Information

Touch Book Parties

Lending a Helping Hand

Quoted from "Touch Book Project" information sheet published by the Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB) of Windsor, CT:A universal goal for all children is the mastery of reading.

For blind persons Braille, the raised dot system, is the key to independence in learning, thought, and expression. There is an ongoing need to provide visually impaired preschool and kindergarten youngsters with a variety of pre-reading skills and materials. Our target population is the visually impaired preschoolers of Connecticut.

The joy of reading is a lifelong gift. For sighted children the local library provides a wealth of pre-reading picture books and stories. For the blind youngster no such facilities exist. Children who are blind "see" with their fingers. Their early education entails sensitizing them to different textures in the environment to increase their vocabulary and introduce Braille. Sighted children spend time learning colors and shades, but children who are blind must learn to identify: "bumpy," "smooth," "furry," "scratchy," "soft," and "hard." The TouchBook Project's goal is to provide these books to all blind and visually impaired children. The fine dexterity and gross motor coordination skills required to read Braille undergo early development in a process of requiring the blind child to track with his fingers the distinguished parts and movement of the hands to develop concepts of relations among the parts to the whole.

TouchBooks need to be individually made by hand and many are needed. these books are not produced in quantity and require individual attention to detail. Preschool blind children have no books which are mass-produced and have less opportunity to develop early appreciation of the value of books as do sighted children for whom picture books are readily available.

Through outreach staff, BESB has been able to work with scouts, church groups. women's clubs, and other civic groups to produce some of these needed books. these books are consumable because the little hands of the children read and reread the books. They become torn and cannot be passed on to another youngster. There is an ongoing effort to supply these books through the efforts of many volunteers recruited statewide for this project.

Through the efforts of staff and volunteers, and instruction booklet and a poster have been developed. Individuals and groups interested in assisting in the production of touchbooks or in helping to coordinate the involvement of local groups are encouraged to contact Dr. Paula DeSilva at BESB. The preschool and early childhood educational consultants will distribute the finished books to preschool blind youngsters and teach them beginning Braille skills.

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If you would like to donate time and/or craft supplies to the project, please call 860-490-4258 or email Paula.