Early Childhood Braille Transcription Project

Although our giving page is no longer active, you can still donate. If you would like to provide any additional support to our project, please do so here.

Early Childhood Braille Transcription Project

Beginning in the fall of 2018, OSU will begin accepting up to 35 undergraduate students in a teacher licensure program that will allow those students the opportunity to be certified as both an early childhood teacher and an intervention specialist for the visually impaired.  However, as excited as we are to start the program we have a problem – we need braillewriters for our students to learn to read and produce braille and Nemeth (braille math code).  Braille knowledge is required for licensure testing and must be taught to students with visual impairments who need this instruction as required by law.

Our project is aiming to purchase 35 braillewriters and braillewriter backpacks in order to allow each of the incoming students their own braillewriter to borrow from our lending library for use in their coursework and to practice braille production 24/7.  These braillewriters will be returned each year to allow future teachers the opportunity to learn braille.  The braillewriter backpacks will allow for ease of transport and will protect against wear and tear from transport.

Need for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVIs):

Did you know….????

• 70% of school aged and preschool students served by the Ohio State School for the Blind outreach service were found to not be receiving the services they needed
• The entire southeastern quadrant of Ohio has almost no TVIs available to serve the children
• TVIs are responsible for helping to make accommodations and modifications students who are blind and visually impaired need in order to access school curriculum
• Most general education teachers are not provided the information needed in their training programs to begin to be prepared to have a child with visual impairment in their classroom
• OSU will be one of only 5 universities offering TVI training at the undergraduate level; and 1 of 2 offering the dual licensure program
• Dual licensure combinations makes new teachers highly competitive in the job market. 

The need for qualified TVIs is great in Ohio and across the country.  We need your help  to secure proper training materials for our students so that OSU can help to alleviate this problem.  We will acknowledge your contributions in print form and for our larger donors, your donations will acknowledged on a plaque in our library and plates on the braillewriters as noted on our contribution list.  Thank you for your support of this program.  Your contribution is greatly needed and appreciated!