Research problem
In this information age, almost every human activity, from ordering a Big Mac to performing one's job, depends on the ability to process written communication, much of which is in the form of icons and other graphic symbols not readily accessible to blind persons. If, however, the most severe problem of those who are blind continues to be the speedy and accurate processing of written communication, the second most serious problem remains the difficulty of traveling from one point to another in order to engage in social and economic activity. The problem of mobility outdates the problem of written communication by hundreds of years. Independent travel, requiring extreme concentration of one's perceptual and physical abilities, has remained a serious challenge for persons who cannot see, as indicated by blind persons who employ the cane method for independent mobility (Hanvey & Philpot 2001). Blind people and those with very limited sight need to be taught mobility skills to enable them to move safely and purposefully in their environment. The skills include: self-protection techniques: for example, in unfamiliar environments holding the hand and forearm in front of the face for protection while trailing the other hand along the wall or rail; checking for doorways, steps, stairs and obstacles; using auditory information to locate objects: for example, the air-conditioner, an open doorway; traffic noise; long-cane skills: moving about the environment with the aid of a long cane swept lightly on the ground ahead to locate hazards and to check surface textures; using electronic travel aids such as sonic spectacles with a sound warning built into the frame and using a sighted guide (Roberts 1998). This paper is a proposal to create a research study on orientation and mobility needs of students with visual impairment at the University of Ghana.
Aims and objectives
1. To define orientation and mobility
2. To gather the historical background of orientation and mobility training for students with visual impairment
3. To analyze orientation and mobility techniques for students with visual impairment.
4. To understand orientation and mobility devices for students with visual impairment
5. To analyze orientation and mobility training in foreign countries
6. To study orientation and mobility needs of students with visual impairment at the University of Ghana
Literature Review
The person with impaired vision needs sufficient mobility skills and confidence to negotiate the outside environment, including crossing the road, catching buses or trains, and locating shops. Increased mobility adds significantly to the quality of life for persons with impaired vision. Mobility training is usually regarded as a specialist area of instruction. Actually, it is the environment itself that is handicapping for example, money access machines, urinals, or pay telephones placed too high to be used by persons in wheelchairs or with dwarfism. In a sense, a handicap is the disadvantage imposed by the disability the person experiences in his or her particular environment (Westwood 2003). Different disabilities result in different handicaps. Blindness is a disability that commonly results in one’s inability to get around and be mobile. Deafness is a disability that commonly results in one’s inability to understand. Thus, while blindness handicaps an individual’s mobility and transportation, deafness often handicaps an individual’s communication. But both blindness and deafness often result in the handicap of being pitied, stigmatized, feared and considered less of a human being. Handicaps, therefore, are the burdens imposed upon individuals by society and the environment in which they must function. They are by- products of the interaction between the deviation and the environment (Shapiro 2000). Mobility training for visually impaired people especially a student who has such condition will help him/her move along everyday living without worrying about his/her safety and without asking other people for assistance. Mobility training will make sure that a visually impaired student can enjoy studying.
Methodology
Qualitative method will be used in the study. Qualitative method thrives on understanding data through giving emphasis on determining people’s words and actions. Qualitative method has an orientation that it should gather data that can be acquired through quantitative methods. The tasks of understanding and presenting qualitative research can be very demanding and can be compared to the task of understanding statistics. In qualitative research, the researcher creates a natural setting which he/she can use to understand a phenomenon of interest. Even if the focus is on a smaller case, qualitative research usually unearths a very big amount of information from the respondent. . The research will make use of a descriptive research. Descriptive method of research attempts to describe a data that was gathered. Descriptive approach focuses on the questions regarding what things are like, not why they are that way. Descriptive research can be in the form of sociological studies which explains the social structure of a community, the changes that happened to society over the past years and an organization’s operation. A descriptive research deemed as competent creates a notion that the existence of problems would be more difficult to deny.
References
Hanvey, C & Philpot, T 2001, Practicing social work, Routledge,
New York.
Roberts, A 1998, Coping with blindness: Personal tales of
blindness rehabilitation, Southern Illinois University Press,
Carbondale, IL.
Shapiro, A 2000, Everybody belongs: Changing negative attitudes
toward classmates with disabilities, Routledge Falmer, New York.
Westwood, P 2003, Commonsense methods for children with special
needs: Strategies for the regular classroom, RoutledgeFalmer,
New York.
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