids for individuals with blindness: Verbal description, audio-tactile map and audio-haptic map.

Disorientation and inability of wayfinding are phenomena with a great frequency for individuals with visual impairments during the process of travelling novel environments. Orientation and mobility aids could suggest important tools for the preparation of a more secure and cognitively mapped travelling. The aim of the present study was to examine if spatial knowledge structured after an individual with blindness had studied the map of an urban area that was delivered through a verbal description, an audio-tactile map or an audio-haptic map, could be used for detecting in the area specific points of interest. The effectiveness of the three aids with reference to each other was also examined. The results of the present study highlight the effectiveness of the audio-tactile and the audio-haptic maps as orientation and mobility aids, especially when these are compared to verbal descriptions.

Are there relationships among different spatial skills of individuals with blindness?

The aim of this study was to detect the possible relationships between various spatial skills of individuals with blindness. Twenty-eight individuals with blindness participated in five experiments that examined the body knowledge, laterality, directionality, perspective-taking, spatial coding of the near space and spatial knowledge of the far space. According to the results a positive correlation between body knowledge and directionality has emerged. Moreover, body knowledge and spatial coding of near space are found to be predictors of perspective-taking, while directionality and perspective-taking are found to be predictors of spatial coding of near space, and directionality and perspective-taking predictors of spatial knowledge of far space. This finding suggest that future studies should seriously take into account the possibility that the development of a certain skill could in fact be the result of the development of another skill/s. Moreover, the findings support the notion that a delay in the development of a spatial skill may not necessarily be a result of the visual impairment itself but of the incomplete development of another spatial skill.

The impact of vision in spatial coding.

The aim of this study is to examine the performance in coding and representing of near-space in relation to vision status (blindness vs. normal vision) and sensory modality (touch vs. vision). Forty-eight children and teenagers participated. Sixteen of the participants were totally blind or had only light perception, 16 were blindfolded sighted individuals, and 16 were non-blindfolded sighted individuals. Participants were given eight different object patterns in different arrays and were asked to code and represent each of them. The results suggest that vision influences performance in spatial coding and spatial representation of near space. However, there was no statistically significant difference between participants with blindness who used the most effective haptic strategy and blindfolded sighted participants. Thus, the significance of haptic strategies is highlighted.

Piaget's water-level task: the impact of vision on performance.

In the present study, the aim was to examine the differences in performance between children and adolescents with visual impairment and sighted peers in the water-level task. Twenty-eight individuals with visual impairments, 14 individuals with blindness and 14 individuals with low vision, and 28 sighted individuals participated in the present study. Fourteen sighted individuals participated blindfolded and 14 were able to use their sight. The findings indicate that use of vision can influence the performance in water-level task. However, in the restriction of visual ability (participants with blindfold), individuals with blindness might present better performance than blindfolded sighted participants.