the former teacher creates games for the visually impaired

This new year will begin with a new important shift for Marie-Laure Fuhrer, an on-call school teacher, who became self-employed two years ago with her company Marie-Laure Vous Accompagne.

She is launching a new game for visually impaired people, in which she has become a specialist. After her studies in Orléans, she took a specific diploma for disabled students whom she taught in specialized classes, in Loiret and Touraine for years. This period allowed him to notice that there were few games for the visually impaired and above all, that they were not very suitable for children.

“Tactile dominoes, for example, slide. They lack magnets or velcro. Adults can use them, know how to wait, but young people cannot. Since the game Monopoly has fallen into the public domain, a braille version exists, but there are errors and the board is not magnetic »observe-t-elle.

She makes with a 3D printer

His game, titled CrossBeeis used to write Braille horizontally and vertically, like for crosswords. “This adventure started completely by chanceexplains Marie-Laure Fuhrer. I organized games workshops accessible to visually impaired people and, through discussions with players, I discovered the world of blind cruciverbists, crossword “addicts”. They discuss with me the various problems they encounter in this activity, and in particular the fact that there is no practical material for writing Braille vertically. This difficulty is not specific to crosswords. Bypassing it would, for example, allow mathematical operations to be written in Braille, or to fill in tables, which is often a problem. The fun and educational benefit was obvious, but the idea had to be brought to life. »

She designed and made it herself, notably with a 3D printer. “I bought it after leaving the Fab Lab, which I am looking forward to reopening at Menneton to work on larger quantities but also to use other tools for laser cutting. Working with wood is also easier with their equipment. I would never have done all this in National Education. »

A collection launched

To create CrossBeeshe launched a collection on the Ulule platform which allowed her to collect €15,020, barely more than her objective. Marie-Laure has made eight games, all carefully thought out to suit users, children but also the elderly.

Each material, each color, is chosen to match the users. She sells them on demand (from 50 to 70 €), does not yet work in series, due to lack of sufficient cash flow.

The next few months will also be devoted to a European project (Erasmus +) on a method for learning Braille. She will also work with an author from Tours, Martine 'G, to adapt a story into Braille. The year promises to be busy.

Contact : mlva37.fr