The purpose of this study was to determine the reading comprehension levels of middle school students who are braille readers in informational texts and to examine whether they differ in terms of certain variables. 23 of the participants were male and 16 were female; 11 of them were attending 6th grade, 18 were attending 7th grade, 10 were…

This study examines the use of braille contractions in a corpus of spelling tests from braille-reading children in grades 1-4, with particular attention to braille contractions that create mismatches with morphological structure. Braille is a tactile writing system that enables people who are blind or visually impaired to read and write. In…

This article positions braille as a writing system worthy of study in its own right and on its own terms. We begin with a discussion of the role of braille in the lives of those who read and write it and a call for more attention to braille in the reading sciences. We then give an overview of the history and development of braille, focusing on its…

Deaf-blindness is a type of dual disability wherein visual and auditory capabilities are significantly impaired. Special communication methods have been developed for the deaf-blind community. Yet, these methods require that both people involved have prior knowledge and training to successfully communicate, limiting deaf-blind people's social…

The scope of this paper is to examine the potential capabilities of embossed printers under the lens of Information Technology (IT). One of the main principles of IT is to manage and deliver information into accessible formats to all users with and without disabilities. The present study investigates the discriminability of lines and squares by…

Executive functions are higher order mental processes individuals use during academic tasks (Diamond, 2013). Few studies examined executive functions in braille reading. Additionally, most studies located by the primary researcher were studies analyzing group differences between individuals with visual impairments and those who are sighted and…

Introduction: Across the world, mathematical expressions are represented very differently in braille. The aim of this study was (1) to gain an overall insight in mathematical braille notations and (2) to investigate how mathematical braille notations support braille readers in reading and comprehending mathematical expressions. Method: Twenty…

Introduction: When the United States adopted Nemeth Code within Unified English Braille (UEB) Contexts and UEB Math/Science in 2016, students who were using braille had to learn a new code for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In late 2016, Bell and Silverman surveyed students about their initial experiences transitioning…

Introduction: This study explored the impact of synchronous professional development regarding Nemeth Code Within Unified English Braille (UEB) Contexts on the knowledge and skills of 17 teachers of students with visual impairments. Methods: Participants attended the professional development sessions in June 2022 and submitted a pretest, posttest,…

Introduction: This study investigated the effectiveness of changes in the test format (braille and tactile tables) and time extensions (1.5× or 2×) for tests with complex tables for students with blindness. Additionally, it examined the challenges associated with the current test accommodations for students who are blind and explored practical…

Walter Ong points out that no one can write naturally, because writing is a completely artificial technique we need to acquire through education. The technology of literacy as writing letters begets a dividing line between "literates" and "illiterates," since literacy cannot be acquired otherwise. When we review the early…

The purpose of the present report was to evaluate the time individuals spent in reading using the 6-dot braille code versus the 8-dot braille code. Twenty individuals with blindness participated in a series of experiments using refreshable braille displays. Each participant was invited to read structured texts by touch and then to answer to…

Introduction: Children's books help all young readers develop social understanding through recognition of themselves and their worlds and exposure to different cultures and places. Prior content analyses have revealed the underrepresentation of culturally diverse characters in print children's books; however, the extent to which braille children's…

Introduction: The learning media assessment (LMA) process is the mechanism professionals use to determine a student's optimal learning and reading media. Currently, no tool has been validated for the purpose of conducting the LMA process. Methods: A Delphi approach was used whereby a panel of identified experts in the LMA process went through…

Parallel support is a Greek type of special education provision aiming at providing additional support to students identified with special educational needs and/or disability in mainstream classrooms. Drawing from quantitative data for the school-year 2018-2019 this paper presents findings on certain characteristics of primary and pre-primary…