[Rehabilitation of blind patients exemplified by the Weimar special school. A retrospective study]

The beginning of this century saw the establishment of the first special school for people with poor vision; nowadays, in contrast, there is a trend to integrate such people into mainstream education. In the former GDR (now the new federal länder), however, the traditional special school system survived until 1990, which provides a unique opportunity of assessing the positive value of this type of education with a view to obtaining insights that will help in the future integration of people who have poor vision or are blind. Probands: A total of 134 former pupils (older than 18) of the former special school in Weimar were traced and asked about their development between leaving school and the present.

We analysed factors of medical, occupational and cultural rehabilitation, of rehabilitation in their families (e.g. 10th class exams = 84.3%; completed vocational training = 84.3%; marriage/permanent relationship = 47.8%; own flat = 67.2%) but also such problems as contrasts between hoped for occupation and training, later changes of job, availability of aids to vision at places of work.

Advantages of special schools should be taken into account. Vocational training, applications of aids to vision and after-care are all capable of improvement.