Abstract
□ To get an indication of the occupational areas in which visually handicapped clients are being placed, the range of visual acuity among those being placed, and the kinds of questions employers were asking during job development interviews, 225 questionnaires were mailed to graduates of the Placement Counselor Training Program at Southern Illinois University. Useable questionnaires were returned by 77 counselors who placed a total of 1,733 clients in 18 specified occupational areas and in the category “other” during the period July 1, 1968, through April 15, 1970. The occupational area, “industrial” showed the largest numbers of placements (600), with self-employment (191) second, and clerical (160) third. With respect to vision, 43.4 percent of those placed had visual acuity of 20/200 or better, 42.9 percent had 20/200 or less but not totally blind, and 13.7 percent were totally blind. Among the legally blind persons, 24.3 percent were totally blind, a figure which closely approximates the 25.5 percent of totally blind persons in the legally blind population who are 20-60 years of age.
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