A visual oddball paradigm was used to investigate whether children with high functioning autism had difficulty detecting mutual gaze under experimental conditions. Findings revealed that children with autism were no better at detecting direct gaze than at detecting averted gaze, unlike normal children. Findings suggest that the lack of ability to…

Provides classroom activities centered around how the electromagnetic spectrum yields vital insights about the evolution of the universe. Activities targeted for grade levels 6-12 illustrate the importance of light and color in space exploration. Includes a poster. (Author/SOE)

In order to shed light on the needs of children with cortical visual impairments, normal visual development of infants is described. Infant preferences for motion, faces, and black-and-white patterns are explained. Colors useful in stimulating vision development and the time needed for exposure to visual stimuli are discussed. (CR)

This study tested the role of visual processing speed and IQ in reading with 124 children either with or without reading disability. Results indicated that processing speed explains a significant amount of variance in reading comprehension, as does IQ. Path analyses indicated that the effect of IQ on reading is partially mediated by decoding in…

The study examined the ability of five deaf-blind subjects to receive fingerspelled materials through the tactual sense, and of six deaf subjects to receive fingerspelling through the visual sense. Results found highly accurate tactual reception at normal rates and suggested that rates for visual reception are limited by the rate of manual…

To understand why children perceive traffic differently from adults, adults must position themselves at children's level, physically and cognitively, and devise instructional techniques that reflect children's size and physical and cognitive development. (IAH)

The study examined the possible existence of a perceptual hierarchy which is systematically affected by the onset of adventitious visual impairment. Results with 80 persons with partial vision indicated a demarcation of difficulty between the simpler and more complex levels of the hierarchy. (DB)

The performance of 20 hyperactive and 26 comparison elementary-school boys on a spelling recognition task found that color facilitates attention to detail. Hyperactive children who practiced the task with all black letters first and color added later out-performed comparison children. (Author/JDD)

Results of a study of 68 infants of 5-14 months revealed that partial optical flow is generally sufficient for inducing postural compensations, but the amplitude and consistency of the response depend on the location of the flow in the optic array. (RJC)

The hypothesis that describing a visual memory can result in recoding interference was investigated in a series of 6 experiments with 518 college students. Collective results were consistent with the hypothesis; verbalizing memory can produce a verbally biased memory representation that can interfere with the original visual memory. (SLD)

The paper addresses the need to define terms used in vision training before successful programs can be formulated. Critical behaviors in three categories (visual attending, visual examining, and visually guided motor) are considered as are program alternatives focusing on visual environment management, visual skills training, and visually…

Discusses techniques for studying large-scale brain activity, insights from computational modeling, and cognitive processes that could lead to a better understanding of cognition. Describes interactions between psychology and physiology in perception, structural levels of organization in the nervous system, techniques and research strategies. (RT)

Illustrated are landmarks in the development of speechreading and its role in speech perception by individuals with impaired hearing. Covered are historical influences from 1450 to the present and issues in teaching/learning speechreading, such as the most effective unit of analysis for instruction and the impact of linguistic context. (JDD)

Children and adults were tested on their beliefs about whether visual processes involved intromissions (visual input) or extramissions (visual output) across a variety of situations. Results were inconsistent with the idea that simple experiences increase or reinforce a coherent theory of vision and have implications for understanding the nature…

Visual scanning patterns of 17 students with mental retardation and control groups matched for chronological or mental age were recorded during visuomotor tasks. Results suggested that subjects paid more attention to penpoints than to the succeeding or passed points of a model line, indicating that they have a poorer ability to process more than…