Raising a child with a visual impairment has been a journey, and one of the biggest lessons
I’ve learned is how much a multi-sensory approach can transform literacy development.
Austin sustained a traumatic brain injury as an infant, which resulted in optic nerve
atrophy, nystagmus, strabismus, and central scotomas—conditions that severely restricted
his central vision.
Fortunately, we were quickly connected with the Anchor Center for Blind Children in Denver, where we learned the power of a multi-sensory approach to education
for blind and visually impaired students.
From the outset, we understood that Austin would be legally blind due to his severe optic impairment, so we fully embraced braille, tactile methods, and auditory tools. Soon after introducing visual interventions, we noticed Austin responding to movement, lights, and familiar faces and toys. As a result, we integrated a variety of sensory experiences into his daily routines, including touch, smell, color, movement, and sound, to promote his overall development.
As a teacher, creating a literacy-rich environment at home was always a priority for me.
Austin was drawn to musical instruments and toys that produced light, color, movement,
and sound from an early age. I made sure to purchase cause-and-effect toys that provided
tactile, visual, and auditory feedback to teach him letters, colors, shapes, and numbers. His
love for books was also evident, so I surrounded him with board books, braille books,
large-print books, and audiobooks, providing a rich sensory experience.
Austin would spend hours exploring ABC, number, and animal flashcards that had simple, realistic images on them. I added braille to the cards, and we used magnet letters and numbers to match tactile objects to the images. We even used a six-hole muffin tin and tennis balls to introduce braille, helping him become familiar with the tactile dots that make up braille letters. By the time he was in preschool, he was identifying letters and numbers in both print and braille.
His literacy journey continued to evolve as he started kindergarten. His Teacher for the
Visually Impaired (TVI) and I worked together to advocate for him to be taught as a dual print
and braille reader. While it wasn’t always easy to balance both methods, with ongoing
communication and teamwork from his entire IEP team, we found success. Austin quickly
learned to read and write in both print and braille—an achievement that set him up for
future academic success.
However, as Austin moved into first and second grade, we began to notice a challenge: his handwriting, while improving in terms of letter formation and sentence writing, remained difficult to decipher. We recognized that this would pose challenges for future academic
tasks.
Fortunately, he had developed age appropriate keyboarding skills, thanks to programs like Talking Typer and IEP goals. So, we shifted our focus to providing all his classwork in a digital format. Although this might seem like an obvious solution today, transitioning to a digital format in 2008 posed unique challenges. With the help of his IEP team, we devised a way to scan and convert most of his work into a digital format that he could access on a laptop with magnification—an innovative technology at the time! Shorter tasks were still completed with large print, but longer assignments in subjects like math, science, and history were scanned, edited, and provided digitally. He continued to use braille to read novels, but by the end of middle school, his laptop with magnification, his iPad, and his CCTV had become his tools of choice. By high school, digital access to materials had become the norm, with most textbooks and resources being made available online through teacher websites, online learning platforms, and Google Drive to all students.
Today, I’m proud to share that Austin graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in
Psychology and a minor in Political Science from Kalamazoo College. Reflecting on his literacy journey, I am deeply grateful for the multi-sensory approach that set the foundation for his success. Through touch, sound, sight, and collaboration, Austin not only thrived in his educational journey but was also empowered to pursue his dreams.
Note: Amy is a force in the CVI Community with her creation of The CVI Book Nook. She is Parent Liaison for the Michigan Department of Education Resource for Blind/Low Vision (MDE RBLV). The CVI Book Nook is a FREE resource intended to be downloaded and used by parents, caregivers, and teachers working with students who have visual impairments and CVI.
