Studies in the application of motor skills techniques to the vocational adjustment of the blind.

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Abstract
In this report on the application of psychological measures to the prediction of success in industrial employment for the blind, a total of 312 unemployed and legally blind persons (up to 20/200 vision) were studied, 231 of whom were < 40 yrs. of age. Six motor tests were tried but only 3 were successfully adapted for vise by the blind: (1) the displacing and turning tests of the Minnesota Rate of Manipulation, (2) the assembly and disassembly parts of the Pennsylvania Bi-Manual Work sample, and (3) a Tool sample test requiring the removal of nuts and bolts from one board and then-tightening on another by means of tools. The subjects were divided into: (A) Totally-blind group with no light perception; (B) 10/200 group with light perception up to this level of vision; and (C) a 20/200 group. An employed group of totally blind were given the same tests to set the standard scores. The performance of the test groups was also studied on the basis of age (over and under 40), sex, and I.Q. as determined by Bellevue-Wechsler Verbal Scale, Interim Hayes-Binet and the Kent E-G-Y. From the results of the employed group, a standard score of 4 or better on all the tests was arrived at for the prediction of successful employment in industry. It was found that the groups with some degree of vision made distinctly higher scores than the totally blind group. But this was not true of individuals, some totally blind persons surpassing others having close to 20/200 vision. Indeed, blind persons with standard scores above 5 surpassed 50% of the seeing population upon which norms were established. Being more than 40 years of age and blind was disadvantageous on the basis of group results[long dash]but certain blind individuals as old as 54 surpassed many of the younger ones. Mental inferiority was a disadvantage, but no definite cut-off I.Q. was arrived at, on the basis of the mental tests administered, below which no individual should be considered for job placement. Studies of test results in relation to age of onset of blindness suggest that orientation in space comes slowly. It would be desirable to educate blind children early in the use of simple tools. Inability to learn motor skills seemed to be more a lack of previous contact than a lack of fundamental ability to comprehend the manipulations. There was no difference in performance of the blind because of the differing causes of onset of blindness[long dash]e.g., the prediction value of the tests was equally good whether the diagnosis of blindness was due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, trauma, or any other cause. A group of 51 blind students was given repetitive training on parts of these tests. The learning curves were fundamentally the same as those obtained on seeing individuals. However, a greater number of repetitions than normal were required to reach maximum performance. The more orientation in space required of a motor task, the farther will blind performance depart from normal. Motivation to learning is more difficult to establish with the blind than the normal. In general, there is a higher correlation between tests of motor skills used with the blind than between these same tests used with the seeing. This latter is probably due to the fact that blind individuals with superior orientation in space have an advantage on all motor tests.

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