Preface

Our world is overwhelmingly visual and the ability to see and interact with the environment is often taken for granted. For children with visual impairments, growing up in this visual world presents unique challenges. Tactile books and graphics play a crucial role in their education,  providing access to literature, stimulating cognitive and sensory development, fostering language skills, and promoting inclusion, equal opportunities and independence.

The “Guidelines for Tactile Books and Tactile Graphics for Children with Visual Impairment, Age 1-12 Years,” is a comprehensive resource for educators, printing houses, publishers, parents and professionals. In an effort to bridge the gap with sighted children the guidelines offer ideas for concept building and storytelling along with practical strategies, insights and guidance. These include recommendations for designing different kinds of tactile books and tactile graphics. Beyond didactic and practical advice, the guidelines promote a broader understanding of supporting children with visual impairments and emphasize how tactile books can help to remove gaps in knowledge and enhance literacy and equal reading experiences.

Learning by touch is very different from learning by sight and as such requires specific pedagogical methods and guidance. Children with visual impairments have limited access to books with meaningful tactile illustrations, so they must learn step by step to explore, recognize, and understand them. From infancy through their school years, tactile books provide sensory experiences that enrich learning, creativity, and imagination. Often paired with real objects or 3D models, these books help children form mental images of stories and concepts. Joint reading activities with carers, educators, and peers also strengthen social connections.

The ideas and recommendations in the guidelines have been shaped by the collective expertise of professionals in education, printing houses, accessibility and design, as well as feedback from children who tested the two books developed for this project. As such the guidelines support a collaborative, cost-effective approach to creating engaging tactile graphics and illustrated books.

We hope these guidelines will inspire collaboration and innovation, empowering visually impaired children to explore the world through touch and multi-sensory learning.