الفهرس 
مــــــدخــــــل الــــــدراســــــةيوجد فقط 14 صفحة متاحة للعرض العام
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المستخلص
The field of special needs has recently gained an immense interest, for the increased conviction by different communities that persons with special needs have the right to live and reach maximum potentials and abilities just like other normal people. In addition, the recent interest came as a response to changing societal view to persons with special needs.
As individuals depend on five senses (i.e. hearing, vision, touch, smelling and tasting) in getting information and acquaintance with the surrounding environment; and that any deficiency or loss in one or more of these senses means more dependence on the others, and as the vision plays such a very important role in the interaction between human and environment and the most part of education occurs through vision, so the vision sense is the responsible for coordinating and organizing impressions received via other senses.
Thus, visually impaired persons live in a narrow limited world as a result of their disability, and may wish if get rid of it and entering the world of normally sighted people. So, the visually impaired have unsatisfied psychological needs, and face situations with different degrees of conflict and anxiety which may lead to maladjustment with the surrounding environment.
Samir Hassan (2005: 27) points that visual impairments occupies the second order statistically among different kinds of disabilities, as their number across the world is estimated to be 230 million persons, including 50 millions with complete blindness and 180 millions with some kind of visual impairments. In the Arab world, the visually impaired are estimated to be about 100% of total population.
All over the world, it is estimated that 1.3 billion suffer from some form of visual impairments. For the disability severity, there are 188.5 millions have mild visual impairments, while there are about 127 millions with visual impairments ranging from moderate to severe, and persons with vision loss are about 36 millions. Among the total number of the visually impaired, there are about 826 millions susceptible to have visual impairment without official diagnosis. The most recognized reasons for visual impairments around the world are deficits in refraction for the eye and the darkness in eye lens. Moreover, it is reported that about 80% of visual impairments are curable or even avoidable, and that visual impairments are increased among persons over 50 years old (Morizane, Morimoto, Fujiwara, Kawasaki, Yamashita, Ogura, &Shiraga, 2019: 38).
A report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the first quarter of 2019 regarding the numbers of visually impaired persons in the USA estimates that the number of these persons is about 1 million, with age distribution according to the following table (Jones, Bartlett, & Cooke, 2019: 22):
The Visually Impaired Numbers
(In Millions) Age Range
6 18-44
9.3 45-64
2.6 65-74
2.7 75 and more
In their study, Rasha Ali and Hany Hussein (2001) concluded that the blind persons suffer from self-detachment, lack of adjustment, defeatism, indifference, lack of ambition, and pessimistic view for future life as compared to normal counterparts.
In the same vein, many studies including Miller (1986), Willum (1980), Ahlam Mahmoud (1988), Adel Gohar (1993), Adel Mahmoud (2004), Fathy Abd El Wahed (2007) have found that blind persons may have many psychological and social issues including introversion, isolation, withdrawal, dependency, lack of building successful social relationships with peers, difficulties in movement and transition as well feelings with inequality to friends and peers.
Accordingly, the researcher views that the surrounding circumstances and society attitude toward the visually impaired persons have negative effects on both social skills acquisition and self-confidence. In addition, the visual impairments contribute to the formation of deficient mental image and cognitive structure toward the others, and that there is a conditional relationship between these thoughts and the actual events face the blind persons. Moreover, what the blind persons are exposed to including scolding, negative regard, and fear of talking in front of others in different situations, shapes negative thoughts and generalizations to other related situations.
In his book about emotional types of blind persons, Salah Mekheimar (1971) stated the psychological distress of blind persons develop from lack of security, anxiety, fear in addition to feelings with deficiency that may lead to depression. All these states of psychological disorders may lead to maladjustment with the environment where the live.
In addition, Sha’ban Abd El Sadek (2012) states that the blind persons are exposed to negative effects and issues as a result of vision loss, and that they live in a special limited world according to the acquired experiences. In addition, the blind persons live in a social setting with certain limitations added to those imposed by the disability itself. Such circumstances and reality make the blind feel disable, lowliness, and unacceptability by others; and cause them believe in some faulty thoughts and irrational beliefs which contain wrong suppositions toward self and others.
So, it was necessary by the researcher to suggest and use a therapeutic method that contributes to dogmatism treatment for persons with visual impairments. Specifically, the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) is among the important therapies, as it constitutes a cognitive method suitable theoretically and applicability to the current study aims including lessening dogmatism and modifying false thought and irrational beliefs for visually impaired persons, and may lead to changing their emotions and behavior toward the visual impairments. It is the essential change in cognitive aspects is the basis for important changes in emotions and behaviors.
Objectives of Study:
The current study aims at testing the effectiveness of the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in reducing dogmatism in a sample of visually impaired.
Significance of Study:
A) Theoretical Significance:
The provision of a theoretical framework about dogmatism to enrich the Arab literature.
As may be known by the researcher, there is no any Arabic studies used the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in decreasing dogmatism in a sample of visually impaired, and so the significance of current study is confirmed.
B) Practical Significance:
The decrease of dogmatism in the study sample of visually impaired through the lowering high decrease of the sample on the Dogmatism Scale.
Helping those responsible for education to support methods of thinking for the visually impaired persons through encouraging mental openness, flexibility in dealing with new thoughts, and the development of emotional and psychological aspects; for their strong relationship to building moderate balanced personality.
The current study may be a starting point for other studies in the future to support the researchers conduct more studies related to the field.
The results of the current study may be beneficial to guide parents toward playing positive role in cultivating critical open thinking and normal social development in their children.
Study Limitations:
1- Methodological Limitations:
A) Sample:
The sample of the current study consisted of (10) individuals with visual impairment (acquired blindness); 5 males and 5 females with dogmatism. The participants were recruited from Al Nour School for blind in Benha, Qalyoubia governorate and some other centers serving blind in Beha City. The age of the sample ranged between 26 to 36 years old.
B) Study Tools:
They included:
1- Dogmatism Scale for Visually Impaired (Prepared by the researcher).
2- The Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy Program (Prepared by the researcher).
C) Study Methodology:
The experimental method with one-group (the counseling group) was used by the researcher.
2- Time Limitations:
The time of applying the therapeutic program on the sample was limited to the year 2019 AD.
3- Place Limitations:
The therapeutic program was applied at Al Nour school for blind at Benha, Qalyoubia governorate as well as some centers serving blind persons.
Statistical Methodology:
The following Non-parametric methods were utilized:
1- Mann - Whitney Test for statistical significance between two independent samples.
2- Wilcoxon Test for statistical significance between two dependent samples.
Study Hypotheses:
1- There are no statistically significant differences between mean degrees of male and female individuals of the counseling group on the Dogmatism Scale.
2- There are statistically significant differences between mean degrees of pre and post measurements of the counseling group individuals on the Dogmatism Scale after the application of the therapeutic program “The Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy” in the direction of post measurement.
3- There are statistically significant differences between mean degrees of the post and follow-up measurements of the counseling group individuals on the Dogmatism Scale.
Findings:
1- There were no statistically significant differences between mean degrees of male and female participants in post measurement on all dimensions of the Dogmatism Scale for visually impaired.
2- There were differences on the whole dimensions of the scale in favor of post measurement, and thus the effectiveness of the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy in decreasing dogmatism in a sample of visually impaired.
3- There were no statistically significant differences between mean degrees of the post and follow-up measurements in all dimensions of the Dogmatism Scale in the visually impaired.