On Campus: Tactile Learning

For children who are blind, have low vision, or have other disabilities such as speech delays, tactile learning presents a unique opportunity to enhance their skills. Tactile cues — or touch cues — can help them understand people, places, and activities through movement and touch. Here are a few impactful ways Beyond Blindness uses tactile cues around campus and in the classroom to help children achieve independence:

• Playground cues like a chain attached to the wall help guide and direct children to the swings.

• To help infants and toddlers who are being potty trained, we have tactile cues in the form of diapers glued to pieces of cardboard that they can touch to create memory/signals for toileting.

• Each chair in the classroom has a tactile cue on the back, such as a green frog. If a child has a green frog on their chair, the green frog is also in their cubby — it’s a way to help students orient themselves and create independence.

• The professional staff incorporates other touch cues to help children communicate. Many are simple things that can also be done at home, such as a placing a rubber band around a cup of milk so your child knows that is the milk cup versus the water cup.

• Our classrooms are also designed as big, open spaces so they can accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility aids.

• One of the better-known tactile cues is the white cane. White Cane Awareness Day is coming up on October 15 and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about this simple but very effective aid that provides increased support and independence for the visually impaired.