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Canadian National Institute for the Blind
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In January, 2017, the Twice Upon a Time Board of Directors received a presentation from Jane Beaumont, Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Jane provided guidelines for working with children with vision loss. Below are some tips for families, friends and caretakers dealing with this situation.
For more information go to
http://cnib.ca/en/services/vision-support/range/Pages/default.aspxAlso note that the Ottawa Public Library has special services and materials for children with vision loss. The joy of reading should be accessible to all and Twice Upon a Time hopes this information will be useful.
Guidelines for working with children with vision loss
- How to recognise children with vision loss
- Wearing glasses
- Holding books close to their faces – don’t try to correct this
- Looking sideways
- Squinting
- Wandering eye
- Suggested books for pre-reading, toddlers
- Touchy feely books, but note that the child may not have any concept of what the whole item is, e.g. a round furry thing on the page may be a cat or ball
- Tactile things on page – go slowly with the child as they may be highly sensitised to touch
- Allow the child to take their time
- Photos work best, colours, shapes
- Non- glare paper, accurate pictures, one picture per page
- Simple backgrounds
- Suggested books for early reading
- Good quality, strong paper, non glare
- Large print, 18 pt minimum
- Plain font, Ariel or Verdana, sans serif
- Bold print with good contrast
- Limited text on each page and text should not be over the pictures
- Print located on the same place on each page helps
- Bold pictures not impressionist
- Rhymes and rhythm are fun and help
- Suggested books for 6-12 year olds
- Large print but realise that vision can vary enormously
Books for children with dyslexia are often pitched at the right age and work for children with low vision.
