Braille Literacy for Children, Teens, and Adults - National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS)

This reference publication covers a broad scope of resources for learning braille. Resources are organization by the age of the prospective learner. Unless otherwise indicated, items listed are not part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) program and their listing does not imply endorsement.

Pre-Braille Resources for Young Children

Braille Activities for Children
Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness
www.pdrib.com/pages/brailactivities

Lists activities for children age three and older who are visually impaired. Includes both games that may be made at home and games that may be purchased.

Braille and Literacy
Wonder Baby
www.wonderbaby.org/braille-and-literacy

Provides product reviews and advice on introducing toddlers with visual impairments to braille.

Braille Tales Print/Braille Book Program
American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org/braille-tales

Provides six free print/braille books a year for children five and under.

Bumpy Basics: Board Books!
National Braille Press
www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/boardbooks.html

Sells print picture books adapted with braille labels. Intended for parents to introduce toddlers to braille.

Dots for Tots
Braille Institute Braille Special Collection
https://brailleinstitute.org/special-collection

Provides multi-sensory storybook kits for children ages two to five.

Early Childhood
American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org/product-category/educational/core-curriculum/early-childhood

Sells an array of concept and sensory development products. Includes games, puzzles, and toys.

Education for Babies and Toddlers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
American Printing House for the Blind
https://familyconnect.org/browse--age/infants-and-toddlers/education-iandt

Guide for parents on pre-literacy learning for infants and toddlers who are visually impaired.

Emergent Literacy
Paths to Literacy
www.pathstoliteracy.org/learning-center/emergent-literacy

Shares blog posts from experts, parents, and teachers of infants and toddlers developing braille and language skills.

How Students Who Are Blind or Low Vision Read and Write
FamilyConnect
American Foundation for the Blind
https://familyconnect.org/browse--age/grade-schoolers/education-grade-schoolers/how-students-who-are-blind-read-and-write

Suggests ways to develop literacy readiness for children who are visually impaired.

Motor Activities to Encourage Pre-Braille Skills
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
www.tsbvi.edu/wp-content/uploads/assets/documents/statewide-resources/motor-activities-pre-braille.docx

Lists activities for infants and toddlers developing pre-braille motor skills.

Print-Braille-and-Picture Books in Uncontracted Braille (UEB)
Seedlings: Braille Books for Children
www.seedlings.org/browse.php?cat=11

Sells tactile illustrations, print/braille, and braille books for infants and young children.

Reading and Making Tactile Books with Your Child
Family Connect, American Foundation for the Blind
https://familyconnect.org/browse--age/grade-schoolers/education-grade-schoolers/reading-and-making-tactile-books-with-your-child/

Describes methods for making tactile books with your child at home. Includes advice on how to add tactile graphics and braille to commercial print books.

Tactile Skills Matrix
Karen J. Poppe
American Printing House for the Blind
https://sites.aph.org/tactile-skills

Helps parents and teachers of children with visual impairment locate products for purchase to improve pre-braille skills such as hand skills, shape recognition, spatial understanding, and texture discrimination.
Updated regularly.

Tactual Readiness
Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
https://sites.aph.org/tactile-skills

Describes activities for pre-braille students developing finger sensitivity. Includes links to PDF list of motor activities to develop pre-braille skills and various pre-braille sensory books, toys, and games available from the American Printing House for the Blind.

The Ultimate Toy Guide for Blind Children
Amber Bobnar
WonderBa.org

Provides reviews and advice on choosing developmental toys for babies and toddlers who are blind to prepare for language learning.

Resources for Children Learning Braille

Because Books Matter: Reading Braille Books with Young Blind Children
Carol Castellano, National Braille Press
www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/BBM.html

Promotes braille literacy and the importance of families with blind children reading print/braille books together. Includes introductory information on the braille code. Also available in Spanish.

Braille Activities for Children
Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness, Louisiana Tech University
www.pdrib.com/pages/brailactivities

Suggests activities for teaching braille to young children.

The Braille Beginner: A Constructive Learner
Kerstin Fellenius, Future Reflections, National Federation of the Blind
https://nfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr8/frsf0216.htm

Explores how children's home and classroom environments play a key role in braille literacy.

Braille Bug
American Foundation for the Blind
https://braillebug.org

Introduces children to braille fundamentals. Offers links the Helen Keller Kids Museum Online, information on the life of Louis Braille, games, and a reading club.

Braille In Mind: The Braille Superstore
MarvelSoft Enterprises, Inc.
www.braillebookstore.com

Sells more than five hundred braille and print/braille books, games, and toys for children with visual impairment ages one to nine.

Braille Lessons in UEB
Paths to Literacy
www.pathstoliteracy.org/dots-families-braille-lessons

Helps parents of visually impaired children learn the basics of braille.

Braille Reading Pals Club
Early Childhood Initiative Program, National Federation of the Blind
https://nfb.org/programs-services/early-childhood-initiatives

Promotes braille literacy among families and encourages parents and other caregivers to read daily with their children up to age eight. Participants receive supporting material from the National Federation of the Blind.

Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL)
Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute
www.earlyliteracylearning.org/

Provides resources for early childhood literacy intervention for parents, teachers, librarians, and researchers of children with visual impairment and other disabilities.

Children's Braille Book Club
National Braille Press
www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/programs/cbbc/cbbc.html?id=t7mFIQLB

Offers subscribers a different print/braille book each month for children preschool to third grade.

Core Curriculum
American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org/educational-resources/core-curriculum

Lists a variety of accessible educational products.

Dots for Tots
Braille Institute
https://brailleinstitute.org/special-collection

Multi-sensory storybook kits for preschoolers. Kit includes a picture book with uncontracted braille overlays.

Good-e Grade School!
Family Connect, American Foundation for the Blind
https://familyconnect.org/browse--age/grade-schoolers/education-grade-schoolers/good-e-grade-school

Discusses how to prepare students with visual impairment for middle school. Includes information on ordering an assistive technology assessment, braille note-taking, and new reading demands.

Just Enough to Know Better, UEB Version
National Braille Press
https://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/JETKB-UEB.html

Helps parents increase their awareness of braille to support their children's braille literacy. Updated for UEB.

Mathematics Teaching Tools for Blind and Visually Impaired Students
Math Window
https://mathwindow.com/

Sells kits that teach basic braille math, braille algebra, and braille geometry using magnetic 1/2-inch tiles with Nemeth Code or UEB and large-print lettering.

NFB BELL Academy
National Federation of the Blind
https://nfb.org/programs-services/nfb-bell-academy

Prepares blind and low vision children, ages four through twelve, to grow into confident and independent blind people who will live the lives they want.

A Parents' Guide to Special Education for Children with Visual Impairments
Deborah Chen, Gail Calvello, and Clare Taylor Friedman, American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org/product/a-parents-guide-to-special-education-for-children-with-visual-impairments

Explores special education for children with visual impairments. Updated from Parents and Visually Impaired Infants.

ReadBooks! Because Braille Matters!
National Braille Press
www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/programs/readbooks/readbooks.html

Distributes free braille book bags to families with blind and visually impaired children ages birth to seven. Bag includes a print/braille book, an order form for free braille primer, a tactile ball, a print/braille alphabet card, and more.

The Rose Project
Seedlings: Braille Books for Children
http://www.seedlings.org/rose.php

Provides students grade 1–12 who are blind with free braille translations of any article from the World
Book Encyclopedia.

Taptilo
www.taptilo.com

Uses jumbo-sized braille blocks to teach children braille. The Taptilo mobile app offers lesson plans and activities for teachers.

Tips and Tools for Teaching Beginning Braille Skills
Cheryl Brown, Paths to Literacy
www.pathstoliteracy.org/tips-and-tools-teaching-beginning-braille-skills/

Shares tips and tools for young beginning braille readers who have received preschool instruction and are ready to learn braille.

Tips for Promoting Your Child's Braille Literacy Skills
American Foundation for the Blind
www.afb.org/blindness-and-low-vision/braille/braille-resources-parents

Suggests methods for introducing your child to braille, learning braille in the primary grades, and creating tactile materials, as well as sources of adapted materials. For parents of children with visual impairments.

Resources for Teens Learning Braille

Accessible Textbooks
American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org/educational-resources/accessible-textbooks

Provides step-by-step instructions on how to find accessible textbooks through the American Printing

Books for High-Schoolers
Blind in the Mind: Braille Bookstore
www.braillebookstore.com/Books-for-High--Schoolers

Sells books in braille for teens ages fourteen to eighteen. Includes bestsellers and popular genres.

Braille Challenge
Braille Institute
https://brailleinstitute.org/braille-challenge

Challenges children and teens to improve their braille reading comprehension, writing speed and accuracy, proofreading, spelling, and reading tactile charts and graphs. Fifty winners are invited to Los Angeles.

Dictionary of Braille Music Signs
Bettye Krolick, Internet Archive
https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbrai00bett

Lists more than 400 music signs and 100 literary abbreviations in braille. Patrons of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled may obtain it from the NLS Music Section in braille as BRM26334 and BRM36087 and in large print as LPM00428.

Expanded Core Curriculum
American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org/educational-resources/expanded-core-curriculum

Lists curated products chosen to address the unique educational needs of students who are blind or visually impaired. Products are designed to reinforce independence, build personal skills and strength, and build self-confidence.

How to Read Braille Music, 2nd Edition, 1998
Bettye Krolick, Opus Technologies
Shares information for blind music students written at a fifth-grade reading level. New edition has additional sections for guitar chords and reflects the latest changes in the braille music code. Includes "Tips for Sighted Music Teachers." Patrons of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled may obtain it from the NLS music section in braille as BRM29811 and in large print as LPM00638.

An Introduction to Music for the Blind Student: A Course in Braille Music Reading
Richard Taesch, Dancing Dots
www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/currdet.htm

Delivers a range of exercises for students with visual impairment learning to read braille music. May be purchased from www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/currdet.htm. Patrons of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled may obtain this publication from the NLS Music Section in braille as BRM34079 and BRM34080 and in large print as LPM00662 and LPM00664.

Who's Afraid of Braille Music: A Short Introduction and Resource Handbook for Parents and Students
Richard Taesch and William McCann, Dancing Dots
https://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/whosafraid.htm

Provides lessons, assignments, and a short introduction to braille music for students and parents. Patrons of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled may obtain this publication from the NLS Music Section in braille as BRM32949 and in large print as LPM00660.

Resources for Adults Learning Braille

A New Method for Adults to Learn Braille
Double Tap TV
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SjjmPQ_Ge0

Hosts speak with Hadley School for the Blind on adult braille literacy.

Activity Ideas for Adults with Progressive Vision Loss Who Are Learning Braille
Jennifer Burrows, Paths to Literacy
www.pathstoliteracy.org/activity-ideas-adults-progressive-vision-loss-who-are-learning-braille

Activities for adults with low vision who want to learn braille.

Braille Basics
Second Sense
www.second-sense.org/starting-and-leading-a-support-group/vision-loss-resources/braille-basics

Article explores why adults with visual impairment should learn braille and how to find resources.

Braille Connection, Mentoring Manual: A Braille Reading and Writing Program for Former Print Users
Eleanor Pester, American Printing House for the Blind
Teaches braille reading and writing to adults. Available in PDF and BRF formats online at https://sites.aph.org/manuals. May be purchased from www.aph.org/product/braille-connection-mentoring-manual-braille in braille or www.aph.org/product/braille-connection-mentoring-manual-print in print.

Braille for Everyday Use
Hadley School for the Blind
https://hadley.edu/learn?topic_id=15

The student can choose to learn braille by touch or site. Workshops include letters, numbers, special punctuation, and tips on better reading. The course is free from Hadley School for the Blind. Materials can be ordered byphone or online and are mailed to the student.

Code Master Adult Braille Learning System
Blind.Inc.
www.blindinc.org/cm.htm

A system for teaching braille to adults. Separates learning into audio memorization of contractions and short-form words combined with tactile recognition of dot patterns. Winner of the 2012 Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation.

Learning Braille as a Mature Adult
Braille Monitor, National Federation of the Blind
https://nfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm07/bm0706/bm070606.htm

Describes the pleasures and challenges of learning braille as an adult.

Learning Braille as An Adult or Older Adult with Vision Loss: What You Need To Know
Braille Literacy Canada www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ2JRM4sYuE
Dr. Natalina Martiniello, President of Braille Literacy Canada, speaks to the Montreal Low Vision Self-Help Group about braille learning in adulthood and some of her research in this area.

The McDuffy Reader, A Braille Primer for Adults (UEB Edition)
Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
https://adaptations.org/products/br109

Unified English Braille Edition. Published in 1 volume. Used for teaching and learning Braille.

Created 2023

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