Rehabilitation professionals working with students with disabilities and the families of those students face unique challenges in providing inclusive services to special education student populations. There needs to be a focus on adaptive teaching methods that provide quality experience for students with varying disabilities to promote student…

Introduction: Students who read braille use assistive technology to engage in literacy tasks and to access the general curriculum. There is little research on the ways in which technology has changed the reading and writing practices and preferences of students who use braille, nor is there much research on how assistive technology is learned by…

This study examined the understanding of chemical equations developed by three students with blindness who were enrolled in the same secondary-school chemistry class. The students were interviewed while interpreting and balancing chemical equations. During the course of these interviews, the students produced diagrams using Braille symbols that…

Introduction: The present study evaluated the feasibility of using an iPad application or "app" for algebra-readiness mathematics, with accompanying braille materials and accessible graphics, when used in authentic educational settings. Methods: Twenty-nine students with visual impairments in grades 4-11 used the materials under the…

Introduction: The present study evaluated the feasibility of using an iPad application or "app" for algebra-readiness mathematics, with accompanying braille materials and accessible graphics, when used in authentic educational settings. Methods: Twenty-nine students with visual impairments in grades 4-11 used the materials under the…

NCTM (2000) described geometry as "a means of describing, analyzing, and understanding the world and seeing beauty in its structures" (p. 309). Dossey et al. (2002) captured the essence of this aspect of visualization by stating that geometry fosters in students an ability to "visualize and mentally manipulate geometric objects." (p. 200).…

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.…

Introduction: This article presents a study that gathered data from 66 teachers of students with visual impairments about their preparation to work with children who are visually impaired and are learning English, and their knowledge of instructional strategies and methods of instruction. Methods: An online five-part survey was available to…

This article describes the components of the Individualized Meaning-centered Approach to Braille Literacy Education (I-M-ABLE) for teaching braille reading and writing to students who are blind and have additional cognitive impairments. The components of I-M-ABLE are: (1) selecting and teaching the Key Vocabulary; (2) teaching the efficient use of…

Diagram describing texts are integral part of science and engineering subjects including geometry, physics, engineering drawing, etc. In order to understand such text, one, at first, tries to draw or perceive the underlying diagram. For perception of the blind students such diagrams need to be drawn in some non-visual accessible form like tactile…

Despite the need for braille literacy, there has been little attempt to systematically evaluate braille-instruction programs. The current study evaluated an instructive procedure for teaching early braille-reading skills with 4 school-aged children with degenerative visual impairments. Following a series of pretests, braille instruction involved…

This article discusses some of the qualitative data that were documented during the Alphabetic Braille and Contracted Braille Study. Two case studies of students are described, highlighting many effective teaching strategies used by their teachers of students with visual impairments that resulted in the students' successful academic progress.…

Four women with visual impairments were taught 13 braille letters as phonemes and another 13 braille letters as graphemes and then were taught 10 braille words as onset-rime and another 10 braille words as whole words. Phoneme and onset-rime instruction resulted in faster and more accurate performance. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This literature review outlines the history of the braille code as used in the United States and Canada, illustrating how both the code itself and instructional strategies for teaching it changed over time. The review sets the stage for the research questions of the recently completed Alphabetic Braille and Contracted Braille Study.

This study investigated the effectiveness of training workshops in braille literacy for teachers of students who are visually impaired and have additional disabilities. Participants in the training workshops in the Individualized Meaning-Centered Approach indicated general satisfaction with the training. Most reported using the approach with…