Chetana (Awareness)

Helping Children who are Blind

This is a Kannada translation by Mrs. Prabhakar of the original book authored by Sandy Neimann and Dr. Namita Jacob published by the Hesperian Foundation.

One copy of the book is available free to parents and institutions of children with visual impairments. Further copies are available at cost price (Rs. 100). (Kannada Foreword)

Tamil and English (Foreword) versions are also currently available.

Learning through Print

Early experiences with reading and print strengthen language ability and lead to better literacy in children. Apart from exposing infants and toddlers to books and pictures, reading the story with them is a valuable way to engage them with print. Although many lovely stories exist for this age group, few are available in large print or Braille to meet the needs of the young child with visual impairments.

An unexpected benefit of including Braille with large print in all the books was how quickly children and adults accepted Braille as "an interesting way of reading" a powerful change in attitude as Braille is seen by many parents as stigmatizing. Visit the Braille Bug for more information.

Where is the Button ?

A unique publication written by Shanti Bhattacharya has been crafted keeping the diverse learning needs of children with varying abilities in mind.The clear, bold illustrations by Kaveri Murthy enable children with low vision to connect the pictures with the story while the inclusion of Braille and actual buttons help the child who has no sight.

As with most materials developed with children with disabilities in mind, in practice, we found the book supports the needs of all children. Emphasizing senses in addition to vision, such as discrimination by touch (the button feels different) enriches the largely visual and auditory focus in teaching young children.

First generation learners, who are not familiar with English, were quick to understand the words in the story as they used buttons to act out the story.
(How to use the book)