Figure 1 Fingers in correct position
Kohl is a five year old boy who is blind and is attending his local primary school. He transitioned from preschool to primary school in term one this year. He has settled into the classroom routines very well.
Here Marg Crosswell, BLENNZ Resource Teacher of Vision who works alongside Kohl explains his transition and the process of developing pre-braille skills.
In Figure 1 Kohl has his fingers in the correct position on the Mountbatten brailler. Continue Reading →
Developing hand control
Shannon is a Year 6 braille student who will be transitioning to intermediate school in 2013.
At the Wellington Visual Resource Centre we are developing key maths skills with two braille learners.
We have been looking specifically at graphing, reading textbooks, abacus skills and geometric drawing skills.
Here Alison Prskawetz, Resource Teacher Vision talks about how the students focused on using a compass and drawing circles.
Continue Reading →
Figure 1 Nathaniel uses playdough to help develop his pincer grip and finger isolation skills.
Nathaniel has been working on a programme to develop his pincer grip and finger isolation skills. Nathaniel will need these skills as he prepares to learn to write braille with a brailler.
Lynda Williams (Resource Teacher Vision) describes some of the activities the education team have included into the classroom programme. Continue Reading →
Checking the braille
Kohl is learning to read and write braille. Using a Perkins brailler, Kohl is exploring how to make the patterns of dots on paper that make up letters and words to tell his stories.
Mark Tweedale (BLENNZ Resource Teacher Vision) describes how the education team have introduced the brailler into Kohl’s literacy toolkit and the importance of “scribbling” as a stepping stone to brailing accurate letter shapes.
Mark also describes the introductory activities Kohl has participated in to build his finger strength and gain an understanding of the physical shape and functions of each part of the Perkins brailler. Continue Reading →
