Session I - Overview
What Is Literacy?

Literacy is defined as “the ability to read
and write” and also as “the basic skill or
knowledge of a subject.”
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For children and adults who are blind, and
for some students with low vision, braille
is THE medium for true literacy.
Literacy and
Information

Literacy involves the ability to acquire
information and communicate with others.
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Literacy involves the ability to gain access
to written information.
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Literacy involves storing communicated
information so that it can be referred to
again later.
Access to Information
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For a person who is blind or has a severe
visual impairment, literacy means:
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all methods of acquiring, storing, and
accessing information
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all methods of communicating one's own
ideas, opinions, and needs.
Braille or Print?

Literacy includes the ability to use braille,
print, and technology as well as the ability
to use recorded materials and readers to
gain access to and acquire the most
knowledge from information.
Why Is Braille
Important?
It Can Change Your
Brain!

Braille is literacy for a blind person.
Studies show how the brain changes and
adapts to learning and that memory
improves more through the tactile
interaction with braille than with audio,
which is more passive.
Braille Leads to
Success

Braille proficiency is strongly correlated to
future success in school and in the job
market. The majority of blind people who
are competitively employed use braille.
Studies show the most proficient braille
readers are those who started braille at a
young age and received frequent braille
instruction in school.
Readin’ and Writin’ …

Nothing substitutes for the ability to read.
For blind people, braille is the medium for
true literacy. Audio recordings and
synthesized speech are useful tools, but
they can't replace the ability to read and
write.
I Can Do It Myself

Braille provides an independent means of
literacy and allows people who are blind or
visually impaired a way to read and write
with out being dependent on anyone else
to do it for them.
Braille and Technology

In today's technology-driven world, is
braille still relevant?
 Blind people have traditionally had many barriers to
information and harnessing technology is critical in
bridging this gap. E-Braille can help blind people
surf the internet, text, e-mail, download books, and
stay connected to the world as never before.
However...
Keepin’ It Old School!

Braille that is written or embossed onto
paper or similar materials is still used
everyday.
Paper braille is often the most pleasant to
read for leisure purposes and has the
advantage of being low-tech and
reasonably portable.
Back To the Future

While hard copy braille will not disappear
anytime soon, it is essential that we
continue to provide information faster
and more efficiently, in a variety of
formats, and with new technologies that
allow blind people to keep pace with the
sighted world.
When Should Braille
Instruction Begin?

There is no hard and fast rule about when
to begin exposing a child to reading and
writing.
 Experiences should begin as early as possible.
 Child’s attention gradually focuses on concepts and
strategies learned through these experiences.
In The Beginning…

Literacy “instruction” begins the day a
child is born.
 Nurtured by adults who read, write, and involve the
child in language, both spoken and written.
Vision and Literacy
Children know about reading and writing
long before they actually learn to read.
 Literacy begins as parents talk and read
to their infants and begin to teach them
about their ever expanding world.
 Incidental learning takes place as they
interact with the world around them.

Emergent Literacy

Knowledge and skills built during these
early years, before formal reading
instruction begins, are called emergent or
early literacy skills
How and When?

How and when braille is taught depends
on many factors including:
 Age of the child at the onset of the visual
impairment
 Level of student’s literacy at the onset of the visual
impairment
 Student’s functional vision and options for other
literacy media
 Motivation for the student and his or her parents for
learning braille
 A solid foundation of emergent literacy skills
Assessment Before
Instruction
For children able to read both braille and
print, a decision needs to be made
regarding which medium is the most
appropriate for the bulk of a child’s
instruction.
 Assessment determines the child’s
primary reading medium.

Primary Reading
Medium
-Medium most frequently used in classroom
instruction
-Allows most access to greatest variety of
information
-Used in a variety of settings, both in and
out of the classroom
-Allows for both reading and writing
Choice of Primary
Reading Medium

Must take into consideration the future
needs of the child as well as his or her
current needs  Students and their needs change over time, so the
more skills they learn, the more prepared they will
be for adulthood and independence.
Intentional Instruction
Is the Key

Children with visual impairments need
intentional experiences that will promote
the development of the skills and
knowledge needed for later literacy.

Children with visual impairments also
need opportunities to develop the use of
their other senses.
Foundations for
Reading Braille

Language development

Auditory Discrimination

Concept Development

Tactual Discrimination
Emergent Literacy Skills
and Knowledge

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Ability to use words to speak and to listen
Good verbal vocabulary
Knowledge of the ways we use written language
and some of its conventions
Familiarity with braille books and book handling
skills, and the tools used for writing braille
Awareness of symbols
Concepts about the child’s home and community
Concepts such as same, different, alike and
prepositions like in, on, out
More and more refined tactual discrimination
skills
Skills and Knowledge Are
Built By:

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

Lots of first-hand experiences with
activities at home and in the community
Lots of varied tactile experiences
Activities to build finger strength, stamina,
and fine motor skills
Engaging the child in conversation
Being read to often, from a variety of
books
Using written language for many purposes
Moving Forward

Continued efforts to build on what a child
already knows and can do will lead into
conventional reading and writing.
 Based on development of the child rather than a set
age or point in time.
Where Can Parents
Find Support?

The American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org
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On the Way to Literacy Series
Everyday Activities Calendar
Imagination Library Books
Move, Touch, Do
Best For A Nest
Moving Ahead Series Story Books
Tactile Treasures
Agencies and
Organizations
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American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
National Association for Parents of Children with
Visual Impairments (NAPVI)
National Center on Family Literacy (NCFL)
American Council of the Blind (ACB)
National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
Zero to Three
Online Resources
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Texas School for the Blind
Washington State School for the Blind
AFB Family Connect
Wonderbaby.org
Dots for Families
Publications
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Just Enough To Know Better
Beginning With Braille
On The Way to Literacy: Early Experiences
for Children with Visual Impairments
Children With Visual Impairments
Reach Out and Teach
 Literature
is my Utopia. Here I
am not disenfranchised. No
barrier of the senses shuts me
out from the sweet, gracious
discourses of my book friends.
They talk to me without
embarrassment or awkwardness.
Helen Keller