LARGE PRINT
An Essential Medium for the
Literacy Toolbox of Mainstreamed
Students with Visual Impairments
The Printed Book
500 years old and still
the best tool for the job.
Books and the Printed Page
Convenient
 Portable
 Durable
 Familiar

The Printed Book
in the Regular Education
Classroom
Still the overwhelming favorite at
educational establishments around the
world.
Is this still true
in today’s Regular Ed. Classroom ?
Schoolbooks are now offered in the
following media:
 Tape
 CD / DVD
 Digital Formats (deviceshandheld/computers)
 The Printed Book
And more to the point
what about the
mainstreamed VI students?
First let’s all agree on the definition of
“Mainstreamed”
“Mainstreamed” pertains to students who attend
general educational classes at least part of the
day, as opposed to students who attend
residential schools or classes where state adopted
textbooks are not used.
The Literacy Toolbox for the
mainstreamed VI Student
•
•
•
•
•
•
Every VI student should have a full Toolbox
Braille
CDs / tapes
Optical aids
Magnifiers
Large Print
Digital formats
Digital Formats –
What’s all the hip?
Good for textbooks?
How accessible are they?
Todd will talk about:
(►Devices that read electronic text files
 Hand held devises - E-Readers:
Amazon’s Kindle –
Apple’s iPad tablet Computers)
Focus – The Student with Visual
Impairment

Print medium must be accessible and
compatible with classroom textbooks.

How many students with visual
impairments use large print?
Did you know…..?
APH 2007 Quota Report –
State Dept. of Educations Grade K-12
13346 large print readers
4049 Braille readers
2494 auditory
What about other Countries ?
According to research done by the
Royal National Institute for the Blind,
over 60% of blind & visually impaired
individuals consider themselves to be
print readers.
The Large Print Book in
The Literacy Toolbox

Large Print books are just one
alternative medium that should be
available to visually impaired students.

Large Print books are not meant to be
used by all students, at all times, for all
occasions, or for the same duration
throughout the life of any VI individual.
.
Let’s face it….
Most of the alternatives that are
available to VI students are offered
in place of printed books, not because
they are better than printed books.
Advantages Of Large Print
Images In Print

Images can be reproduced at higher resolution in
print than in other media, such as via electronic
display, without creating more work for the eyes to
perform.

Large Print offers the best option for resolution. No
quivering of text as can happen in enlarging digital
images.
Source: “Advantages of Large Print Images in Print” ,
Elaine Ketchel, a selection
from PowerPoint Presentation: NIMAC: APH as an Accessible Media Producer: A Status
Report, Julia Myers, Nicole Gaines, APH, 2008
Advantages Of Large Print
Images in Print Cont’d…...

Students with visual acuity issues, the higher
resolution and superior reproduction in is an
advantage, especially for charts and maps and
graphical material

Large Print formats usually offer adequate space per
page to fit the page, and to allow him/her to use
peripheral/eccentric vision for reading.
Source: “Advantages of Large Print Images in Print” ,
Elaine Ketchel, a selection
from PowerPoint Presentation: NIMAC: APH as an Accessible Media Producer: A Status
Report, Julia Myers, Nicole Gaines, APH, 2008
Advantages Of Large Print
Images in Print Cont’d…...

Large Print offers the best option in contrast of black
in on opaque white to ivory paper.

Access to graphics is unlimited - and they are also
available in color. Surveys indicate that color
helps students better read graphs and charts.
Source: “Advantages of Large Print Images in Print” ,
Elaine Ketchel, a selection
from PowerPoint Presentation: NIMAC: APH as an Accessible Media Producer: A Status
Report, Julia Myers, Nicole Gaines, APH, 2008
Advantages Of Large Print
Images in Print Cont’d…...

For some students with cognitive or physical
disabilities, printed text and graphics is the
best option.
Source: “Advantages of Large Print Images in Print” ,
Elaine Ketchel, a selection
from PowerPoint Presentation: NIMAC: APH as an Accessible Media Producer: A Status
Report, Julia Myers, Nicole Gaines, APH, 2008
When the VI student needs a
large print book…..
When this medium is appropriate, either
alone or in conjunction with another
one, it is essential that the highest
quality large print is provided no matter
the student’s age and educational level.
Equal Access – An Entitlement
for Mainstreamed VI students
VI Students in regular classrooms must
have a large print book as much like the
regular text as possible……
with all the same content
 with the same individual page format
 available at the same time

What does this really mean?
This means that when the teacher asks
all the students to turn to page 6 and
read the caption under the graph in the
upper right hand corner, the VI student
will be able to do just that.
How do we make this happen?
By choosing large print books for
mainstreamed VI students that they
can use and will use!
This can be achieved if you consider the
following Large Print Selection Criteria:
Large Print
Standards & Guidelines
These “Large Print Selection Criteria” are….
- Based upon the Large Print Standards developed by
The LRS Large Print Advisory Committee
-
-
-
Compatible with the APH Large Print Type Size
Guidelines
-
Incorporated into the California Department of
Education’s Clearinghouse for Special Media and
Translations (CSMT) Large Print Guidelines and
Standards
-
Supported by 40 years of national & international
research and reports from the classroom
(see Bibliography & Acknowledgements)
Large Print Selection Criteria
# 1. Maintenance of integrity, content,
pagination and format of every page in
the original text.
# 2. Grade level and individual visual
requirements for type size.
#
3. Format, binding and book size
Selection Criterion #1
Maintenance of integrity, content,
pagination and format of every page
in the original text.
Plus choices of
 black & white or full color printing
 Color of paper
 Bindings
 Type size
The mainstreamed VI student should have a book as much
like the regular text as possible.
Selection Criterion #2
Grade level and individual visual
requirements for type size.


Just because a book is called large print does
not mean that it is appropriate for every VI
student in every situation.
Ideally each book should have type size that
matches each individual student’s needs, but
if that is not possible the following guidelines
can be used:
Selection Criterion # 2
cont’d
Grade level and individual visual
requirements for type size.
Type Size Guidelines
Grades 1 – 6: Minimum 20 point type size.
For beginning readers and elementary
level students bigger is definitely better,
whether they are using the large print
book alone or in combination with
other aids, i.e. optical, audio, or Braille.
Selection Criterion # 2
cont’d
Grade level and individual visual
requirements for type size.
Type Size Guidelines
Grades 7-8: A minimum 18 point type size is the
accepted standard.
20 point is even better, if the overall book size can be
kept to not more then 10” x 12”.
20 point type size is especially important for math
texts to allow for adequate enlargement of fractions
and exponents.
Selection Criterion # 2
cont’d
Grade level and individual visual
requirements for type size.
Type Size Guidelines
Grades 9-12 & post-secondary:
Minimum 18 point type size is preferred.
Note: Some upper grade textbooks can only
be enlarged to 16 point because of the
extremely small point size and extra large
page size of the original text.
Selection Criterion # 2
cont’d
Large Print “Readability” features
Font style – Type Size – Spacing – Print Quality
Which is most important for “readability”?
(in order of importance)
Spacing
Type size
Contrast
Font style
* Based upon a review of 40 years of discussions, reports and research.
See Bibliography and Acknowledgements for details.
Selection Criterion # 3
cont’d
Format, Binding, and Book Size
What are the options?

Formats: vertical – horizontal – flip chart

Binding: All should  lay open flat
– Hard cover
– Soft cover
– Spiral w/ hard or soft cover

Book size: recommended –> not larger than
10” x 12” – but should fit age, use, physical
needs.
Selection Criterion # 3
cont’d
Format, Binding, and Book Size
Always take these factors into consideration
when choosing a large print book:

What is the age and physical ability of the
student?

What is the environmental setting (classroom
or home) and type of lighting?

How will the book be used, either on a
reading board or stand, desk, or table ?
Selection Criterion # 3
cont’d
Format, Binding, and Book Size
 Will the student require the assistance of an
aide to hold and/or turn the pages?

Will the student have to carry the large print
book(s) in a backpack?
Selection Criterion # 3
cont’d
Format, Binding, and Book Size

Is the student willing to use the book?
Studies suggest that over 50% of alternative
media are rejected by VI students because of
peer pressure.
So it is very important that large print books
look as much as possible like the original.
Vertical (calendar) formats are one way for
large print books to retain a small closed-book
size.
For your consideration……
As can be seen there are many
formatting issues to consider once the
decision is made that large print is the
appropriate medium for a particular
student.
And the “one size fits all” concept must
always be challenged if we are to provide
our visually impaired students with large
print books they can use and will use.
Producing Large Print
from NIMAS Files for print readers
It is possible…..
BUT is it suitable for mainstreamed
students’ textbooks ?
Will they have a LP book that is
exactly like the original that the other
students are using ?
Producing Large Print textbooks
from current NIMAS Files
The format and pagination of the
original is lost
 The pictures are reduced in size
 Graphics and captions are lost
 Production more time consuming than
current processes

NIMAS DIGITAL FILE

CHAPTER 2 Getting Ready to Learn
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Next
Page 44
SCIENCE on the JOB YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Breathing and Yoga
If you're reading this, you must be breathing. Are you thinking about how you are
breathing? Yoga instructors help their students learn deep, slow breathing. The practice
of yoga uses an understanding of the respiratory system as a tool for healthy exercise.
Abdominal Breathing
Yoga instructors tell students to slowly expand and release the diaphragm:

The diaphragm is a muscle below the lungs.

When the muscle contracts, air enters into the lungs.

When it relaxes, air is pushed out of the lungs.
Nostril Breathing
An important aspect of breathing is removing wastes from the body:

Yoga instructors teach students to inhale through the nostrils and exhale through
the mouth.

The nostrils filter dust and other particles, keeping dirt out of the lungs.

The nostrils also warm the air as it enters the body.
Full Lung Breathing
Yoga instructors help students breathe in slowly so that first the abdomen expands, then
the rib cage area, and finally the upper chest by the shoulders. When students exhale, they
collapse the diaphragm, then release the chest, and lastly relax
EXPLORE