SELF-REPORTED FUNCTIONAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES OF BLIND REHABILITATION

This study explored changes in the self-reported functional capacity and psychosocial adjustment of 40 persons who completed a comprehensive residential rehabilitation program for visually impaired veterans. The significant improvements in the subjects' perceptions of their functional capacity and self-esteem from the pretest to the posttest were compared to the changes in the subjects' scores on clinical assessments routinely administered at the rehabilitation center. In the area of orientation and mobility, there was considerable correlation between self-reported improvements and improvements noted in the clinical assessments after rehabilitation.