Abstract
This study aims to investigate the literacy skills of Braille readers in the areas of reading fluency, reading and listening comprehension, and spelling. A total of 119 German-speaking, Braille readers aged between 11.0 and 22.11 years were tested for this purpose. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire, psychometric tests, and self-constructed assessments. Wherever possible, the results were compared with the standards of sighted peers. Regarding reading fluency, Braille readers performed significantly slower than print readers. In terms of spelling, the Braille users performed within an average range of sighted peers. Furthermore, a positive correlation was obtained between Braille reading fluency and spelling, whereas the use of auditory aids (e.g., speech output) showed a negative correlation with Braille reading fluency and spelling. In addition, a comparison between listening and reading within the study sample revealed that reading Braille proved to be better for comprehension, although listening was significantly faster. In conclusion, the findings provide evidence that Braille reading skills are important for the development of literacy skills in general. Nevertheless, listening skills are important and need to be systematically promoted.
Highlights
Visual impairments are relatively rare in industrialised countries and occur much more frequently in advanced age than in childhood and adolescence (Garber & Huebner, 2017)
The competency of accurate, automated and error-free decoding of words with prosody is called reading fluency (Rasinski, 2004). It is an important prerequisite for higher reading performance and is regarded as a characteristic from which generalising conclusions can be drawn about other literacy competencies (Rosebrock et al, 2017)
Overall, the results clearly show that the special features of haptic reading require didactically comprehensive educational and support offers
Summary
Visual impairments are relatively rare in industrialised countries and occur much more frequently in advanced age than in childhood and adolescence (Garber & Huebner, 2017). Summarised for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, about 300.000 people with blindness and severe visual impairment (according to ICD-10) can be assumed (cf Lang & Thiele, 2020), people with multiple disabilities are generally insufficiently taken into account in such figures. In Germany, 9.385 students received official support for students with visual impairments in 2018 (Kultusministerkonferenz [KMK], 2020). Of these students, 4.590 (48.9%) attended special schools and 4.795 (51.1%) attended mainstream schools. The parallel availability of special schools and inclusive school forms exists in Austria and Switzerland. Students in inclusive schools are supported and advised by teachers of students with visual impairments (TSVIs)
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