Colette Pelt, MA, developer at Pelt Tactile Reading and Picture Books Plus

Tactile illustrations improve interactive reading

Literary competences and literary education are major pillars in primary education. Colette combines her earlier experience in primary school education with her master Children’s Literature and research on tactile picture books for the blind. The result of this research proved there were no equivalent and challenging adapted tactile picture books available. The study also showed the children with sight loss used words and sayings without understanding the meaning. Body language, figurative language and visual language are difficult to understand.

To conquer this challenge Colette has developed a method. This method involves completely remade existing, popular picture books, with drawings in relief and the story in Braille and large print. In the set enclosed are the original picture book, a reading manual with information and instructions for teachers plus one or more objects for the children to feel. So children with sight loss can participate in interactive reading, stimulated by tactile illustrations. In this session Colette will show how this method enables inclusive education. So children with a visual impairment will be able to read the same picture books as their sighted peers.