Oral Braille Reading Decoding Strategies of Middle School Students Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision

Students who are visually impaired may face unique literacy challenges as they learn to read and write braille. One such challenge relates to slower reading speeds for students who read braille as compared to those who read print. In addition to learning letters, sounds, grammar, and spelling, braille readers must learn contractions and composition signs and the rules for using such symbols. This extra hurdle influences the decoding skills of braille students. This study was conducted as collaborative action research, which involved two teachers of students with visual impairments and one university professor. The findings of this study yielded a number of implications for practice and further research that included: (1) Analysis of decoding errors and strategies utilized in designing individualized reading instruction, and (2) Focus more specifically on the types of errors that students make while reading. In addition, research should consider whether decoding and instructional strategies have a positive impact on reading.