Exploring 3D miniatures with action simulations by finger gestures: Study of a new embodied design for blind and sighted children

Tactile books for blind children generally contain tactile illustrations referring to a visual world that can be difficult to understand. This study investigates an innovative way to present content to be explored by touch. Following embodied approaches and evidence about the advantages of manipulations in tactile processing, we examined 3D miniatures that children explored using their middle and index fingers to simulate leg movements. This “Action simulations by finger gestures–ASFG” procedure has a symbolic relevance in the context of blindness. The aim of the present study was to show how the ASFG procedure facilitates the identification of objects by blind and sighted children. Experiment 1 examined the identification of 3D miniatures of action objects (e.g. the toboggan, trampoline) by 8 early blind and 15 sighted children, aged 7 to 12, who explored with the ASFG procedure. Results revealed that objects were very well identified by the two groups of children. Results confirmed hypotheses that ASFG procedures are relevant in the identification process regardless of the visual status of subjects. Experiment (control) 2 studied identification of tactile pictures of same action objects by 8 different early blind and 15 sighted children, aged 7 to 12. Results confirmed that almost all objects obtained lower recognition scores in tactile pictures than in 3D miniatures by both groups and showed surprisingly higher scores in blind children than in sighted children. Taken together, our study provides evidence of the contribution of sensorimotor simulation in the identification of objects by touch and brings innovative solutions in book design for blind people. Moreover, it means that only the ASFG procedure has a very inclusive potential to be relevant for a larger number of subjects, regardless of their visual skills.

Opismenjevanje otrok s slepoto

Literacy of children with blindness Literacy and reading for children with blindness is a relatively unknown field, as the topic is not covered in any national research, and due to the specific way of reading Braille, a comparison with sighted peers does not give a clear picture. A child with blindness has less incentive to develop, explores less, and learns less through imitation, so we need to help him/her with certain methods and aids to catch his/hers peers. Literacy for children with blindness due to the use of braille is different from that of sighted peers, so preparations for literacy are very important, where in addition to developing vocabulary, orientation and coordination with planned exercises, we must also develop the child’s tactile skills. With systematic tactile stimuli, the sensitivity of the finger pads increases, which is a prerequisite for successful reading of Braille. A child with blindness does not encounter the graphic image of letters as a sighted peer at every turn, so we offer him/her the opportunity to get to know the letters in Braille in his/hers everyday environment. Adapted materials and planned activities are suitable for this, such as getting to know the wall tactile fairy tale, book in the box, reading tactile pictures, tactile games and tasks, tactile picture books and tactile kamishibai. Only through systematic work and the earliest possible holistic treatment will the child be able to reach his or her sighted peers in the field of literacy as well. Key words: literacy, children with blindness, tactile rebus, tactile picture book, book in the box, tactile kamishibai

3D Pen Tactile Pictures Generated by Individuals with Visual Impairments

Introduction: Individuals with visual impairments acquire information about objects through touch and by use of auxiliary tactile pictures. The current study introduced a new three-dimensional (3D) printing pen technology as a research tool to allow individuals with visual impairments to convert tactile experiences to convex tactile pictures. Methods: Participants with visual impairments used a 3D pen to draw pictures of daily necessities. The actions and time related to the entire drawing activity were recorded on video. Results: We noted three behaviors during the use of 3D pen: drawing, touching the trace lines, and finding location points. The object-depiction angle, component-completeness description, and drawing-line presentation differed between subjects with congenital and those with acquired blindness. Discussion: Individuals with congenital blindness depicted objects mainly from an operational angle, and those with acquired blindness from the angle of the object when laid flat. When the components of an object were relatively complex, the subjects with congenital blindness only drew local features in contact with their bodies and with continuous line segments, and those with acquired blindness used discontinuous line segments. Participants were satisfied that the 3D printing pen could touch the drawing path in time and that they could use the “piling” feature to create positioning marks or planar expressions. Implications for practitioners: Students can be instructed to use 3D pens to draw (lines, planes, and objects) to enhance the communication between teachers and students and improve teaching efficiency. Regarding the design of tactile pictures, the parts that come in contact with the body during object use can be considered the reference features of the pictures. For large pictures, attention should be paid to the size ratio between the outline and components. For small pictures, one should consider how the operational feature details should be shown at approximately the original size.

Improved access to museum collections without vision: How museum visitors with very low or no vision perceive and process tactile–auditory pictures

This study investigated how museum visitors with very low or no vision perceived and processed tactile pictures and/or audio-descriptions of visual paintings. Two visual paintings were selected and a focus group was established ( N = 8). Qualitative interview and observation data were collected. This study found two types of museum visitors: those who explored the tactile picture first and those who rather listened to the audio-description. When exploring each element in the tactile picture, they all started by exploring the element’s global (shape) outline and, when struggling to recognise it, turned to the audio-description. They preferred the audio-description to start describing where their fingers were. Tactile texture attracted their attention, sparked their curiosity, and enabled them to create a mental image of the tactile picture, but also confused them. They preferred the global (element shape) outline to be straightened out, so that curves become angular, and texture only for targeting certain elements.