When we hear the word literacy, we often picture a student looking at a book, reading words on a worksheet or typing on a screen. But literacy isn't always visual.

For students who are blind or have low vision, literacy may be accessed through touch. Braille is the best-known form of touch-based literacy, allowing the reader to access letters, words, punctuation, numbers and other information through patterns of raised dots.

If you are a teaching assistant working with a student who uses braille, you don't need to become a braille expert overnight.

You do, however, need to understand how your student accesses written information.

Developing even a basic knowledge of touch-based literacy can help you prepare resources more effectively, communicate with specialist staff and, importantly, support the student's independence rather than unintentionally creating dependence.

So, where do you begin?

First Things First: What Is Touch-Based Literacy?

Touch-based literacy refers to accessing and interpreting written or symbolic information through touch rather than vision.

For a student who is blind, this may include:

• reading and writing braille
• exploring tactile diagrams, maps and graphs
• using raised or textured symbols
• interpreting tactile labels and markers
• accessing digital information through a refreshable braille display

Braille is therefore part of a much broader set of tactile skills.

And here's an important distinction: Braille is a system, not a language.

It is a system for representing written language through combinations of raised dots. English can be written in braille, as can many other languages. Braille can also represent mathematics, science and music.

A standard braille cell contains six possible dots, arranged in two columns.

Different combinations of these dots create different letters, numbers, punctuation and symbols.

It is an extraordinarily efficient system, and its foundations were developed by Louis Braille when he was still a teenager.

A Brief History of Braille

Louis Braille was born in France in 1809 and lost his sight following a childhood accident.

While attending the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, he encountered a raised-dot communication system developed by Charles Barbier. Louis recognised its potential but created a simpler and more practical system based around a six-dot cell.

Braille has evolved considerably since then. Modern braille readers may use embossed paper, a braille-writing machine or digital technology such as a refreshable braille display.

The technology has changed, but the fundamental idea remains the same: gaining direct access to written information through touch.

What Does Braille Literacy Actually Involve?

One of the most useful things a teaching assistant can learn is that braille literacy involves much more than recognising raised dots.

Think about everything involved when a sighted child learns to read.

They learn how a page is organised. They recognise letters and words. They develop spelling and punctuation knowledge and skills. They learn where to begin reading, how to move through a text and how headings, paragraphs, tables and other features are organised.

A braille reader is developing literacy skills too, while also learning how to efficiently locate and interpret information through touch.

Braille provides direct access to features of written language such as spelling, punctuation and formatting. This is one reason braille continues to be important even when students also have access to screen readers, audiobooks and text-to-speech technology.

Audio can provide excellent access to information, but listening to text and reading text are not the same literacy experience.

For teaching assistants, understanding that distinction is important. A student's use of audio technology does not automatically mean they no longer need access to braille.

What should I learn if I'm supporting a touch-based literacy reader?

You may look at a page of braille for the first time and wonder how you could possibly learn it.

Start small.

Your role is not necessarily to become the student's braille teacher. Specialist instruction should be guided by appropriately qualified teachers and vision professionals.

However, developing your own knowledge can make you a much more effective support person.

Step 1: Learn how the braille cell works

Begin with the six-dot braille cell and learn how the dots are numbered.

Australia uses Unified English Braille (UEB) for English braille.

Familiarise yourself with some basic letters and punctuation. You might practise identifying the student's name, classroom labels or a few commonly used words.

You don't need to master everything at once. Take one step at a time and think of it as ongoing professional learning.

Step 2: Become familiar with the student's technology

Ask the appropriate teacher or specialist staff member to show you how the student's equipment works.

Depending on the student, this might include:

• a Perkins Brailler
• embossed braille books
• tactile graphics
• braille labels
• a refreshable braille display
• screen-reading software
• a combination of braille, audio and other assistive technology

You don't necessarily need to know every technical feature.

You do want enough familiarity that when something goes wrong, your first response isn't: "We'll have to wait until someone who knows this equipment arrives" but rather "I think I can troubleshoot this and get you back to learning soon."

Knowing how the student normally accesses a document, where resources are stored and who to contact for specialist assistance can also help prevent unnecessary interruptions to learning.

Step 3: Learn from the student

This is one of the simplest, and most easily overlooked strategies.

If appropriate for their age and communication needs, ask the student what works for them.

Students who regularly use braille and assistive technology may be able to explain how they prefer information to be presented, where classroom barriers occur and when assistance is most useful.

Rather than automatically stepping in, try questions such as: Would you like help with that, or have you got it?

The distinction matters.

Good support isn't about doing as much as possible for a student. It is about providing the right amount of support so they can do as much as possible for themselves.

Three Practical Ways to Support Touch-Based Literacy

Once you understand the basics, you will be ready to start supporting students with touch-based literacy. Here are a few practical ideas to help you get started.

1. Give the student time to explore through touch

Visual information can often be taken in very quickly. A sighted student may glance at a diagram and immediately understand its overall shape before looking at the details.

Touch works differently.

When a student explores a tactile diagram, object, graph or map, they may need to investigate it systematically to build an understanding of the whole.

Avoid rushing this process.

Give the student sufficient time to explore materials and follow the guidance of their specialist teacher regarding effective tactile exploration techniques.

Also resist the temptation to immediately move the student's hands to the “right” place. Verbal guidance or orientation may sometimes be more appropriate and can preserve the student's control over their own exploration.

2. Make sure accessible resources arrive at the same time as everyone else's

A student shouldn't have to wait until tomorrow for a worksheet their classmates received today.

Accessible materials may require advance planning. Braille transcription, tactile diagrams and accessible digital documents cannot always be produced at the last minute.

Teaching assistants can help by looking ahead.

What worksheets are coming up? Is there a graph in tomorrow's maths lesson? Will students need to label a diagram in science? Is the class reading a new novel next week?

Raise accessibility requirements early with the classroom teacher and relevant specialist staff.

And remember that accessibility doesn't stop with prepared worksheets.

If important information suddenly appears on the whiteboard, in a slideshow or during a demonstration, ask yourself: How is the student I'm supporting going to access this information?

3. Support independence, not dependence

This may be the most important principle of all.

Teaching assistants often work closely with students who have additional support needs. With the best intentions, it can become easy to anticipate every difficulty and step in immediately.

But consider what happens when we always do everything for the student.

We may make today's task faster while unintentionally reducing opportunities to develop tomorrow's independence.

Before helping, consider:

• Can the student do this independently?
• Could they do it with a prompt rather than physical assistance?
• Have I given them enough time to attempt it?

Sometimes assistance will absolutely be needed.

The goal isn't to withdraw support. It is to make support purposeful.

Making Touch-Based Literacy Part of the Classroom

Braille doesn't have to be something that exists only between one student and one support person.

There are opportunities to make tactile literacy visible, and normal throughout the classroom.

For example, younger classes might explore LEGO® Braille Bricks, which combine braille dots with printed letters and numbers. Classroom labels can include both print and braille where appropriate. Students can explore how information can be represented visually, audibly and through touch.

Activities like these can reinforce a simple but powerful message: There isn't only one way to read, write or access information.

At the same time, avoid turning a student's braille use into a classroom novelty. The student should have a say in whether and how their peers learn about the tools and literacy methods they use.

If you regularly support a student who uses braille, consider making touch-based literacy part of your own professional development.

A good starting point is to speak with the specialist teacher supporting the student's vision needs. Ask what terminology, braille skills, equipment and strategies would be most useful for you to learn.

For Australian information and professional learning, you can also explore resources from:

• Australian Braille Authority – information about Unified English Braille and braille standards used in Australia.
• Vision Australia – information and training relating to braille, assistive technology and supporting people who are blind or have low vision.
• Braille House – find tactile resources, and a free library for people who are blind or have low vision
• State and territory education departments – depending on your jurisdiction, specialist vision services may provide resources, professional learning and advice for school staff. Ask your school leader for more information specific to your state/territory.

You might also ask whether you can observe a specialist braille lesson or receive some basic training for the technology your student uses.

You Just Need a Positive Attitude and Openness to Learning

Supporting a student who uses touch-based literacy can initially feel specialised.

There are specialist skills involved in teaching braille, assessing literacy needs and determining the most appropriate learning media for an individual student. Teaching assistants should work within their role and follow the direction of teachers and appropriately qualified vision professionals.

But that doesn't mean touch-based literacy should remain a mystery.

Start small:

• Learn what the six dots mean
• Find out what equipment your student uses
• Ask how accessible resources are produced
• Learn how tactile graphics work
• Talk to specialist staff
• And, where appropriate, ask the student themselves

Every piece of knowledge helps you move from simply helping a student complete classroom tasks, towards something much more valuable: helping create a classroom in which they can access information, participate alongside their peers and develop their own independence.