Reading and writing are essential in our daily lives, and we do so with a wide range of resources, from calendars and clocks to signs, books and periodicals. You most likely use a variety of writing implements throughout the day, including a pen, pencil, and computer keyboard, all of which are literacy tools. Your kid who is visually impaired or blind can benefit from a wide range of reading and writing resources, just as you do. The most useful tools for them will be those tailored to their specific requirements and readily understood.
Depending on their requirements and ability, your child’s academic staff may recommend reading, braille, or another approach. A learning media evaluation will be used by those with a blind or visually impaired child to determine the next steps. Teachers may use this strategy to determine whether your kid learns best via visual, auditory, or kinesthetic means and modify their teaching and activities accordingly.
Braille
Braille is a tactile alphabet for the blind and visually impaired, consisting of raised dots that can be felt with the fingers to represent letters and words. The alphabet is often taught in braille to children who are blind or have other impairments. An instructor who works with kids who are visually impaired may demonstrate the braille alphabet and how to create braille materials for your child. Family and friends may also learn braille to help your kid by reading their handwriting and brailing messages and labels.
As you go about your regular lives with your kid, keep an eye out for ways he can practice braille. A braille shopping list, a braille label on his preferred brand of cereal, braille directions to your destination, and a braille list of the hours and channels of his preferred television programs would all be helpful.
Symbol Systems
Symbols are used in print and braille, to represent the sounds that make up words, which themselves represent concepts (letters or braille dots). Depending on the child’s specific needs, different symbol systems may make use of visual symbols or tactile symbols that can be felt, alphabet symbols, written words, and more. Your child may have problems reading print, braille, or English and might benefit from a simpler symbol system to express themselves and have their ideas conveyed to others. These signs are often displayed in a public place, like a book or bulletin board. Symbol systems are often adapted for each individual kid with a visual impairment or other disability.
Your kid may be able to learn how to read and write if they have a vision that is at least partially functioning. An evaluation of the child’s functional vision may be necessary to determine the type size that will work best for the child’s visual impairments. Your child may be tested by their teacher to see how well different colours print against different backgrounds.
Some children may require aids such as magnifiers or monoculars to read comfortably. A professional low vision assessment by a low vision expert is required before these glasses may be prescribed for your kid.
Print is not limited to books and journals but may be found almost everywhere. It may be typed, printed, made on a computer, on a website, or handwritten, like a list of groceries. If you assist your kid in figuring out efficient ways to use their devices to read the text at home and in the community, they will have a greater awareness of printed material and a greater desire to read it.
Living Paintings: Library for the Blind
People who are blind or have limited vision confront many obstacles in everyday life; this is especially true for blind or visually impaired children, who are typically left out of group activities and social interactions. At Living Paintings, they help the blind community feel a sense of purpose and belonging while meeting people’s needs for accessible art and information through their library for the blind. Check the website to see how they have helped thousands of blind and partially sighted people around the United Kingdom.
