Royal Dutch Visio, Centre of Expertise for blind and partially sighted people announces 2 new books!

Feel Free and In Touch Helping your blind child discover the world

Both books will be presented at the ICEVI Conference in Istanbul.
Look for workshops and posters in the programme.

Activity book "Feel free"

Feel Free is the of Activity book Tactual Profile with exercises and teaching suggestions for the stimulation and training of tactual skills.

When Tactual Profile, an observation instrument to assess tactual functioning, was introduced it did not take long for those who were using it to spur us on to the next step.’ During the observation with Tactual Profile we detected some impairments in the sense of touch. What can we do to stimulate and train these skills?’
The answers are in this activity book. It contains exercises and teaching suggestions to stimulate and train in different ways. The contributions in this book were written by professionals who work with children with a severe visual impairment. All are familiar with Tactual Profile and its structure, which was also adopted for the activity book now before you.

Tactual Profile has been validated and proved to be a reliable instrument for children 0-16 years of age, who were born blind or have no more than some residual vision. Tactual Profile aims to measure the demands of everyday activities and school related subjects. The observation items have been divided into three main categories of tactual functioning: tactual sensory functioning (noticing, body awareness, touch sensitivity e.g.), tactual motor functioning ( manipulating, two-handedness e.g.) and tactual perceptual functioning ( discrimination, part-whole relationship, third and second dimension e.g.)
Another main category is the practical skills category which contains an integral description of several forms of tactual functioning ( touch strategy, linking function to object). Background information about the categories can be found under 'Theoretical justification' and 'Manual' in the English version of Tactual Profile.

The overall lay-out of Feel Free corresponds to that of the observation tool Tactual Profile.

Every subject is introduced by a photo of an activity or material.
The main and subcategory, as well as the age level is mentioned. Activities and teaching suggestions are described and the structure paragraph contains ideas for games and exercises using the material mentioned. Observation items and areas of special attention are listed for specific areas of attention which should be included in the observation of the activity.

Quotes of users:

This is a big book. That just shows you how varied touch is, and how many different ways there are to stimulate it!
Now I have the structure to stimulate and train tactual skills

Book for parents: In Touch Helping your blind child discover the world

In Touch, Helping your blind child discover the world, describes the tactual development of blind children. It gives an insight into the importance of touch as their main source of information.

The following text addresses the parents of a blind child, but also professionals find it a valuable book in their work of coaching blind children and their parents.
In Touch, Helping your blind child discover the world is aimed at informing you, the parents of a blind child, about perception through touch. In order to present you with a comprehensive look at the sense that is of such vital importance to your child, we have described the subject from a number of different perspectives. We hope this book will inspire you to set out on a journey of discovery with your child.

The book is divided into three main parts. Chapter 1 of part A provides you with some useful background information about touch and tactual development.

Chapter 2 explains the importance of touch for your child as a means of making sense of the world. Examples are included to clarify and enliven the text. In chapter 3 we explore the factors that influence your child’s tactual development. Here you will also find some suggestions as to what you can do to help that development.

Part B of the book contains ideas, tips, materials and activities which will stimulate tactual development. It is patterned on Tactual Profile although the first three categories have been re-named to enhance readability. This part of the book is the most colourful one in the book. Many of the proposed activities are accompanied by photographs of the materials you can use to play with your child. Whenever possible, we have tried to use photographs in which the children themselves are manipulating the material.

Part C is dedicated to the personal stories of parents with blind children. There are four interviews, each beginning with a brief sketch of the family situation. We asked parents about a number of subjects which have a bearing on the main theme of the book. One of the questions we put to them was how they went about introducing new information to their children. How did they explain certain situations and concepts? And on a more practical note, which changes did they make to their homes, or did they feel they didn't need to make any changes at all? Each interview concludes with a number of tips, for instance on leisure activities, and handicraft ideas.

Part D contains the additional chapters 'Useful tips at a glance', 'References' and 'A Glossary of Terms'.

In conclusion, it may be useful to know that you do not need to start reading on page 1: the three main sections of the book can be read separately. The practical part containing the suggestions for play activities is perfectly readable without the theoretical background. This goes for the interviews as well.

Quote of a parent:

This is a book that I pick up every time my child reaches an other step in her development and it helps me to support her

Price for Feel Free: € 135,- exclusive shipping costs
Feel Free comes in a A4 folder

Price for In Touch Helping your blind child discover the world: € 35,- exclusive shipping costs

To order: Royal Dutch Visio, centre of Expertise for blind and partially sighted people www.visio.org click on the button English and go to publications

telephone: 0031 885861700
E-mail: tactualprofile@visio.org
For more information: www.tactualprofile.org