| Need based transformation
Avagahana
Navigating a world of touch
Avagahana is a teaching strategy that uses analogies and narrative to help individuals with visual impairments understand the concept of intangibles like distance and displacement for a more holistic development and equal opportunity to succeed.
Concept to creation
A Journey Through the Design Process
| Project Brief
The Need based transformation course was a four-week project in April 2023, guided by Mr. Ram Mattegunta.
Children with visual disabilities since birth could face critical issues in cognitive learning leading to emotional, mental, and behavioral disabilities and may need different learning methods to overcome them. I wish to better understand the world of visually challenged and further aid them with learning methods, adaptive tools and materials for a more holistic growth and equal opportunities to succeed.
| Background
My grandmother used to teach visually impaired children in our residence, and ever since I've always had a small amount of compassion for them. Early on, my school gave me the chance to write assignments and aid such students with their examinations, which helped me turn this compassion into a cause. Additionally, they took us to a weaving sector in Lonavala where all blind and visually impaired individuals were producing exquisite textiles.
By reading articles from sources like The Washington Post, JSTOR, and the University of Bath, and hearing directly from visually impaired individuals, I gained a clear understanding of the difficulties they encounter and the creative solutions proposed. This approach helped me see the bigger picture and approach my research with a more informed and empathetic viewpoint.
Relevant articles
How do children with visual impairment perceive the world ?
| Secondary research
Secondary research insights
01
Theory of Mind
Researchers found no differences in the way blind and sighted people absorbed and understood the information.
They take in the information from a wide variety of cues, including the descriptions of others, and come to similar conclusions about the way other people view the world.
Congenitally blind people perceive objects in relation to their starting point, therefore they have a view that is centred from where they started, as opposed to sighted people who build up a survey or map-like representation of where the objects are in relation to one another.
Congenitally blind visualise numbers opposite way to sighted individuals.
Researchers have found that people who are congenitally blind have more accurate memories than those who are sighted.
Since the blind cannot perceive light through touch, it follows that they cannot sense colour as well.
If the blind cannot see light, they cannot perceive colour.
Touch impressions with the blind must be actual impressions, or as one writer puts it,
“With the blind Actuality is Tactuality”
Blind individual's touch is psychologically reinforced by their attention and discrimination-based mental faculties, allowing them to read easily what a sighted individual cannot decipher through touch.
In comparison to sighted individuals of the same age, blind individuals become more easily exhausted by manual labour than by mental activity.
“A thing could feel one way, and look another.
The correlation doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to give meaning to the world.
With the aid of analogies and comparisons and the narration given by the sighted people nearby, it is a little easier to comprehend animals, changing landscapes and seasons, or intangibles like height and distance.
“A child can learn a lot of things at once, if you help her connect the concepts.”
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03
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| Primary research
Validating the insights from the secondary research with the help of following methods:
World of the blind (Cognitive maps)
Spatial representation (Mapping the way)
Stakeholders (Day in a life)
Activities they do in school (Activity analysis)
People around them (Drawing experiences)
Emotions by touch (Emotional & behavioral mapping)
Difference between sighted and congenital blind’s cognitive development (Activity analysis)
Shiridi Sai Blind School
Address: 8C2J+GV6, Brodipet,
Guntur, Andhra Pradesh 522002
Phone: 0863 226 7138
Frequent places a 13 year old would visit daily
Recognizing the importance of understanding visually impaired individuals and their daily challenges, activity mapping became essential. By mapping the daily activities of both a 13-year-old and a 25-year-old with visual impairments, I aimed to identify specific problem areas in their routines. This approach offers valuable insights into their unique needs, addressing challenges in their daily lives.
Frequent places a 25 year old would visit daily
Common places they visit daily
School
Play-
ground
Chai shop
College
Railway station
Post office
Bus
station
Bank
Relatives house
Salon
Park
Farm
Hospital
Caretakers
Friends
Teachers
Food providers
Doctors
Parents
Relatives
Shopkeepers
Bus / auto driver
Dogs / cats
Barber
Postmen
During my visit to the Shirdi Sai Blind School, I asked children of different age groups draw some things. The experience revealed intriguing insights into their understanding of three-dimensionality and the development of spatial cognition. Through their drawings, I gained a deeper appreciation for the unique ways in which these children conceptualize and interact with their surroundings.
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(Some alphabets, a tree, a leaf and a bangle by a 15 year old )
(A mobile phone by a 25 year old)
(a water container by a 13 year old)
_edited.jpg)
(A tree by a 13 year old)
(Some trees and bangles by
a 14 year old)
(A map to go to the washroom
by a 15 year old)
Primary research insights
Some people are able to detect colours around them, but they can only see hues like red, black, and grey.
They could use their tactile, auditory, and counting skills to get about the sites they were familiar with.
(Each tile they step on has a different feel and sound)
They have an extremely good memory. They can identify persons based on their other senses, such as voice, touch, and scent.
They pass the time by conversing with one another, playing both indoor and outdoor games, and listening to the radio.
They may travel to a specific location without encountering any difficulties, which is a benefit of technology.
They demonstrate skills as a result of understandings they have gained from their familiarity with line elements and basic spatial principles, which derive from the structure of their perceptual systems and a general understanding of the area around them that is perceptible to a variety of senses.
Expecting
a fish
to climb
a tree!
The tactile books available in India are making blind individuals perceive the world as sighted individuals perceive it, even before they have a rudimentary understanding of their surroundings.
When passing time is
a task!
For blind individuals, passing the time is a challenge because their days are spent either playing multiplayer games designed for sighted people, listening to music, or interacting with others.
Can't make heads or tails of
the world!
Understanding animals, changing landscapes and seasons, or intangibles like height and distance is challenging when they are not explained in correlation to the blind individuals.
Identifying key problem areas after a thorough exploration of how children with visual impairment perceive the world is crucial for targeted interventions. These areas may include challenges in accessing educational materials, limited spatial awareness, potential gaps in inclusive teaching methodologies, and the need for improved resources catering to their unique learning needs. Addressing these specific concerns can pave the way for a more inclusive and supportive environment for visually impaired children in their educational journey.
| Problem areas
Children with visual disabilities since birth could face critical issues in cognitive learning leading to emotional, mental, and behavioural disabilities and may need different learning methods to overcome them. I wish to better understand the world of visually challenged and further aid them with learning methods, adaptive tools and materials with the help of analogies and storytelling to make them understand the intangibles of the environment around them.
Problem statement:
Tactile
Touch impressions with the visually impaired children must be actual impressions for better experience.
Engaging
The game ought to be interesting enough to play with friends while having constructive discussions.
Spatial cognition
Understanding space that is centered from where their journey began, having map like a representation of space.
Storytelling
Their familiarity with the environment will be increased through narration using comparison and analogies.
Mesh Board
The basics of distance and direction can be simpler for blind children to comprehend on a board with a grid.
| About Avagahana
Avagahana is a teaching strategy that uses analogies and narrative to help individuals with visual impairments understand the concept of intangibles like distance and displacement for a more holistic development and equal opportunity to succeed.
Objective |
The key objective of the game is to have players understanding their environment and what goes on around them. To achieve this, there is an 8 by 8 grid board with four residences, some fertile fields, and some infertile lands that you must explore in order to stay in the game.
8 by 8 grid board
| Component list
Four wooden pieces to play with (one for each player)
16 Trees to plant
36 narrative and storytelling cards that facilitate player's movement
Sweet home
Partitions
Fertile land
Infertile land
| Set up
| First player
Four number cards are dealt out; each player must select one at random, and the player with the highest number plays first to start the game.
| Special turns
Players can carefully plant trees to block their opponents' paths if they choose a "Plant trees" card, which will lead to an earlier opponent elimination.Players can also work together to try and plant trees around a certain player's home. If the targeted player then receives the card "Go home," he or she is eliminated because there is nowhere else for them to go, unless they already have or receive the card "Jump obstacle."
| Typical turn
The player chooses a braille card from the deck, carefully reads the move described in the narration, and then moves their particular wooden piece in accordance with that move. When a "Number card" is selected, the player must take the indicated number of steps forward. However, if a piece is either blocking the player's progress or is in the same location, the player must try moving in the left or right direction in order to take the indicated number of steps forward. If either a "Turn left" or "Turn right" direction card is chosen, the player only needs to travel in that direction by one step. If the player chooses a card that instructs them to "Plant trees," they can only do so on fertile land; they cannot be planted on homes or infertile ground. A player must move backward (away from oneself) if a card instructs them to do so. A player must forego their turn if they choose the "Skip Turn" card. The 'Go home' card tells a player to return to their residence (each player's soft-textured starting place). Finally, Jump Obstacle is a benefit card that must be saved in order to be used later in the game when a player is stranded or has their path blocked by trees planted by the opponents.
Examples of gameplay |
| Winning conditions
The player who makes it the furthest in the game will be declared the winner. The benefits throughout the game are strategically placing trees and skipping over obstacles.
The player must choose a Braille card, read the narrative, which includes some move instructions, and then move the chosen wooden piece in accordance with the directions.
| Loosing conditions
Players can get eliminated in three conditions mentioned below:
-
If any player reaches the corner of the game, the player gets eliminated.
-
If a player is trapped in between the trees and other players from all four directions, unless the player already have or receive the card "Jump obstacle" they are eliminated.
-
If a player cant move for continuous two turns they are eliminated.
L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Rehabilitation center
Kode Venkatadri Chowdary Campus, Tadigadapa - Penamaluru Rd,
Tadigadapa, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh 521134
Phone: 0866 671 2020
Avagahana
Navigating a world of touch