To be effective teachers of literacy for students who read braille, we need to know what our students' strengths and needs are as all these components come together in braille literacy. Using an appropriate assessment that addresses the skill sets involved in braille literacy is critical to putting together effective intervention packages for our…

The difficulties faced by teachers at a Special Public School in teaching Balinese script literacy to visually impaired children have resulted in low literacy skills in Balinese script among these students. In order to maximize Balinese script learning, appropriate learning media tailored to the characteristics of visually impaired children are…

In the late nineteenth century, Protestant missionaries introduced modern education for the blind people in Taiwan and Korea. They developed various tactile reading systems to enhance literacy and provided handicraft training for self-sufficiency. When these regions came under Japanese colonial rule in the first half of the twentieth century, the…

Students who are visually impaired may face unique literacy challenges as they learn to read and write braille. One such challenge relates to slower reading speeds for students who read braille as compared to those who read print. In addition to learning letters, sounds, grammar, and spelling, braille readers must learn contractions and…

The association made between the meaning, spelling, and pronunciation of a word has been shown to help children remember the meanings of words. The present study addressed whether the presence of a target word in Braille during instruction facilitated vocabulary learning more efficiently than an auditory-only instructional condition. The authors…

We would describe teaching literacy through braille as one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of the role of a Qualified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (QTVI). This article focuses on teaching literacy through braille in mainstream settings whilst promoting inclusion and meeting the social-emotional needs of children who use braille.…

Six primary school-aged braille students were taught to name 4 to 10 braille letters as phonemes and another 4 to 10 braille letters as graphemes (Study 1). They were then taught to name 10 braille words as onset-rimes and another 10 braille words as whole words (Study 2). Instruction in phonemes and onset rimes resulted in fewer trials and a…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, per Section 162.1136 RSMo, conducts an annual study of the educational status of eligible blind/visually impaired students and reports the findings to the Missouri Legislature on December 1st each year. The information contained in this report pertains to the twelve data elements…

The authors explore the educational implications of research indicating that braille words and letters form a mutually beneficial partnership. Instructional applications are considered, and the authors suggest that practice in character recognition in word contexts will enhance reading skill. (Author/CL)

This article describes an unconventional method to teach un-contracted braille reading and writing skills to students who are blind and have additional disabilities. It includes a keyboarding curriculum that focuses on the whole language approach to literacy. A special feature is the keyboard that is adapted with braille symbols. Un-contracted…

An analysis of English braille as a written code from a linguistic viewpoint led to a regrouping and fresh description of the many elements of English braille, grade 2, with intention to facilitate both the teaching and the learning of reading braille. (Author/CL)

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, per Section 162.1136 RSMo, conducts an annual study of the educational status of eligible blind/visually impaired students and reports the findings to the Missouri Legislature on December 1st each year. The information contained in this report pertains to the twelve data elements…

This study compared the reading and spelling skills of students who were taught to read using uncontracted braille versus those who were taught to read using contracted braille. It found no descriptive differences between initial instruction in the two types of braille.

Forty adults with adventitious blindness were administered 12 different Braille discrimination tests representing combinations of standard or enlarged Braille and various amounts of horizontal and vertical spacing. Findings indicated that the most favorable discrimination conditions occurred with standard-sized Braille, with three spaces between…

Discusses various methods used to teach Braille, beginning with pre-Braille skills that must be developed before children reach school age. Also discusses various techniques used to teach Braille skills to students who have a severe vision loss or low vision and reviews different commercial programs designed to teach Braille reading to various…