Learning Through Touch: Supporting Children with Visual Impairments and Additional Difficulties

Written to assist teachers and other professionals who support children with visual impairment and additional difficulties, this text examines the role of touch in developing effective teaching and learning.

The book is divided into eleven chapters that provide useful background information about the sense of touch, and consider how potential barriers to independent learning through touch can be reduced through structuring appropriate learning experiences.

A series of reflective activities are included which are designed to draw out key issues from relevant chapters and invite the reader to explore the implications for his or her practice. A number of these activities are designed to cross-reference with relevant extension standards from the National SEN Specialist Standards for teachers and recommendations about further reading and teaching resources are provided throughout the book.

This text will be useful for teachers and learning support staff working with children who have visual impairment and additional difficulties. It will also have relevance to other professionals working with children with severe and complex needs who wish to understand more about the role of touch in developing effective learning experiences.

Mike McLinden and Stephen McCall are Lecturers in Education (Visual Impairment) at the School of Education, University of Birmingham.