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A study involving 17 Belgian children with hearing impairments and 33 parents, 10 with deafness, found that parents with deafness differed significantly from hearing parents in the use of a visual communication style adapted to the developmental communication needs and abilities related to the 18- to 24-month age period. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article describes an experimental system for administering multiple-choice math tests to students who are visually impaired or have other print disabilities. Using a new audio-tactile computer peripheral device called the Talking Tactile Tablet, a preliminary version of a self-voicing test was created for eight participants. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article describes the Miniguide, a new electronic travel device that assists people in moving about in a range of environments. The Miniguide is held in the palm and is used to scan left to right when walking. It provides vibratory feedback to the hand when it detects an obstacle. (Contains 5 references.) (CR)

A device that relays navigational information using a portable tactile glove and a wearable computer and camera system was tested with nine adults with visual impairments. Paths traversed by subjects negotiating an obstacle course were not qualitatively different from paths produced with existing wayfinding devices and hitting probabilities were minimized. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A follow-up study examined the effects of different tactile aids on tasks of visual speech reading in 14 adults with severe hearing impairments. Compared with speech reading alone, tactile aids impaired sentence-based speech reading at first, although performance improved with training. No effects of vibrotactile aids or training were obtained for visual word-decoding. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A project developed and evaluated an intermediate form of presentation that provides a virtual dynamic tactile display for use with computers that could complement static tactile displays of graphical material. The device is a two-dimensional extension of the tactile mouse and provides contour and slope information to the user. (Contains nine references.) (Author/CR)

Tangible preference assessments were compared with verbal preference assessments for six individuals (ages 15-20) with mental retardation, behavior disorders, or both. The two assessments yielded similar high-preference items for 4 of the 6 participants. The verbal assessment was typically completed in less time than the tangible assessment. (Contains five references.) (Author/CR)

A study investigated the efficacy of using the Buddy Road Kit, an interactive, wooden model, to teach environmental concepts to 4 children with visual impairments ages 7 to 11 years old. Results indicate the model was effective in teaching environmental concepts and traffic safety to the children involved. (Contains references.) (CR)

A pilot study tested an intervention to provide basic skills of touch therapy to parents of 13 children with disabilities. Post-intervention interviews indicated that both parents and children found touch therapy enjoyable. Parents felt more confident in their own abilities and felt closer to their child. Children had improved sleep patterns, more relaxed muscles, and improved bowel functioning. (Author/KB)

Both deaf and hearing mothers (N=23) were observed in videotaped face-to-face interactions with their infants (also either deaf or hearing) and maternal touching behavior was coded for intensity, location, and type. Deaf mothers were especially responsive to tactile needs of their deaf infants. However, hearing mothers of deaf infants also incorporated more active forms of touch in interactions. (Contains extensive references.) (Author/DB)

Two studies investigated whether an appropriate versus an inappropriate hemisphere alluding stimulation treatment of children with L-type dyslexia produces differential reading effects, and effects of hemisphere specific stimulation on children with L-, P-, and M-type dyslexia. Results support the validity of dyslexia subtyping and the effectiveness of the treatment methods. (Contains extensive references.) (Author/CR)

A survey found a majority of 93 workshop participants used Nielsen's Little Room, an educational method involving placing a structure on a resonance board that acts like a drum and gives tactile and auditory feedback as the child with visual impairments interacts with objects in it and on the board. (Contains references.) (CR)

Three experiments examined cross-modal transfer of shape between touch and vision in 1-month-olds, controlling for side bias and stimulus preference. Results did not provide good evidence that 1-month-olds can transfer information about smooth or nubby shapes from touch to vision. Findings highlight the need to control for side bias and stimulus preference. (Author/KB)

To determine the feasibility of using pictorial stimuli in preference assessments, multiple-stimulus preference assessments were conducted with two adults with mental retardation using both tangible stimuli and pictorial cards representing these same stimuli. Stimuli predicted by the tangible assessment were more potent reinforcers than those predicted by the pictorial assessment. (Author/CR)

A study of 12 university students, 6 with blindness, investigated the extent to which auditory study is relevant for students with blindness compared to tactile study. Students with blindness performed equally well in the auditory and tactile conditions. while they did not perform better than controls in the auditory condition. (CR)

Three experiments examined whether 8.5-month-olds considered an object's width and compressibility when determining whether it could be inserted into a container. Results suggested that infants realized that large balls could fit into large but not small containers, whereas small balls could fit into both containers. Infants understood that large compressible balls could be inserted into either container. (Author/KB)

A study investigated the efficacy of texture fading in the treatment of food selectivity displayed by four children (ages 2-5). Successful treatment involved the gradual addition of higher textures based on results of periodic probes. Food acceptance and swallowing were reinforced, while food refusal and expulsion were placed on extinction. (Author/CR)

A study examined effects of a tactile prompting device (the Gentle Reminder) as a prompt for a 9-year-old student with autism to make verbal initiations about play activities. Results indicate that the device serves as an effective, unobtrusive prompt for verbal initiations during play contexts and during cooperative learning activities. (Author/CR)

Examined, over a 10-year span, continuity in individual differences in cross-modal transfer to visually recognized shapes that had previously been felt but not seen. Found that cross-modal performance showed a left-hand advantage at 11 years. Cross-age correlations were significant when tactual exploration at 11 years was done with the left hand. (Author)

Presents an interview with Susan Lederman that contains a fascinating and informative overview of the recent developments in neuropsychological research concerning the sense of touch. Discusses the physiological processes that support this sensory experience and reveals them to be much more flexible, intricate, and adaptive than previously thought. Discusses classroom applications. (MJP)

Irritability and activity, components of temperament, were rated for 114 fullterm and 163 preterm infants during five-second application of a cold disc on the thigh and five seconds following. For fullterm infants and preterm females, irritability increased and activity decreased across five trials. Females were more irritable during stimulation, and fullterm infants were more active on the initial trial. (EV)

Examines the effects of finger placement markers (FPMs) and harmonic accompaniment (context) on the left-hand technique, intonation performance skills, and overall musical performance skills of sixth-grade beginning string students. Considers how a tactile/visual reference and an aural reference can influence the development of string-intonation performance skills. (MJP)

Three analyses were conducted to assess the effects of different consequent stimuli on the stereotypical and self-injurious behavior of two children with severe developmental disabilities and dual sensory impairments. Contingent presentation of the specially selected stimuli plus response interruption resulted in more suppression than contingent sensory stimulus presentation alone. (Author/CR)

Two experiments investigated the ability of 10 children with congenital blindness, 16 with residual vision, and 33 sighted children to estimate distances from a tactile map. Results found the children with visual impairments performed less well than sighted children; however, after training in how to calculate distances they improved. (Author/CR)

This study of six adults with blindness tested a code that facilitates the interpretation of tactile outline graphics by reducing potential ambiguities in figure-ground, slope, and curvature. Results found all subjects learned the code in less than two hours and successfully matched coded graphics to targeted objects. (Author/CR)

In two experiments, an adult presented 2-year-olds with an unfamiliar solid object, either rigid or flexible, and performed an action that emphasized the object's shape or material. Children were then asked to choose an object that matched the one shown. As hypothesized, the adult's action information alone directed children to attend to relevant object properties in making inferences. (EV)

The effectiveness of two treatment strategies (verbal prompts and a physical prompt) on the independent drinking skills of a 17-year-old girl with cortical visual impairment was investigated. Results found that the physical prompt was highly effective in promoting the target behavior, whereas verbal prompts were less effective. (Author/CR)