American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Special Issue on Braille TEACHING
by Kristie Smith
Reprinted by permission from WonderBaby.org
From the Editor: This article offers suggestions to help parents introduce Braille and encourage reading at home. WonderBaby.org is a site teeming with resources for parents of blind children and blind children with additional disabilities.
The well-known children’s-book author Dr. Seuss once said, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you go.”
Dr. Seuss’s unforgettable quote makes me think of Braille readers. As an outspoken advocate for Braille, I feel that children who are strong Braille readers become independent adults who will go many places. While I love scanners, audiobooks, and other assistive technology for the blind, I don’t feel that this technology should ever take the place of Braille.
Learning how to read can be an exciting adventure for children when they are set up for success before reading begins. Here are some tips to help you help your child to become a strong Braille reader.
Since the emotional brain needs to relax and have fun before long-lasting learning can take place, stress before reading must be eliminated. There is actually a physical response and the release of a hormone when someone is under stress. Once stress enters the body, learning becomes minimal.
To assist your child’s brain to relax, find his likes and what makes him happy. Then create that environment before you engage him in a book. For instance, if your child enjoys movement, do some movement activities before you read your book. If you can use real items from the story in your activity, that’s even better. Using real objects from the story is an important factor in helping your child understand the book.
One of the most highly regarded professors for blind and visually-impaired young children is Dr. Virginia Bishop. Dr. Bishop once stated, “If you can’t bring the child to the world, bring the world to the child.”
Dr. Bishop teaches that in order for a child with a visual impairment to fully understand concepts within a book, real objects must be used during the story. For example, if a parent is reading a Braille book with a child who is blind or visually impaired, the child’s fingers will move across the lines of Braille while they are listening to the story, having already identified the objects from the book. Through repetition of favorite books, the little one will understand that the dots represent words with meaning in relationship to their world.
Another great idea for reinforcing Bishop’s methods is to create a story box. Story boxes are a fun way for a child who has a visual impairment to associate real objects with those from the book within one container. For instance, if you are reading a book about the beach, you could place a flip-flop inside the box, a beach towel, and a few other items from the story. Never make it hard on yourself, or you will rarely use the story box idea. Parents have told me for years that they use shoeboxes, nets, trays, and other creative ideas for story boxes so their child will become a strong reader who truly understands the concepts within the story. Continue to couple real objects during story time and the words become meaningful.
Another way to help your young child with vision issues to ingest the story is to use all of the senses, so the meaning is understood. If you are reading “Little Red Riding Hood,” for example, have your child feel a hood, smell rolls inside a basket, taste hot buttery rolls, and talk about Grandma before you actually read the book.
Dr. Seuss’s famous quote rings true today because the more you read, the more you know. For our children who are independent Braille readers, the more places they will go.