Tactile Perception and Memory Games at Home for Your Child with Visual Impairment
For young children with visual impairments, the journey of exploring the world begins at their fingertips. Understanding what objects around them look like, communicating, and developing cognitively are all shaped entirely through the sense of touch. If you are curious about how your child with visual impairment makes sense of the world and are looking for ways to support their development at home, the concept of "tactile perception" will be your greatest ally.
Within the Cognitive Skills module designed for individuals with visual impairments, a dedicated section has been reserved for "Tactile Perception and Memory" for students who are unable to use their sense of sight. Let us explore ways to foster communication with children who are blind and to support the steps of cognitive development in individuals with visual impairments through games you can play at home.
What Is Tactile Perception and Why Is It Important?
Tactile perception is the ability to understand whether an object is rough or smooth, soft or hard, simply by touching it. For the development of cognitive skills, children must first learn to recognize the objects in their environment and categorize them in their minds.
Instructional curricula aim for children to perform matching activities using the textural properties of objects (hard–soft, rough–smooth, fuzzy–non-fuzzy, etc.), size properties (large, small, etc.), and shape properties (triangle, circle, square, etc.). Distinguishing and grouping objects according to these tactile properties is also a fundamental part of cognitive development.
Tactile Games You Can Play at Home
Designing home-based games for children with visual impairments is not as difficult as it may seem. You can create wonderful activities using everyday objects found in your home:
Find the Match Game: Place objects of different textures inside a bag—for example, two smooth walnuts, two fuzzy pompoms, and two hard wooden blocks. You can ask your child, with eyes closed or relying solely on touch if they have no functional vision, to match objects with the same textural properties inside the bag.
Find the Different One: Place three objects in front of your child—two that are the same and one that is different. Help them distinguish the object with the requested textural property from among objects with different tactile qualities.
Sequencing and Memory: Having the child name the properties and names of the objects they touch strengthens memory. Asking them to verbally recall the objects they touched in the order they touched them engages both auditory and tactile memory simultaneously.
Worlds Read by Fingers: Object and Tactile Books
Did you know that you can make your own books at home to expand your child's conceptual vocabulary and prepare them for early literacy? Multi-sensory books, object books, and tactile books are highly effective resources for students with visual impairments.
Multi-Sensory Books: These consist of no more than 6–7 pages, each containing a short sentence written in Braille along with an object or part of an object that brings that sentence to life through touch and sound.
Object Books: These are books in which each page features an object and a word or short sentence written in Braille (raised print). They are typically organized around a specific theme, such as winter clothing or classroom materials.
Tactile Books: Each page of a tactile book contains tactile illustrations that can be felt by touch, corresponding to the key element described in the text. These books should be read interactively together with the student.
Cotton, sandpaper, buttons, and fabric scraps found at home are excellent materials for creating the pages of these books.
Transform Your Home into an Educational Center with E-Rehabilitation
If you are unsure exactly how to prepare these materials or structure these games, technology means you no longer have to figure it out alone. On our e-rehabilitasyon.com platform, our specialist educators reach you directly at home through tele-therapy (online sessions).
Our instructors examine the everyday items in your home—such as fabric scraps, kitchen utensils, and toys—via screen, and provide you with step-by-step coaching on how to turn them into outstanding tactile learning materials or object books for your child. Rather than feeling anxious in an unfamiliar setting, your child gets to enjoy the pleasure of learning in the comfort of their own home, with materials lovingly prepared by your caring hands.
Are You Ready to Support Your Child's Cognitive Development from the Comfort of Your Home?
Join us today to transform everyday household items into effective tactile learning materials and to receive professional guidance in helping your child discover the world.
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