Learning through Touch: Supporting Learners with Multiple Disabilities and Vision Impairment through a Bioecological Systems Perspective

This fully revised and updated second edition of Learning through Touch is essential reading for practitioners who support learners with multiple disabilities and vision impairment. These learners will rely on support from their learning partners throughout their education to mediate their learning experiences. The text explores the key role that touch plays in the education of these learners and provides practical advice about how to develop the skills through touch that they will need to become ‘active agents’ in their own development. The book reflects international initiatives that seek to ensure that people with disabilities have opportunities to take meaningful control within their learning and their lives.

Key features include:

• Chapters that support curriculum access for learners with visual impairments;
• Reflections on up-to-date research studies and guidance for further reading throughout, allowing for a strong conceptual foundation for practice;
• Portfolio activities designed to help implement effective learning opportunities within your own practice.

Written to assist teachers and other professionals who support children with visual impairment and additional difficulties, this text will appeal to professionals and students alike. It is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to explore the role of touch in creating effective learning experiences.

Mike McLinden is a professor in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham. His main professional role is concerned with promoting equitable access to education for learners with disabilities. He is co-director of the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research (VICTAR) at the University of Birmingham and programme lead for the professional development courses in vision impairment.

Steve McCall retired in 2011 from his post as senior lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham. On his retirement he was awarded an honorary senior lectureship at the University of Birmingham and is currently working as an independent consultant.

Liz Hodges is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham and the lead practitioner for deafblindness in education in Hertfordshire. In joint roles she develops theory and practice for learners with deafblindness with the aim of improving educational services. She is the only university lecturer in deafblindness education in the UK.