TACTUAL GRAPHICS GUIDELINES

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
October 28, 2017

Much of text content in textbooks, handbooks, and worksheets are presented in graphic form. This includes high stakes tests where students will be required to interpret graphs, charts and tactual diagrams. The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) has developed guidelines and standards for the production of tactual graphics. According to BANA, “The purpose of these guidelines and standards is to provide transcribers, educators, and producers with information about best practices, current methods, and design principles for the production of readable tactile graphics.” It is essential for tactual graphics in textbooks and assessments to follow these guidelines.

General Guidelines

1. ​​Decide if a tactile graphic needs to be made at all. BANA includes a decision tree to help determine if it is appropriate to make the tactile graphic.
2. Graphics should be tactually clear and contain only relevant information based on an understanding of what is being taught and what the student’s task is.
3. Graphics should be redrawn in 2 dimensions where possible with the exception of some mathematical and scientific diagrams.
4. Follow the Braille Authority of North America’s (BANA) “Guidelines for Mathematical Diagrams.”

Key Design Guidelines

​BANA provides a downloadable 362 page manual on Tactual Graphics guidelines. The following are just a couple of the key points! ​​Don't be intimidated by the overwhelming amount of rules for creating graphics. Although planning ahead is ideal, some flexibility is permitted in order to provide “on the spot” graphics as needed.

1. Avoid clutter and simplify.
2. Use texture sparingly and only to add information.
3. Limit the lines, points, and symbols on a drawing to ones that can be easily identified one from another by touch.
4. Use different tactile symbols for different types of information.
5. Use lead lines only as a last resort. Use keys or notes as alternatives.
6. Explain and define all graphic symbols, either on the same page, facing page, or special symbols page.
7. Use Grade 2 braille contractions in labels.
8. A two-cell braille symbol is preferable to a one-cell symbol for labels.
9. Try not to break the integrity of a shape with a braille label.

Additional Resources on Tactile Graphics

Braille Authority of North America (BANA)
The mission of BANA is to assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of braille and/or tactile graphics. BANA disseminates rules, makes interpretations and renders opinions pertaining to braille codes and guidelines for the provisions of literary and technical materials and related forms and formats of embossed materials now in existence or to be developed in the future for the use of people who are blind in North America. BANA can be found at brailleauthority.org.

Their publication on Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics is available in hardcopy format through the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). This 365 page manual is also available online for download. This can be found on the BANA website. The following are some key points from the guidelines.

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Tactile Graphics
A great resource on everything pertaining to the creation of tactile graphics can be found on the Tactile Graphics site created and maintained by Lucia Hasty, who is a consultant and has developed training materials on tactile graphics. She is also a co-author of the recent BANA Guidelins and standards for Tactile Graphics. 

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​APH's Guidelines for Design of Tactile Graphics
APH specifies guidelines developed out of an APH workshop involving Nancy Aick, Jane Corcoran, and APH staff in July 1997. They are meant to expand on and clarify guidelines. 

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APH's Tactile Graphic Image Library (TGIL)
APH's Tactile Graphic Image Library contains a collection of templates to aid with the creation of tactile graphics. Visit APH and register for free to access the Image Library and find templates for your needs. 

Good Tactile Graphic: Booklet
This booklet, available through APH, provides specific guidelines for the design of tactile graphics, expanding on those mentioned in the videos on the Good Tactile Graphic DVD. It also provides further resources and information that may be of use to creators of tactile graphics. In addition, it contains actual samples of some of the tactile graphics depicted in the videos.

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Additional Tactile Graphics Pages...

Creating Tactile Graphics
​Tactile Graphics Instruction

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TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

$50.00

Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level.

The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:

• Object Characteristic Activities
• Quantity & Number Concepts
• Time Concept Activities
• Environment & Job Awareness Activities
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• Braille Basics Activities
• Writing Activities
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• Developing Skillful Hands Activities
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• Optical Device Instruction Activities
• Recipe Activities

In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.

Unique Concepts within the Units include:

• Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
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• O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
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• Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
• Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)

Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.

Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number.

Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.

Product details

Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:

Digital pdf download: 210 pages

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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