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AER is proud to support research that advances the field of blindness and visual impairment. Below you’ll find current studies seeking participants from our community of professionals, individuals who are blind or low vision, families, and others interested in contributing to meaningful research. Your participation helps strengthen the knowledge base that drives innovation, accessibility, and improved outcomes for all. Explore the listings below to learn how you can get involved. Together, we can make a difference through research.

OPPORTUNITIES

VIPS needs your help!

Throughout the years, VIPS has been tapped to support different agencies in their quest to launch vision services for young children. We take these requests seriously and want to honor the efforts of our partners on their journey. Recently, it has come to our attention that we do not have a tight grasp on what exactly is offered in early childhood programming in each state/region.

VIPS is now on our own quest to get that information – and we need your help! By completing this survey, you will help us greatly. Once the information is collected from a variety of entities, I will be happy to share the results with you.

If you have any questions regarding the survey, they can be addressed to Kathy Mullen at [email protected]. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Exploring Lived and Professional Experiences of Vision Professionals with a Visual Impairment

A study titled “Exploring Lived and Professional Experiences of Vision Professionals with a Visual Impairment” is being conducted at The University of British Columbia by Erika Fundelius, Ph.D.

Dr. Fundelius is seeking participants to take an approximately 10 minutes long, anonymous Qualtrics survey form to help us examine what motivated individuals with visual impairments to seek a career as vision professionals (e.g., teacher of students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility specialist), how these individuals describe their lived experiences in terms of societal and organizational attitudes, accessibility, and how do they view their role as adults with visual impairments in the education of students in K-12 setting.

You may participate in this study if:

  • You are a teacher of students with visual impairments or an orientation and mobility specialist,
  • You are working or have worked in elementary and secondary education settings (i.e., Prek-12),
  • You have a diagnosed congenital or acquired visual impairment that qualifies you as a visually   impaired professional under federal or provincial law/regulations.
  • You reside in Canada or United States and their territories.

Please share our Study Information Sheet.

Université de Montréal Orientation and Mobility Student Research

Université de Montréal orientation and mobility students are currently conducting a research study in the laboratory of professor Joe Nemargut. Research focuses on living with a visual impairment: personal, medical, and educational perspectives, with a focus on vision rehabilitation services in the US and Canada.

Your perspectives would be highly valuable in helping us better understand real-life experiences and challenges related to visual impairment. The insights participants provide will contribute meaningfully to academic research aimed at improving awareness and support systems. We would like to invite potential participants, which include individuals living with a visual impairment and professionals who work with people living with a visual impairment to 30-60-minute interviews with questions focusing on the usage of assistive devices, vision rehabilitation services in general and related topics. If you are willing, we would highly appreciate if you could participate or share this project with other organizations, professionals working with visually impaired individuals and/or potentially interested clients who are willing to participate in this project. Contact Stefan Magda, MSc candidate, [email protected] or Mubaraka Arooj, MSc candidate, [email protected]. Thank you for considering this request. Your contribution would be greatly appreciated.

Word Learning and Vocabulary Development in Blind Children

Lindsay Harris, an associate professor at Northern Illinois University (NIU), has received a four-year, $745,000 grant from National Institutes of Health, via its National Eye Institute to study how children who are blind or visually impaired acquire vocabulary compared with sighted peers. The study will recruit 100 blind or visually impaired children and 100 sighted children (ages 5–12) to test their ability to define words presented auditorily and to explore how they developed their understanding (through language context or direct experience). Researchers hope to determine whether lack of visual experience affects semantic knowledge and vocabulary size, and whether vocabulary limitations might contribute to reading delays in blind children so that information that could guide educational and intervention strategies.

For more specific information about the project and the NIH research grant that is funding this research, please read Lindsay Harris Wins NIH Grant to Study Word Learning in Children Who Are Blind.

Your child is eligible to participate if they:

  • Are age 5-14 at the time of the research session
  • Were completely blind by age 1, with no more than light perception
  • Reside in the United States or Canada and speak a variety of American or Canadian English as their primary language
  • Hear English at least 3 hours a day
  • Have access to a computer with camera, microphone, and internet connection.

Your child is not eligible to participate if they:

  • Have diagnosed or suspected Intellectual Disability, Hearing Loss or Deafness or Deaf-blindness
  • Are unable to sit and respond to questions for 10-15 minutes at a time

Go to the PenLAB website sign up for the study, and please forward the link to anyone you know who is eligible (or has a child who is eligible) to participate!

Recruitment for a Study on Internship Experiences of Blind COMS Candidates and Their Internship Supervisors

The purpose of the study is to explore the internship experiences of blind COMS candidates and COMS who have prior experience supervising a blind or visually impaired COMS candidate via 60–70-minute virtual interview. If you are interested, please contact Bradley Blair, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations, Northern Illinois University, 217-480-7646 or [email protected].

Developing an Automated System for Individuals Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

This project seeks to develop a low-cost, fully automated, real-time system that converts and renders visual graphics into accessible formats for individuals who are blind or visually impaired (BVI). To guide the system’s design, researchers are conducting focus groups with BVIs, teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs), and rehabilitation professionals to learn how BVIs currently use or wish to use graphical information and what features they find most helpful in an automated accessibility tool.

Each session will last about 1.5 hours, and participants will receive $25 compensation, with an additional $25 for transportation for BVIs attending in person. Focus groups will tentatively take place in Richmond, the DC metro area, and Hampton Roads, with online options via Zoom. 

For more information, contact Prof. Dianne Pawluk, [email protected], (804) 525-8793, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. Or contact Andrew Tuck, [email protected], 703-215-6107.