VIDBE-Q Volume 69 Issue 4
vision. Research has suggested that many TSVIs may not be well-prepared to
provide this training (Ajuwon et al., 2016; Zhou et al., 2011, 2019). The number of
AT tools and skills that high school students who are blind or have low vision
should know more than doubled between 2004 and 2018, with 30 recommended
AT tools and skills for youth who utilize braille in 2018 (Kelly & Kapperman,
2018). Keeping up to date with the increasing necessary AT and skills may be
challenging for the students themselves as well as their TSVIs. Ultimately, the AT
needed to succeed in school may likely also be needed in the workplace, but until
recently, we have had little information about what AT is used at work by people
who are blind or have low vision. The National Research & Training Center on
Blindness & Low Vision (NRTC) began a research project in 2020 to learn more
about AT being used in the workplace, challenges users experience with AT at
work, and any gaps in needed and available AT.
The purpose of the present study was to provide information about the AT
that employed young adults who are blind or have low vision are using at work as
well as their self-reported need for training on their workplace AT. In addition, we
wanted to provide information about how they learned to utilize their workplace
AT and their self-perceived skill levels with the AT. We employed four research
questions to guide our analyses.
