Increasing Deaf Blind Communication Skills through Technology

The Paths to Literacy blog recently released a story on how braille devices, in this case the Braille Note Touch Plus, can facilitate communication between someone who is deaf blind and a sighted person. The setup is fairly simple: A braille device and a keyboard are each attached to a monitor, and the deaf blind person launches a word processor and inputs in braille, with the sighted person on the keyboard. This is a great example of using technology to facilitate communication and promote more socialization. The blog, which contains a transcript of the communication between sixth grader Liam and his mom, is all about using this setup to increase his conversation skills and proficiency in using the technology: “We are now practicing having him using this device with other people at school and at home!” Read the blog post on the Paths to Literacy webpage.