Reading and comprehension of tactual images by congenital blind student:

a case study

Abstract

This work aimed to learn how congenital blind people understand images from tactile resources. To achieve this goal, it is based on Lev Vigotski's historical-cultural perspective. A congenitally blind student participated in the research. The methodological path was characterized by five interviews: an initial interview, another after reading each adapted material, and a final interview and reading sessions were carried out with a total of three images adapted with tactile resources - with embossed image; with 3D image; and with dotted image. As a proposal for data analysis, the Nuclei of Meaning perspective for interviews with participant, and for the analysis of adapted image readings, theoretical categories on image reading were used based on the theories of Jolly (2007) and Santaella (2012). The findings point out the influence of the subject's history as a reader and his previous knowledge on the understanding of tactile images in the moments of reading, as well as previous experiences with tactile adaptations. The material in stippling, which was that the subjects pointed out as the one that provides the best reading, while the material with embossed images, was identified as the most difficult to perform the reading through touch.