Developing a love of reading at home
Read aloud together every day. Choose times and places that are quiet, comfortable and free from distractions.
To reduce visual fatigue, read to your child or young person. Ask questions about the text or story. This will help to develop audio skills.
Choose books that relate to your child’s own experiences. Discuss words and concepts that your child might not be familiar with.
Use multi sensory approaches:
- Tactile exploration: Add textures or bright colours to draw attention to important parts of the page.
- Use objects related to the characters to support the story e.g. real seeds for Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Use audio books or stories in Braille.
- For younger children, dress up in costumes and incorporate different voices and sounds during story time.
- Reduce visual complexity of pictures by masking unnecessary information with card or paper. This will help your child focus on what is visually relevant
Make it fun: Engage in simple repetitive songs, rhymes and discussions about the world around them to encourage their imagination and early literacy development.
Borrow large print, Braille versions of books.
Use technology, such as a tablet to help customise the appearance of text including text size and background colour. For braillists, consider e-text with refreshable braille displays.
Use magnifying reading aids – contact your local low vision clinic at the hospital for advice.
Useful links
ClearVision Project: ClearVision is a postal lending library of children’s books designed to be shared by visually impaired and sighted children and adults. For more information use the following link: Clearvision Project
Living Paintings: Free library of tactile books with braille and audio description: How We Help Parents and Children with Tactile Books for Blind People (livingpaintings.org)
Calibre Audio provides free audio books to under 18’s who are print disabled: How we help – Calibre Audio
Read with Libby: Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more from your local library for free. Libby is the newer library reading app by OverDrive, loved by millions of readers worldwide. Libby – Welcome (libbyapp.com)