Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Special Exposure Wednesday


Tennis ball muffins? Nope, but it is a really ingenious way to teach Braille to someone.



Ashley's occupational therapist came up with the idea, and her intervener (the eyes and ears for someone who is deafblind) has perfected the idea.

Teaching Braille to a child with even a tiny bit of vision is difficult because the child will want to use what vision they have. The tactile nature of Braille does not lend itself to that, and the result is that the learning is inhibited. Ashley's little bit of vision is deteriorating, so to maximize her learning Braille, she has begun with the muffin tin.

The muffin tin, just like a standard Braille cell, has 6 dots (or holes in the case of the tin). When tennis balls are put in the holes to represent the Braille dots, Ashley can not only see the Braille but it is building the foundation for feeling the Braille as her eyesight deteriorates.

Absolutely ingenious, in my opinion!

Make sure to check out all the other Special Exposure Wednesday photos at 5 Minutes For Special Needs!
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7 comments:

  1. CasdokJanuary 7, 2009 at 9:57 AM

    So simple and yet sooo clever!

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  2. mommy~dearestJanuary 7, 2009 at 1:40 PM

    THAT is super cool.

    ReplyDelete
  3. little.birdyJanuary 7, 2009 at 2:33 PM

    That is a really good idea!

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  4. tiff(threeringcircus)January 7, 2009 at 3:24 PM

    I agree! Very very clever.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing_GraceJanuary 7, 2009 at 4:15 PM

    I think I am the only one who knew what you were doing with the muffin tin. LOL!

    I made something like that when I was in college. I used a small wooden board and drilled 6 holes into it so you could put golf tees in the holes (to teach braille). I glued a bit of sandpaper on the top edge of board so you could tell which was the top part of the braille cell.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2009 at 7:08 PM

    I posted some games for Braille on my blog for y'all.

    http://momsofspecialneedschildren1.blogspot.com/2009/01/braille-activities-and-games.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. KylaJanuary 9, 2009 at 5:24 PM

    That is VERY cool.

    ReplyDelete

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