Izabella Kucharczyk

The first part of the article presents the forms of educating students with visual impairment in Polish education system, including discussion of their special educational needs. Furthermore, the data concerning the competency level of the students with visual impairment graduating from high school in 2014 and 2015 in each administrative district (voivodship), available on the websites of the Local Examination Committees (LEC) and the Central Examination Committee (CEC) are analyzed. In the final part of the article the authors propose means of identifying the reasons why students with visual impairment achieve very low scores at the final high school exam.

Visual impairment is among the most common conditions in later life. It influences on the inability to perform the basic activities but limits independents, process of thinking and data coding information. The article presents the latest research on cognitive function in the elderly with visual disabilities. The authors drew attention to the cognitive difficulties of patients with cataracts, glaucoma, retinal pigmentosa degeneration, age-related macular degeneration and retinopathia diabetica.

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a research devoted to establishing relations beteween self-awareness and social competence of students with visual impairments in early adolescence. There were two questionnaires used in the study: Emotion Awareness Questionnaire – Revised EAS-30-R. Rieffe, P. Oosterveld, A.C. Miers, M.M. Terwogt (2008) in the Polish adaptation of I. Kucharczyk and A. Dłużniewska and Social Competence Scale (SCS) P.M. Valkenburg, P.M, J. Peter (2008) in the Polish adaptation of I. Kucharczyk and A.Dłużniewska . The research group consisted of 30 students with visual impairments and 30 students without visual impairments at the age of early adolescence.

The population of persons with visual impairment is increasing due to the increasing number of cases of vision loss in the course of life, particularly in late adulthood. Acquiring vision loss in late adulthood is a risk factor for occurrence of additional problems in the area of physical and mental health which result in significant  deterioration of the quality of life. One of the negative effects of adventitious vision loss is decreased physical activity. Developing effective programs which promote physical activity among seniors with acquired vision loss is determined by proper identification of barriers experienced in that area, as well as of motivating factors and  of resources available for that social group. Taking into consideration the increasing global population of persons with visual impairment and numerous advantages (physiological, emotional-social, functional) of regular physical activity, it is necessary to undertake research investigating those issues.

The prevalence rate of visual impairment in the population of persons above the age of 65 is significantly increasing. Vision loss in late adulthood can result in substantial functional deterioration which generates a number of problems in performing activities of daily living and increases the demand for care services in the place of residence or in an institution. The goal of the article is to present the results of research on the effects of partial or total vision loss on the quality of life of elderly persons. The negative effect of acquired vision loss on the quality of life of seniors has been sufficiently evidenced by numerous research studies. However, the  mechanisms generating those adverse effects have not been clearly identified.