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by Tom Miller, Executive Director
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
on Blindness and Low Vision, located at Mississippi State University,
recently received a $2.5 million research grant award from the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of
the U.S. Department of Education.
The grant will fund a new five-year project entitled
"A Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project on Persons
Aging with Hearing and Vision Loss." It is designed to explore
ways to improve employment and community integration outcomes
for persons who are blind or deaf and who are experiencing a secondary
onset of hearing or vision loss resulting from aging.
Specific areas of investigation include evaluating
accessibility and usage of assistive technology; investigating
community integration strategies; developing strategies to improve
communication systems, transportation, and job placements for
those aging with vision and hearing loss; and developing model
service delivery systems for service providers, families, and
consumers that improve the quality of life for those aging with
vision and hearing loss.
Collaboration on the project is being conducted
by the Helen Keller National Center for Deafblind Youths and Adults
in Sands Point, New York, and the RRTC on Persons who are
Hard of Hearing or Late Deafened at National University in San
Diego, California.
The Training Center is seeking volunteers interested
in participating in the project. To be eligible, individuals must
be 55 years old or over with both hearing and vision loss. One
must have been either deaf (hearing impaired) or visually impaired
prior to age 55 and experienced the other sensory loss after age
55 due to aging. Participants must also be willing to volunteer
for the 3-5 year project and respond to surveys and interviews
conducted over the phone.
For more information about the project or to express
interest in volunteering, contact Mrs. B.J. LeJeune at P.O. Box
6189, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, or call
one of two numbers: 800-675-7782 or 662-325-2001.
Note: The preceding phone numbers as presently
written are correct and updated. They were originally published
incorrectly but have since been corrected on this site and in
the July-August issue of the
Bulletin.
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