Visual, Hearing and Locomotor Disabilities: Braille, Indian Sign Language and Classroom Changes

Drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked on 28 October 2026; not yet read line by line by a human editor. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Editorial standards & corrections

Visual impairment and its signs

The RPwD Act 2016 lists blindness and low vision as separate disabilities. A child with low vision has some useful sight and can often read large print with aids; a blind child depends on touch and hearing. A teacher should suspect a problem when a child holds the book very close or very far, squints, tilts the head, rubs the eyes or complains of headaches, copies wrongly from the blackboard, skips lines while reading, or bumps into furniture. Such a child should be referred for an eye examination, since many need only spectacles.

Teaching children with visual impairment

Seat the child in front, near the board, with good light and no glare. Say aloud everything you write or point to ('the triangle on the left has a right angle'), address the child by name, and keep the classroom layout and the child's belongings in fixed places. Provide large-print, high-contrast material, magnifiers, tactile maps and diagrams with raised lines, real objects to handle, and audio books. Screen readers such as JAWS and NVDA read a computer screen aloud. For arithmetic, blind learners use the Taylor frame and the Cranmer abacus, and talking calculators help too. A white cane and orientation and mobility training let the child move about the school independently. In examinations the child may use a scribe, a Braille paper or extra time.

Braille

Braille is a system of raised dots read by touch. Louis Braille of France, who lost his sight as a small child, developed it in 1824, at the age of 15, while a student at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, by adapting the night writing code of Charles Barbier. Each Braille cell has 6 dots in two columns of three, giving 63 possible patterns. It is written with a slate and stylus (punched from right to left on the reverse side, so that the raised dots read from left to right) or with a Braille writing machine such as the Perkins Brailler. Bharati Braille adapts the cells to Indian scripts. World Braille Day, 4 January, marks Louis Braille's birthday in 1809. Braille is a code for writing a language, not a language in itself.

Hearing impairment

The RPwD Act 2016 divides hearing impairment into deaf (a hearing loss of 70 decibels in the speech frequencies in both ears) and hard of hearing (a loss of 60 to 70 decibels in both ears). Signs include asking for repetition, watching the speaker's face closely, turning one ear towards the sound, not responding when called from behind, very loud or unclear speech, delayed language, and ear discharge or earache. Classroom changes: seat the child in front and slightly to one side, ideally in a semicircle or U-shaped arrangement so that the child can see the faces of the teacher and classmates; face the class when speaking and never talk while writing on the board; speak clearly at a normal pace without shouting or exaggerated lip movements; keep the light on your face rather than behind you; reduce background noise; write key words and homework on the board; use pictures, gestures and captioned videos; give the child a buddy to share notes; and check understanding by asking the child to explain, not by asking 'Did you understand?'.

Sign language and communication

Indian Sign Language (ISL) is a complete visual language with its own grammar; it is not Hindi or English spelled out in signs. The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre was set up in New Delhi in 2015, and NEP 2020 calls for ISL to be standardised across the country. Approaches to teaching deaf children include the oral approach (speech and lip-reading), the manual approach (sign language) and total communication, which combines speech, signs, finger-spelling, gestures, lip-reading and writing. Assistive devices include hearing aids, which amplify sound; cochlear implants, which stimulate the hearing nerve directly; and FM systems, in which the teacher wears a microphone that sends her voice straight to the child's hearing aid. A teacher who learns a few ISL signs sends the child a strong message of acceptance.

Locomotor disability

The Act defines locomotor disability as an inability to carry out activities associated with the movement of oneself and of objects, arising from a problem of the musculoskeletal or nervous system or both, and it includes cerebral palsy, leprosy-cured persons, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy and acid attack victims. Causes include polio, amputation, spinal injury and cerebral palsy. Many of these children have no difficulty in learning; what often limits them is the building. A barrier-free school has ramps with handrails, wide doors, accessible toilets, a ground-floor classroom, clear aisles wide enough for a wheelchair and desks of suitable height. Aids include wheelchairs, crutches, callipers, artificial limbs, tricycles, pencil grips, page-turners and adapted keyboards. Adapt physical education so that the child takes part, give extra time to move between rooms and to write, and use peer helpers without letting others do everything for the child.

Key facts

Signs of a vision problem: holding the book too close, squinting, rubbing the eyes, headaches, copying wrongly from the board - refer the child for an eye test.
Child with visual impairment: front seat, good light, say aloud what you write, keep the classroom layout fixed, give large-print and tactile material.
Braille: Louis Braille (France, born 4 January 1809) developed it in 1824 at the age of 15; 6-dot cell, 63 patterns; adapted from Charles Barbier's night writing.
A slate and stylus writes Braille from right to left on the reverse; the Perkins Brailler is a Braille writing machine; Bharati Braille is for Indian scripts.
Taylor frame and Cranmer abacus are arithmetic aids for blind learners; JAWS and NVDA are screen readers.
RPwD Act 2016: deaf = 70 decibel hearing loss in both ears; hard of hearing = 60 to 70 decibel loss in both ears.
Child with hearing impairment: front seat to one side, U-shaped seating, face the class, never talk while writing on the board, use visuals and captions.
Total communication combines speech, signs, finger-spelling, gestures, lip-reading and writing; ISL has its own grammar; the ISL Research and Training Centre was set up in New Delhi in 2015.
A hearing aid amplifies sound; a cochlear implant stimulates the hearing nerve; an FM system carries the teacher's voice straight to the child.
Locomotor disability includes cerebral palsy, leprosy-cured, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy and acid attack victims; ramps, handrails, wide doors and accessible toilets make a school barrier-free.

Quick revision

Visual: blindness and low vision; signs: squinting, holding the book close; front seat, say aloud what you write, large print, tactile maps, JAWS/NVDA, Taylor frame, Cranmer abacus; Braille: Louis Braille, 1824, 6 dots, 63 patterns, slate and stylus, World Braille Day 4 January; deaf 70 dB, hard of hearing 60-70 dB; face the class, U-shaped seating; ISL has own grammar, ISLRTC 2015; total communication; hearing aid, cochlear implant, FM system; locomotor: ramps, wide doors, wheelchairs, callipers.

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All 6 lessons on Inclusive Education and Children with Special Needs