Post-Rehabilitation Use of Adaptive Skills

Abstract

This paper describes a study designed to identify the ways in which blind and visually impaired persons utilize adaptive skills following successful rehabilitation. In addition, the effects of certain personal characteristics on the use of such skills was measured. The skills utilized most frequently and at the highest levels were, as expected, related to caring for one's daily living needs. Those reported least frequently related to specialized needs, such as braille, typing, and independent travel. Chi-square analyses demonstrated significant relationships between educational level and typing skills (p = .04), degree of vision and handwriting skills (p < .01), degree of vision and personal management skills (p <.01), age of onset and listening and recording skills (p = .01), and age of onset and home management skills (p = .04). Key words: blind rehabilitation, adaptive skills, post-rehabilitation and blindness skills.