Today World Braille Day we want to talk to you about Braitico, the didactic method that blind children or with a high vision deficit use to learn to read, in Spain. This method, very playful, helps the children in the classroom who are not blind, when they see it, they want to know it and know more about Braille, which favors integration.
Braitico has a didactic and neurological base. This method was developed by a team of ONCE professionals for more than three years, and an investment budget of 500.000 euros. It has been in operation since 2018. The development of this method includes the integration of ICT in the learning process.
What is Braitico?
Braitico, as we find its definition on the same page of the ONCE is a comprehensive and inclusive method that allows blind children to have contact with Braille literacy from the cradle. Blind children will be able to discover Braille in a fun, close and simple way.
Learning and becoming familiar with the Braille method must be done progressively. For this reason Braitico It is divided into four modules according to age. The first of them ranges from 0 to 2 years old, and the last one reaches up to 12 years, coinciding with the end of Primary Education. In each of these modules different skills are worked on.
What the teachers stand out most when applying this methodology is that the boys and girls learn Braille in a playful way, from the initial time of discovery of the world to the last phases. And this process is accompanied by various materials, with computer applications.
This is how the first two modules of this method are
In the Braitico computer application there are didactic guides of this method, of each of the modules and of the tools that must use parents and teachers, because with this method you can work both at school and at home.
In the first of the modules, Handyman, blind boys and girls between 0 and 2 years They work by exercising their sensory development and especially touch, they handle pictures and puzzles that help them to distinguish textures and simple shapes. It is time to work on the body scheme and laterality, psychomotor coordination, sensory perception and motivation to read. It has a resource bank with songs and lines that are used in the different activities.
In the second module, from 2 to 5 years old, and called A punto, children begin to learn the reading sequence, to handle numerical concepts and to coordinate the two hands to distinguish three-dimensional shapes. Seeks to initiate intentional learning. In this module, 5 competencies are acquired: oral language, motor and manipulative competence, cognitive competence, pre-reading technique and pre-writing technique.
What are modules 3 and 4 of Braitico?
With module 3: Brailleo, you learn to read and write in Braille. The goal is for children to acquire the skills that allow them to maintain their educational level. One of the exercises they do is, for example, place the points in different positions. Thus they are configuring letters in Braille to then interpret a text. It is from 6 or 7 years that children come into contact with the braille display, the replacement device for the famous Perkins machine, which will allow them to read and write quickly in the future.
Finally, module 4, Superbraille 4.0 from 8 to 12, or 13 years old serves to strengthen Braille in its use with speed, efficiency, utility and pleasure. It is about acquiring five competences: precision, reading and writing technique, organization and processing of information, and study techniques, comprehension and speed. This module works mainly from the computer and with books and paper.
With this article we have introduced you to the method of teaching Braille to a blind child. But if you have any doubts You can check the ONCE page or download the guides that you will find in it.