Resource

Getting Ready for Braille!

Getting Ready for Braille presents hands-on activities based on a developmental sequence for beginning braille readers.

By Mary McCarthy

Getting Ready for Braille!” is a spiral-bound book published by Perkins School for the Blind in 2017, written by Perkins teachers Mary McCarthy and Nathalie DeWit.  It provides a developmental checklist for educators and parents to better understand the foundational skills and concepts a child needs in order to learn braille. The book also offers a hierarchy of hands-on activities to develop these skills and the vocabulary necessary to expand understanding.

Sighted peers often learn these concepts and terms through play and or everyday activities (incidental learning). Allowing visually impaired children the opportunity to manipulate materials in a variety of ways, in a structured familiar format and providing verbal explanation, has shown to be helpful. Working with a child at their developmental level allows them to be successful, builds their confidence and makes learning to read a rewarding experience.

Available through Amazon.

If you are outside the United States, contact publications@perkins.org for more information on how to order.

Collage of Getting Ready for Braille