Why?
Reading a book is fun and stimulates the development of children in various ways. This is true not only for sighted children but also for visually impaired children (Further abbreviated as VI). Illustrated tactile books are a great way to foster the development of literacy and skills in concept building. This also helps visually impaired children to understand their daily life, stimulate their imagination as well as helping to expand and diversify their experiences.
At the moment there are not enough illustrated tactile books available for visually impaired children to read. There is still a huge discrepancy between the availability of these books compared to the amounts of picture books for sighted children.
Target groups
Tacticos provides information and examples for multiple stakeholders that work with illustrated tactile books:
- Visually impaired children:
- 1-4 years old
- 4-8 years old
- 8-12 years old
- Parents and caregivers
- VI professionals
- Producers of accessible reading materials
- Regular printing houses and publishers
Goal of the project
Producing tactile books and tactile illustrations can be challenging and involves more than simply translating existing 2D images to 3D. The aim of Tacticos is to develop recommendations for the ideation, production and use of illustrated tactile books. These recommendations will consider the didactical, creative, technical and financial aspects of producing these books and illustrations.
Furthermore, the project provides examples and information for VI professionals and parents or caregivers on how to guide children when reading and exploring illustrations by touch so that they learn to recognize and understand tactile illustrations. Tacticos connects users and producers in an effort to ensure the continued development and production of high quality tactile books. This will not only promote equal access to books for visually impaired children but also stimulate inclusion.
Equal access to the joy of reading a book for all children!
