Early intervention services are essential for infants and toddlers who are visually impaired and have some functional vision that they will be able to use for everyday activities--not only to ensure their early development but also to help them learn to use their vision with maximum effectiveness, right from the start. Everyday Activities to Promote Visual Efficiency offers guiding principles for early intervention with very young children who are visually impaired and who may also have additional disabilities. This important new resource provides simple activities that can be incorporated easily by families and service providers into the everyday routines of a baby or child to facilitate early visual development and use of functional vision.

Essential Elements in Early Intervention is a complete sourcebooks and guide for early interventionists, teachers of students with visual impairments, and other professionals who work with young children with visual impairments, dual sensory impairments, and multiple disabilities. It includes comprehensive information on vision and hearing examinations, functional vision and hearing assessments, and effective methods of providing early intervention services. The new edition includes expanded, updated information on federal special education legislation, best practices in early intervention, evidence-based outcomes, and the role of the early interventionist, as well as strategies for working with families and educational teams successfully.

When children and adults apply for disability benefits and claim that a visual impairment has limited their ability to function, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to determine their eligibility. To ensure that these determinations are made fairly and consistently, SSA has developed criteria for eligibility and a process for assessing each claimant against the criteria. Visual Impairments: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits examines SSA's methods of determining disability for people with visual impairments, recommends changes that could be made now to improve the process and the outcomes, and identifies research needed to develop improved methods for the future. The report assesses tests of visual function, including visual acuity and visual fields whether visual impairments could be measured directly through visual task performance or other means of assessing disability. These other means include job analysis databases, which include information on the importance of vision to job tasks or skills, and measures of health-related quality of life, which take a person-centered approach to assessing visual function testing of infants and children, which differs in important ways from standard adult tests.

As the number of older persons experiencing vision loss continues to soar over the upcoming years, all of us may find that a family member or friend we care about has become visually impaired. Aging and Vision Loss contains reassuring, supportive, and helpful information on meeting the needs of the older person and family caregivers as well.

Foundations of Low Vision: Clinical and Functional Perspectives, the ground-breaking text that highlighted the importance of focusing on the functional as well as the clinical implications of low vision, has been completely updated and expanded in this second edition. The revised edition goes even further in its presentation of how best to assess and support both children and adults with low vision and plan programs and services that optimize their functional vision and ability to lead productive and satisfying lives, based on individuals' actual abilities. Part 1, Personal and Professional Perspectives, provides the foundations of this approach, with chapters focused on the anatomy of the eye, medical causes of visual impairment, optics and low vision devices, and clinical low vision services, as well as psychological and social implications of low vision and the history of the field. Part 2 focuses on children and youths, providing detailed treatment of functional vision assessment, instruction, use of low vision devices, orientation and mobility, and assistive technology. Part 3 presents rehabilitation and employment issues for working-age adults and special considerations for older adults.

Packed with important information for today's parents and professionals, this new edition of a groundbreaking work presents the latest research on how visually impaired children learn and develop at different ages and in the various developmental domains: sensory development, communication, movement, manipulation, and comprehension. Clear, practical, and reassuring, and full of suggested activities, this book provides a guide to teaching young visually impaired children the important life skills they need to know--skills that other children may learn simply by observation and imitation--and preparing them to enter school ready to learn with their peers. From early intervention services to the full range of educational placements, Reach Out and Teach is the ultimate guide to helping a visually impaired child learn and grow.

The Third Edition of Understanding and Managing Vision Deficits is the go-to resource that will enable occupational therapists to develop a comprehensive understanding of vision, appreciate the various effects vision problems can have on the practice of occupational therapy, and to more effectively manage patients with vision disorders. Understanding and Managing Vision Deficits: A Guide for Occupational Therapists, Third Edition is a unique collaboration from occupational therapists, optometrists, and low vision rehabilitation specialists. Dr. Mitchell Scheiman presents a unique Three Component Model of Vision that includes: Visual integrity: Includes visual acuity (clarity), the optics of the eye, and eye health Visual efficiency skills: Includes focusing, eye teaming, and eye movements Visual information processing skills: Includes the ability to analyze, interpret and respond to visual information A major emphasis of the new edition is on management of eye movement, visual information processing, visual field, and low vision problems. Therapy suggestions have been expanded and the use of computer software has been incorporated into the therapy. Some Additional Chapter Topics Include: Visual problems associated with learning disorders Visual problems associated with acquired brain injury Management of vision problems for children with special needs Low vision Features of the Third Edition: Updated figures, research, and references Incorporates current American Occupational Therapy Association Practice Framework Glossary of key terms Appendices that include a vision screening report form and low vision supplies and equipment Understanding and Managing Vision Deficits: A Guide for Occupational Therapists, Third Edition will continue to bring the professions of occupational therapy and optometry together and will guide health care professionals to provide the ultimate in patient care.