Objective: To understand the need for alternative methods of reading and writing.

• The ability to read and write, or literacy, is at the heart of a well-rounded education. Educators have a professional and moral responsibility to ensure that all children, with or without disability, achieve literacy.
• Reading and writing are usually taught and learned visually. For children who are blind or have a visual impairment, alternative methods of developing literacy are available. These include paper or electronic braille, enlarged print, and audio. Children may use one or more of these methods for different tasks at different times.
• All children want to be like their peers and thus may make every effort to use print as their primary reading medium. While braille may set its users apart, it may also be the most efficient reading method for speed and comprehension. Print that is enlarged to such an extent that it results in slow and laborious reading does not serve the child well.
• When analyzing a child’s optimal reading medium (see Module 15, “Learning Media Assessment”), recognize that children’s literacy needs change as they age and depending on the requirements of the task. Make sure the student has a strong foundation in the primary reading medium, selected with thought, based on evidence, and taught with consistency and enthusiasm.
• Braille is a tactile code that represents print symbols in a raised dot form, based on a character framework or “cell” of three rows and two columns. Braille is an essential skill for children who are blind and is the foundation of literacy development. It can be provided on paper or electronically, using a special device that has a portable braille display. Braille is produced using a variety of tools, from a slate and stylus, to a braille writer, to a computer with a braille embosser. More information about braille and its historical development is available at http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/braille/what-is-braille/123.
• In some languages, braille has two forms – uncontracted, with each braille cell corresponding to a print letter, number, or punctuation symbol; and contracted, which saves space by using one cell to represent two or more letters and/or entire words. The minimum instruction should be uncontracted code (letters, numbers, punctuation). “Uganda”, for example, in uncontracted braille looks like: ⠠⠥⠛⠁⠝⠙⠁ a one-to-one transliteration of each letter. In contracted braille, the same word looks like: ⠠⠥⠛⠯⠁ transliterated as U-g-and-a, with “and” represented by one cell. The word takes up less space in contracted braille. An entire book in contracted braille requires less paper and may result in faster reading speeds.
• University training programs devote one-to-three courses to learning the braille code and how to teach children to read. Do not expect to learn braille overnight, but it is fairly easy to create uncontracted braille from printed materials, if you have the right tools. If not, try to find an adult braille reader who can help you teach reading and writing to your blind student. You may wish to consult an online resource, such as http://uebonline.org/ (for Unified English Braille). An accessible version for persons with visual impairment is also available at http://accessible.uebonlin
• Print is enlarged using a variety of tools, including photocopiers, magnifiers, and printers programmed to use larger font sizes. Print can also be enlarged by hand.
• Audio methods range from a human reader, to recordings, to synthetic speech and screen reading software that reads aloud the printed material on a computer screen. Audio methods are useful for children who have a literacy foundation and are required to read large amounts of material at one time, but audio is a supplement and not a replacement for active literacy media, including enlarged print or braille.
• Learning to write is as much a part of literacy as learning to read. While some children with low vision are able to communicate with handwriting, children who are blind will need an alternative mechanism, such as a braille slate and stylus or a recording device. Even if computers are widely available in your school, students still need a method of writing notes to themselves and others.
• Different countries have different resources. Teach reading and writing with the tools that are available in your country.