Use of Braille in the Workplace by People Who Are Blind.

Interest in the benefits of braille for people who are blind is high among professionals in the blindness field, but we know little about how braille is used in the workplace. The broad purpose of this study was to learn how employed people who are blind use braille on the job. Specific topics investigated included: work tasks refreshable braille technology (RBT) is used for, personal and job characteristics of RBT users compared to non-users, and factors associated with RBT use among workers with at least moderate braille skills. This study utilized data from 304 participants in a longitudinal research project investigating assistive technology use in the workplace by people who are blind. Two-thirds of our participants used braille on the job, and more than half utilized RBT. Workers who used RBT did not necessarily use it for all computer-related tasks they performed. RBT use was generally not significantly related to job characteristics, except for working for a blindness organization. RBT use was not significantly related to general personal characteristics but it was significantly different based on disability-related characteristics. Only older age and higher braille skills were significantly associated with RBT use on the job in a multivariate logistic regression model.

Actual and Preferred Methods for Learning to Use Assistive Technology.

This study investigated the preferred and actual methods for learning assistive technology (AT) by employed individuals who are blind or have low vision. Hands-on training was the preferred method for learning to use new AT, particularly among those who lost vision later in life. However, most participants considered self-training as their primary actual learning method. The findings indicate a need for more formal training opportunities and suggest a gap between this need and the availability of training by qualified professionals. The findings also suggest content to incorporate into formal training, including utilizing mobile apps, developing problem-solving skills, and locating and using training resources available online. AT trainers should emphasize to their students the ongoing, life-long learning needed to maintain and enhance AT skills and knowledge.

Employment and retirement among workers who develop vision loss in midlife.

BACKGROUND: Vision loss increases with age and is thus more likely to happen later in one's career. With more individuals working beyond typical retirement age, the possibility of experiencing vision loss while working has increased. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate how developing vision loss during midlife affects employment and retirement. METHOD: Using longitudinal Health and Retirement Study data, we identified a sample of 167 workers, 44 to 64 years old, who developed vision loss and a matched comparison sample of 800 workers who did not. We explored job retention and retirement differences between the groups and differences between people with vision loss who retained jobs versus those who did not. RESULTS: Vision loss was associated with leaving the labor force, although there was a clear trend over time of increasing likelihood of job retention. Occupational category was associated with job retention and people who continued working had more favorable financial situations. Retirees with vision loss were more likely to report involuntary retirement and dissatisfaction with retirement. CONCLUSIONS: The decreasing likelihood of leaving the labor market after vision loss is an encouraging finding of this study. Workers who left the labor force after vision loss were more likely to be in precarious financial positions, and retirees did not have positive experiences with retirement. Assisting workers with vision loss to remain in the labor force is of vital importance, and increasing awareness and usage of free services for this population may reduce involuntary retirement and its negative consequences.

Predictors of Job Retention After Onset of Visual Impairment in Late Middle Age.

Objectives: We investigated factors associated with job retention after developing a visual impairment in late middle adulthood. Methods: Using longitudinal survey data from the Health and Retirement Study, we identified respondents who first reported poor eyesight or legal blindness at age 44-64 years in Waves 3-14 and who were employed in the previous wave. We conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis with job retention as the dependent variable and health and socioeconomic characteristics as independent variables. Results: Women, people who were married or partnered, and people with fair or better self-reported health were more likely to retain employment after vision loss, whereas people with more chronic health conditions were less likely to retain employment. Discussion: Poor health and chronic health conditions may prompt late middle-aged adults to leave the labor force after developing vision loss. Timely vocational rehabilitation services can help employed people with vision loss retain employment.

Assistive technology use in the workplace by people with blindness and low vision: perceived skill level, satisfaction, and challenges.

In the current labor market, assistive technology (AT) is vital to employment for people with blindness or low vision (B/LV), yet we know little about their AT use in the workplace. The purpose of this descriptive study was to increase our knowledge in this area. Participants were 314 employed people with B/LV who completed an online or phone survey about AT used on the job and perceived skill level, satisfaction, and challenges experienced with their workplace AT. Two researchers utilized content analysis to code open-ended responses and descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Self-perceived skill levels were moderately high to high for each AT. Satisfaction with AT was generally high, but 15% or more participants expressed dissatisfaction with their AT for five tasks. Dissatisfaction with AT for some work tasks differed noticeably by type of AT being used to accomplish the task. Accessing certain software, websites, or digital documents was the most common challenge experienced, mentioned by 59.1% participants, representing an ongoing problem in the technological workplace environment for people with B/LV. In addition to websites, specific areas that present access or utilization challenges are slide presentation software, PDFs, spreadsheets, virtual meeting software, and printed material.

College Degree Majors and Associated Earnings: Are There Differences Between People with Visual Impairments and the General Population?

BACKGROUND: College graduates without visual impairments earn more than college graduates with visual impairments. Differences in degree majors obtained or differences in earnings associated with degree majors for the two groups might explain this discrepancy in earnings. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine (a) differences in degree major categories and (b) relationships between degree majors and earnings for college graduates with and without visual impairments. METHOD: We obtained data for college-educated, working-age adults from the American Community Survey. We utilized descriptive statistics to compare degree major categories by visual impairment and multiple regression to evaluate predictors of annual earnings for college graduates who worked full-time/full-year. RESULTS: Small differences in degree majors obtained were found between college graduates with and without visual impairments. Significant predictors of earnings included 23 out of 25 degree majors and several other demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Effects of three majors and several other variables differed for people with visual impairments. CONCLUSION: People with visual impairments were slightly more likely to hold degrees with lower-paying majors and less likely to hold degrees with two higher-paying majors. Regardless of degree major, college graduates with visual impairments had substantially lower average earnings than the general population.

Employers' implicit attitudes about the competence of people who are blind.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an implicit measure of attitudes about the competence of people who are blind, to be used with employers, and to report on these implicit attitudes with a national sample of employers. METHOD: A sample of 343 employers (i.e., business professionals responsible for making hiring decisions) participated in an online survey that involved answering questions and completing formal instruments, including explicit and implicit attitude measures about blind employees and a knowledge measure about how blind people can perform typical work tasks. The implicit measure was an Implicit Association Test-Blind/Visually Impaired (the IAT-BVI) that was developed for this study. RESULTS: Employers have strong negative implicit attitudes about the competence of people who are blind, with results indicating a very large IAT effect. These implicit attitudes were not associated with personal characteristics, exposure to people who are blind, or explicit attitudes. Implicit attitudes were significantly associated with knowledge about how blind people perform work tasks and, for employers who had hired a blind person, performance ratings of those employees. CONCLUSIONS: Employers' implicit attitudes about the competence of blind people were mostly unrelated to other measures, as expected, with the exception of knowledge and performance ratings of blind employees. These findings provide support for the validity of the IAT-BVI, and indicate the importance of rehabilitation professionals working with employers to provide education about how blind people perform work tasks as a potential avenue to improve employment opportunities for people who are blind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Availability of Mental Health Services for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Deaf-Blind.

A survey of state mental health agencies found that a majority have no specific policy or procedure regarding how to provide mental health services to persons who are deaf or who are deaf-blind. Agency representatives report that staff lack knowledge of how to provide mental health services to persons who are deaf-blind and the agencies lack qualified interpreters. They recommend training for social workers and counselors to address best practices in working with people who are deaf-blind concerning communication methods and strategies, physical interaction, cultural issues, everyday life, sensory deprivation, ethics, use of an interpreter, and other general issues.