The association between tactile, motor and cognitive capacities and braille reading performance: a scoping review of primary evidence to advance research on braille and aging

Abstract

Purpose

As the prevalence of age-related visual impairment increases, a greater understanding of the physiological and cognitive capacities that are recruited during braille reading and the potential implications of age-related declines is required.

Methods

This scoping review aimed to identify and describe primary studies exploring the relationship between tactile, motor and cognitive capacities and braille reading performance, the instruments used to measure these capacities, and the extent to which age is considered within these investigations. English peer-reviewed articles exploring the relationship between these capacities and braille reading performance were included. Articles were screened by two researchers, and 91% agreement was achieved (kappa = 0.84 [0.81, 0.87], p < 0.01).

Results

2405 articles were considered of which 36 met the inclusion criteria. Fifteen investigated the relationship between tactile capacities and braille reading performance, 25 explored motor capacities, and 5 considered cognitive capacities. Nineteen instruments were used to measure tactile capacity, 4 for motor dexterity, and 7 for cognitive capacity. These studies focus on younger participants and on those who learned braille early in life.

Conclusions

Although this overview underscores the importance of tactile perception and bimanual reading, future research is needed to explore the unique needs of older adults who learn braille later in life.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• The studies in this review underscore the importance of developing both haptic tactile perception and efficient hand reading patterns early in the braille learning process.

• Practitioners should consider whether specific pre-braille readiness activities can be used to address the unique needs of older adults who may experience tactile, motor or cognitive declines.

• Most of the studies in this review require replication before they should serve as reliable clinical guidelines; however, braille reading (like print) is a complex process that draws on multiple capacities that should be developed in unison.

• The studies in this review focus heavily on younger participants and on those who learned braille early in life, and highlight the need for future research on braille and aging.

Keywords:

• Aging
• blindness
• braille
• reading
• rehabilitation
• vision
• low

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Research Assistants Camille Demers, Meaghan Barlow and Fatima Tangkhpanya who assisted with locating and retrieving articles, formatting, and referencing in the manuscript. We thank Atul Jaiswal for his guidance on conducting scoping reviews.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article. Readers interested in accessing our selected articles for specific purposes related to their respective research are invited to do so by contacting the corresponding author through the provided email address.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by funding from CNIB (Ross C. Purse Doctoral Fellowship), Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé [32305 and 281454], and Mitacs [Accelerate Doctoral Fellowship No. IT12662].