EMPOWERING THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED BY PROMOTING READING HABITS AND LEARNING SKILLS AT L.V.PRASAD EYE INSTITUTE : A STUDY *Dr.K.H.Sunitha **Dr. Beula Christy *Associate Professor in Library Science(Retd), Kasturba Gandhi Degree and PG College for Women, Marredpally: Secunderabad **Head and consultant, Dr.P.R.K.Prasad Centre for Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired, L.V.Prasad Eye Institute.

Introduction Reading is a gateway to knowledge and wisdom Reading helps the individual to understand the society and his role as a citizen, worker and individual within his own personal sphere of activity Reading is a tool for the acquisitive mind and it is the vehicle for obtaining ideas that cannot be transmitted verbally

VISUALLY IMPAIRED Visual stimulus presented to the brain help in the development of motor, language and cognitive skills of an individual According to the current available world statistics, less than 10% of the visually impaired know Braille It is crucial for us to introduce the skill of reading through the only available medium of Braille at an early age

The Importance of Braille in the Digital Age the literary Braille code has been called “the key to opportunity, the means of emancipation, the greatest gift of the blind” [Elridge, 1979] ‘as long as print is the primary literary medium of sighted people, Braille will be the primary literary medium for blind people’ [Wittenstein, 1994] It is the most significant literacy medium for the visually impaired and is an essential component of any educational program that serves children who are blind.

L V Prasad Eye Institute, India HyderabadVizagBhubaneswarVijayawadaBhubaneswarVijayawada  L V Prasad Eye Institute is a Comprehensive eye health facility with its main campus located in Hyderabad, India  A WHO Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness  The Institute offers  Comprehensive Patient Care and Research  Sight enhancement and Rehabilitation services  High-impact Rural Eye Health programs  Training for all levels of ophthalmic personnel

OVERVIEW OF REHABILITATON SERVICES AT LVPEI The centre is an integral part of the LVPEI’s pyramid, the services are delivered at all levels through its centre-based and community based approach at different levels across LVPEI’s network Since its inception in 1987, the centre has empowered more than 1,25,000 visually challenged through its centre and community based approach

DIGITAL AUDIO LIBRARY It is estimated that about 30% of the visually impaired population are children in India, of which only 4% of them are enrolled in schools [NCERT2005] against the national gross enrollment The library provides books in digital MP3 and ‘Daisy’ form for all those in need – Academic textbooks – Law book, – competitive exams – Banking books, – General Knowledge – Children stories – Degree books

PROMOTION OF LITERACY AMONG THE VISUALLY CHALLENGED Educational Guidance Special Skills Training Reader’s Service Preparation of Teaching Materials Scribe Service Educational material in large print and Braille Helpline for Educational Issues Training in using Computer Assistive Software Use of Optical, Non Optical and Electronic Devices FITTLE White Print

Educational Guidance Counseling and guidance is given to individuals with vision loss on the following aspects based of their visual acuity, economic background and family support – school readiness – information on choices of course – information on choices of learning media[print, large print, audio books etc – suggestions in class room modifications – recommendation letters to the schools and colleges for unique requirement of the child

Special Skills Training Teaching pre Braille and Braille activities Training in use of mathematical devices such as – Abacus – Taylor frame

Reader’s Service Assistance is provided to teach the content on one basis, usually for the students at high school and college level Readers are those volunteers who read the subjects and explain the key content to the students

Preparation of Teaching Materials TLM’s are prepared to allow the blind child understand a concept by exploring tactually Examples of TLM’s prepared are Maps with tactile raised boundaries, a thicker boundary is used for the country border and a thinner outline is used to differentiate state border TLM’s are prepared to explain science experiments as well by adapting tactile modifications

Scribe Service A sighted person is arranged to write exams on behalf of the visually challenged Scriber is expected to read out the questions and write the answers said by the blind

Educational material in large print and Braille The centre distributes story books and academic books in Braille and large font for the visually challenged students as and when required Over 500 story books in Grade I Braille are kept in the library for circulation among children between 3-15 years of age group Academic and leisure materials for school and college going students are prepared in Grade II, Grade III Braille upon request from the user

Helpline for Educational Issues Tele counseling and support is provided through ‘Rehab Helpline’ The caller’s query may relate to anything on visual impairment and blindness such as – not getting admission in school – issues in availing any educational concessions – support for scribe facility – wanting to learn some skill, Braille etc

Training in using Computer Assistive Software Instructional training to work on computer using specialized software that has screen readers and magnifiers thus enhance academic achievement and assist in acquiring meaningful employment Training is provided to use computers with assistive software such as – JAWS – MAGIC 8.0 – KURZWEIL.

Use of Optical, Non Optical and Electronic Devices There are varying range of low vision devices that are helpful for a child with low vision to use them in class. Telescope and special magnifiers will enlarge font on print and on blackboard. The centre helps the visually challenged to learn to use such devices to continue enjoy reading and writing like their sighted peers.

Functions of FITTLE Learn the Braille Alphabet Construct words and learn more vocabulary Concept construction and utility value of object Orientation to direction Number concept Motor co-ordination concept Tactile stimulation Audio feedback improves learning skills

White Print The library subscribes to ‘White Print’, the first lifestyle magazine in Braille in India In India, there are very few text books that are compatible with Braille Concept construction and utility value of object Orientation to direction Number concept Motor co-ordination concept

Feedback from the Beneficiaries Digital Audio Library: The recorded audio books in different languages with clear accent, recorded by volunteers has been a great benefit in our education. Edited Books: The edited books are a great source in preparing for academic exams and to attain good scores. It also helps them in gaining professional acceptance and opportunities. Computer Skills: The training received at the center has made them more skillful, independent and hopeful for the future. Scribe Services: The timely scribe services enabled the students to write academic as well as competitive exams confidently and helped them to achieve their goals. Helpline Service: A unique model that provides relevant [life saving in some instances] and specific advice to users with visual impairment.

Conclusions In this rapidly growing era of digitization, content is being increasingly converted into electronic data Though the benefits of access are huge the old age habit of reading is fast disappearing even in the sighted It is highly important for us to preserve the habit of reading more so in the visually impaired to help them read through touch Many more Libraries should come forward to render such services

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