Braille, digital magnifying glasses… The Morlaix Youth Book Festival presents reading tools for the visually impaired

Sunday 24th November 2024 10:10 AM

“Last year, it was an association which led the animation on visual impairment of the Youth Book Festival, but this year, the network of participating media libraries (from Morlaix Co and Pays de Landivisiau) wanted to take hold of the subject,” explains Erell, from the Roudour media library, in Saint-Martin-des-Champs.

In her job as a young children’s educator, Awena is sometimes confronted with children with disabilities in daycare. On the stand of albums adapted to the visually impaired, she found a wide choice of tactile books, written in Braille and French. (Photo SG)

Keski, the game that develops empathy

This Saturday, November 23, 2024, on the first day of the festival, the Keski game board is spread out on the table in a room of the media library: a circuit, pawns, question or action cards. “It’s a game that is played in teams, from 7 years old, and which serves to put the public in a handicap situation,” explains the librarian. “Anyone who makes a mistake in their answer must, for three penalty rounds, wear either dark glasses or noise-canceling headphones which put the player in a visual or hearing handicap situation,” she adds. This game is used to develop empathy. »

In the festival space dedicated to adapted reading, the general public and professionals were able to discover the specific collection loaned by the Finistère Departmental Library. “These are expensive books that media libraries cannot necessarily acquire in quantity,” explains Erell. The show allows us to bring together a broader editorial offering in the same place. »

Tactile illustrations, digital magnifiers and braille comics

In the range of books and materials adapted to the visually impaired, there is something for all ages. Cloth books, hardback albums with tactile illustrations and materials for little ones to touch, stories written in both Braille and French to be read aloud by another person…

But also supports that make reading easier for the elderly or visually impaired: books in very large print, digital magnifying glasses that allow you to adjust the contrast, zoom in on the text and take a photo. Or CD player with large buttons, easily manipulated, which allows you to listen to an audio document in addition to the book read.

A ruler, a punch, an alphabet: on the adapted reading stand, visitors could try their hand at writing their first name in Braille. (Photo SG)

In “Asterix by Touchtatix” in braille, the illustrations, in relief, are graphically broken down to allow the reader to imagine the scene. (Photo SG)

The most stunning is perhaps the adapted comic strip “Asterix by Touchtatix”. Bubbles and onomatopoeia are written in Braille, but if we touch the relief of the illustrations, completely decomposed, we can guess in the smallest details the unfortunate Roman whom a Gaul sends with a slap, flying out of his Spartan shoes: proof that the The humor and comedy of comics are clearly felt at your fingertips. Bringing the barrier of disability flying in the same breath.