A national grant will allow a Mississippi State University center to use the latest technologies, including the Internet, in its research on vocational rehabilitation for persons with severe visual impairments.
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision recently received $650,000 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, part of the U.S. Department of Education. Funding for the one-of-a-kind center is the first installment of a five-year award totaling $3.25 million.
"There are about 46 RRTCs around the country, but we're the only one that focuses on blindness and low vision," said director J. Elton Moore. "Our primary constituencies are vocational rehabilitative agencies which serve the blind or severely visually impaired."
The federal grant will enable the center to continue its research activities. Among these are the identification of job barriers that can be addressed by rehabilitation service providers or employers; the training of rehabilitation professionals on new techniques and accommodations; and the development of a national information and resource referral database.
Moore said training rehabilitation professionals involves traditional in-service programs, as well as skill development in computer access technology.
"This training will feature computer-based programs with Braille, large print and voice output, and will emphasize new methods required for blind computer users of Windows software," he said, adding, "We also will utilize the Internet for instruction."
Another research priority will build upon the center's established national information and resource referral database and its availability on the World Wide Web.
Finally, the funding will allow the center to continue the Anne Sullivan Macy Fellowship program that trains doctoral students in applied blindness research methodology.
The students' training is directed by the university's department of counselor education and educational psychology.