Picture Books Accessible To Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Picture Books Accessible To Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Picture Books Accessible To Blind and Visually Impaired Children
156 Libraries for the Blind with Libraries for Children and Young
Adults
Simultaneous Interpretation:
WORLD LIBRARY AND INFORMATION CONGRESS: 73RD IFLA GENERAL CONFERENCE AND COUNCIL
19-23 August 2007, Durban, South Africa
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla73/index.htm
Abstract
The Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille (TPB) has produced
tactile picture books for preschool children (1-7 years of age) since 1992.
The text in these books is provided in both Braille and large print. The
production standards are based on research about tactile perception and
the ability of partially sighted persons to perceive colour. Therefore these
books can be enjoyed by totally blind children as well as children with
partial sight.
TPB has chosen to make existing childrens books accessible, which is
possible according to the Swedish Copyright law. The tactile picture is
not a copy of the original as details which the haptic sense cant perceive
must be reduced, and colours, shadows and perspective must be
changed.
Tactile picture books with Braille play an important role in supporting the
development of reading skills. A blind child is not exposed to signreading in the same way that a sighted child is, and thus opportunities
must be provided to acquaint a blind child with similar skills. Using tactile
picture books at an early age is one way to develop these early literacy
skills.
TPB has developed a special design which builds on the research done
by John M. Kennedy and Yvonne Eriksson who have studied how blind
persons perceive pictures. TPB also has a project to make guidelines for
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in surfaces in the form of raised shapes. Together these factors affect the
design of the tactile picture (Eriksson 1997, 2006).
The accessible picture book
TPB makes 3-4 picture books per year for toddlers and young children.
The goal is to make already published books accessible to blind and
partially sighted children. Only books that are well-known or part of our
cultural heritage (fairy tales) are made. The simplest books, those for
toddlers, represent common objects and have no story line. However,
text is provided even it if is just the name of the object -- in both Braille
and large print.
The next level is those books with a simple story line such as those
about the rabbit Miffy. The text is rhythmic and easy to remember. Books
with nursery rhymes, are another example of this type, and are much
loved. The next level is those books with a longer story, sometimes a
folktale. We have for example made the Norwegian folktale about the
three Billy Goats, Gruffin to a tactile picture book.
As I said earlier, only the most important parts of the picture can be
transferred to a tactile picture. So how do we determine which parts of
the original picture are the most important shapes for a tactile picture?
Here are some examples:
Original picture
Adjusted picture
not changed, the child will interpret the arms as part of Miffys
dress. Instead we redraw her arms so that they stand out from her body.
The next example is a book about different vehicles. I have chosen this
one because most vehicles are abstractions for blind people, not only
children. The first page in the original book shows a lorry, a driver and
three road workers driving smaller vehicles. They are all unloading
stones and gravel. So which is the most important part of this picture?
We have concluded that it is the lorry unloading stones, which also is the
largest detail in the original picture. But we have reduced the details of
the depicted lorry as well as changed the perspective. In the original the
lorry is depicted from behind at an angle, whereas in the tactile picture
the lorry is seen en face. This change of perspective was made because,
as I mentioned, it is easier to read tactile representations which are
drawn en face, from the front or from above, i.e in a right angle ((ibid).
For many children with a vision impairment the reading of a tactile picture
book is their first experience with a picture and an important introduction
to the pictures they will later meet in school books. The introduction of
the picture through the tactile picture book at an early age is important. It
is often difficult for children to be introduced to pictures for the first time
when they are in school and in a formal learning situation. However,
remember that process of developing these skills early should be
enjoyable; its not a matter of school teaching but of playful learning.
People interpret pictures in different ways. It is not a catastrophe if the
blind child interprets picture in his own way. What is most important is
that he understands that a raised area in a picture represents something
specific. In one of our books there is a picture containing an object which
depicts a piece of knitting that has fallen on the floor. Some children
perceive this knitting as a cardigan, others as a carpet. The important
thing is that the child has the ability to interpret the picture as something
meaningful. Then it is possible to explain what the different pictures are
about. One way of doing this is by comparing the picture with the real
object (Eriksson 2006).
It can take a long time for a blind child to understand a tactile picture
book. If a child shows a lack of interest in one book does not mean that
he will be uninterested in another. It can be as simple as that the child is
not amused, or the book isnt thrilling enough. The most important is that
reading should be fun! Therefore, it is important to have a wide selection
of tactile picture books!
The Role of the Public Library
TPB lends out the tactile picture books directly to parents with visually
impaired children. However , we want our books to be read by all
children who need them, not only blind and visually impared Children. As
library services to all print impaired People is an integrated part of the
public library system ledning of these books are also a part of the
services. In public libraries in Sweden tactile picture books can be found
in what is called Apple shelves, a concept that was introduced in 1993,
when one of the public libraries bult a big apple in the childrens
department, where they displayd special format material for disabled
children. After that, practically every public library unit has set up shelves
with talking books, books with Bliss symbols or Pictograms, video books
in sign language for the Deaf, and tactile picture books. The libraries
acquire the tactile picture books from TPB. But we also send deposit
collections to libraries as well as to infant schools. The demand of tactile
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books is great and we can not always comply with their needs.
Conclusions
In summary, I have talked about how TPB has applied solid research to
modify existing picture books to produce books with tactile pictures and
text which can be understood by both blind children and low vision
children. I again stress the importance of introducing both Braille and
tactile pictures to children at an early age so that they develop early
literacy skills.
And finally, the tactile picture books which we have produced are not
commercial productions, but books made in very small editions for library
lending. There are commercially-made books, that not only can be
touched but sometimes can also be smelled. While we are pleased that
the commercial industry is trying to fill this important gap there are some
drawbacks to these products of which you should be aware. The chief
drawback with commercial books is that the most important object in the
picture is not always the one which is made tactile. Sometimes too many
details are made tactile which becomes confusing. Sometimes they
include details that can not be perceived by touch. Therefore, to help
others produce tactile picture books which meet the needs of both blind
and visually impaired children, TPB is developing guidelines and a kit for
the graphic industry, publishers and illustrators. I am pleased to say that
just this year, TPB received the Swedish 2006 Design for All Award for
this initiative.
References
Domincovic, K , Eriksson,Y, Fellenius K (2006) Lsa hgt fr barn.
Lund: Studentlitteratur
Eriksson, Y (2004) Att lsa taktila bilderbcker. Enskede: Talboks- och
punktskriftsbiblioteket
Fellenius, K (1996) Reading Competence of Visually Impaired Pupils in
Sweden. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 90 (3), p 237-246
Fellenius, K (1999) Reading Acquisition in children and young people
with visual impairment in Mainstream Education.
(Dissertation)Stockholm: HLS-frlag
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