NISE BulletinVol. 8 September 2007

Editional BoardNISHIMAKI Kengo（Chairman）

NAKAMURA Hitoshi

ATSUMI Yoshikata

OSHIO Chikamori（2003-2006）

CHIDA Kouki
FUJIMOTO Hiroto

SASAMOTO Ken
SHISHIDO Kazushige（2003-2004）

GOKAMI Tetsuo

YAMAMOTO Keiichi（2003-2005）
YASUDA Osamu

Published by
The National Institute of Special Needs Education
5-1-1 Nobi, Yokosuka, KANAGAWA, 239-8585 JAPANWATANABE Tetsuya & OOUCHI Susumu

A Study of Legible Braille Patterns on Capsule Paper: Diameters of Braille Dotsand Their Interspaces on Original Ink-printed Paper

WATANABE Tetsuya*, OOUCHI Susumu**（*Department of Educational Support Research）（**Department of Policy & Planning）
Abstract: A legibility experiment was conducted using eleven braille readers in order to determine the suitable ranges ofbraille dot diameters and their interdot spaces on the original image for capsule paper braille. The obtained result shows thatthe reading of capsule paper braille with few mistakes in the dot diameter range of 1.17 to 1.43 mm and interdot space rangeof 1.05 to 1.15 times the standard Japanese interdot space took a short time and was rated high. On the other hand, the readingof braille with many mistakes at a large dot diameter and a narrow interdot space took a long time and was rated low. The
three-dimensional measurement of braille dot shapes clariﬁed that difﬁculties in reading braille under these conditions stemfrom the fusion of dots due to the expansion characteristic of capsule paper.
Key Words: Stereocopy, Braille pattern, Reading time, Tactile legibility, Three-dimensional shape

I. Introduction
Stereocopying is a type of tactile graphic used to convey
graphical information, such as maps and charts, to blind
people. Due to its simple preparation, it is widely used inschools (Rowell & Ungar, 2003). These tactile graphics can
include a graphical image and braille as legends. However,braille on capsule paper, is not sufficiently legible. The
reason for this is considered to be that people tend toprepare original ink-printed braille whose dot diameteris the same as that of ordinary embossed braille; swelled
dots become larger than ink-printed black dots on original
paper because of the expansion characteristic of capsule
paper. Thus, it is heuristically said that “fonts for capsule
paper should be larger than ordinary embossed braille anddots should be slightly smaller” (Misaki, 1994). However,quantitative data on this have not been obtained yet. Thus,
we performed an experiment involving braille readers todetermine the suitable ranges of braille dot diameters andtheir interspaces on the original image for legible capsule
paper braille. We also measured the shapes of braille dots
on capsule paper produced from the same original inkprinted paper used in a legibility experiment using a laser
shape measurement system to explore the effect of brailleshape on legibility.
II. Stereocopying using Capsule Paper
Stereocopying is a method of producing tactile graphics
using the heat foaming characteristic of capsule paper.
Capsule paper, also referred to as microcapsule paper−1−

or swell paper, is coated with microscopic polystyrene
capsules (Way & Barner, 1997). These capsules expand
when exposed to heat. Their expansion rate depends on heattemperature; the higher the heat temperature, the higher
their extent of expansion.
The following are examples of commercially available
capsule paper to date: Capsule Paper by Matsumoto
Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd., Japan, Flexi-Paper by ReproTronics Inc., USA, Swelltouch Capsule Paper by American
Thermoform Corporation, USA, and Swell Paper by
Zychem Ltd., UK. Prices are around 100 yen per sheet
when procured in Japan.
The ﬁrst step in producing tactile graphics is to prepare
original ink-printed or handwritten images. These images
are then photocopied onto capsule paper using a standardor specialized copy machine (stereocopy machine). An
alternative to the use of a copy machine is directly writingon capsule paper with black ink. A stereocopy production
machine or heater, also referred to as a developing machineby its manufacturer and seller Konica Minolta Holdings
Inc., is used to heat capsule paper to 120-125 ˚C to expand
the black-printed portions of the paper. As black-printed
microcapsules absorb more heat and expand more thanother microcapsules, these black portions are raised fromthe background. The expansion requires only several
seconds depending on the type of heater used.
Fig. 1 shows a stereocopy machine, and Fig. 2, a heater.
Fig. 3 shows the picture of braille produced on capsule
paper.

A Study of Legible Braille Patterns on Capsule Paper

Fig. 1 Stereocopy machine.

Fig. 2 Stereocopy production machine (heater).

Fig. 3 Braille on capsule paper.

III. Experiment of Reading Braille on Capsule Paper
An experiment involving braille readers was conducted
to determine the suitable ranges of braille dot diameters andtheir interdot spaces on the original image for capsule paper
braille.
1. Method
Subjects were eleven blind people who used braille ona daily basis. Their ages ranged from 26 to 68, the average
being 44.2. They have been using braille for 11 to 52 years,
and 34 years on the average. They usually read braille of theJapanese and/or international size and on refreshable brailledisplays.
Braille dots with three different diameters were printed
on the original paper. The Japanese standard diameter is
1.43 mm (Kizuka, 1998). The other two sizes are 1.17mm, which is less than the standard, and 1.67 mm, whichis larger than the standard. In addition, ﬁve interdot spaces
were selected: 0.9, 1.0, 1.05, 1.10 and 1.15 times theJapanese standard interdot space. The combination of dot
diameters and interdot spaces produced fifteen conditions
for original ink-printed braille. Table 1 shows these
conditions, and Fig. 4, the types of braille interdot spaces.
The line spacing was set to be 11 mm for all the conditions.

Table 1 Diameters of braille dots and their interdot spaces on original image used in experiment. [unit: mm]

Distance between
dots 1 and 2

Distance between
dots 1 and 4

Distance between
dots 4 and 1

0.9 times

2.13

1.92

2.94

standard size (1.0 times)

2.37

2.13

3.27

1.05 times

2.49

2.24

3.43

1.10 times

2.61

2.34

3.60

1.15 times

2.73

2.45

3.76

−2−

WATANABE Tetsuya & OOUCHI Susumu

Fig. 4 Braille cells and types of interdot space. A full braille cellconsists of six raised dots arranged in two parallel rows each having
three dots. The positions of the dots are numbered one through six(cited from AFB's web page). Japanese braille, in essence, uses dots
1, 2, and 4 for presenting vowels and dots 3, 5, and 6 for presenting
consonants.

Fig. 5 Stimulus sentences used in legibility experiment.

The interline spaces produced using braille embossers
generally range from 8 to 9 mm (Kamoda & Fujimoto,2001). We added extra 2-3 mm to this range to prevent
readers’ ﬁngers from touching the next line while reading.
Stimulus sentences were a series of meaningless words
formed with five letters in a chunk. Original meaninglesswords were collected from the appendix “Non-association
rate of two-syllable SEION (having voiceless consonant)” of“Experiment and Test” (SIG on Psychological Experiment,
1972). Three two syllable words which do not include thesame syllables were selected and concatenated to make asix-syllable word. Deleting the last letter from it produced
a meaningless word formed with five letters. Ten chunksof ﬁve letters produced a stimulus sentence. The produced
sentences differed from each other. Each sentence was laidout in two lines, each of which had five chunks, i.e., 25
letters (Fig. 5).
The original image of each condition was preparedwith illustration software (Adobe Illustrator ver. 10) on a
personal computer (Macintosh G4, Apple Computer) andprinted out using a laser printer (LP 8200C, Epson) witha resolution of 600 dpi. This image was then copied onto
sheets of capsule paper (ZY-TEX Swell Paper A4, Zychem)using a stereocopy machine (Partner Vision 2051, Minolta),
and the ink-printed parts of the paper were foamed byheating with PIAF, Quantum Technology. The time forthe sheets to pass through the heat source of the heater−3−(width: approximately 15 cm) was 6.30 - 6.40 s. One of thestimulus sheets used in the experiment is shown in Fig. 5.
The experiment was conducted in a room. One subject
was tested at a time. The subject sat on a chair and readstimulus sentences placed on the desk in front of him/her.
He/she was instructed to read braille in the same handmanipulation manner as that in their daily life, that is, using
only one hand (right or left) or both hands. Before eachtrial, the subject was instructed to place his/her index ﬁnger
at a standby position, expressed as a raised letter, on theleft-hand side of the ﬁrst line of each subject sentence (Fig.
5). When one of the experimenters signed the subject tostart, he/she started to read the stimulus aloud. The reading
time was measured with a stopwatch. After each trial, thesubject was asked to rate the legibility of stimulus braille ona ﬁve-point separate scale: “very difﬁcult to read” (score: 1),“rather difﬁcult to read” (score: 2), “difﬁcult to say” (score:3), “rather easy to read” (score: 4), “very easy to read”(score: 5). The judgment should be made without comparing
with the preceding stimuli. The subject was instructed
to read the stimulus as fast as possible without making
mistakes. Eighteen stimulus sentences were prepared andshown in a random order. The order of presentation was thesame for all subjects. The data from the ﬁrst three stimuli
were discarded and the data from the remaining fifteen
stimuli were used for analysis. The hand movements of thesubject while reading were videotaped. Reading errors wereA Study of Legible Braille Patterns on Capsule Paper

Fig. 6 Mcan and SD of normalized reading time.

Fig. 7 Mean and SD of legibility rating.

noted during the experiment and reconfirmed using thevideotape after the experiment. After reading all the stimuli,
the subject was asked to answer which characteristcs madebraille easy or difﬁcult to read.

small interdot space conditions, the larger the dot diameter,
the longer the reading time. Consequently, in order toeliminate the effect of the difference between subjects
in the statistical analysis, reading times were normalized(or standardized) for each subject. Normalization was
performed by the following formula for X1, X2, ..., Xn, where
X denotes the average, and s, the standard deviation (SD).

2. Results
Reading times differed greatly among subjects. Althoughseven out of eleven subjects took about 20 s on the average
to read, two persons took about 30 s, and the remaining two
persons, 37.2 and 47.7 s (Table 2). Nevertheless, the change
in reading time based on the conditions used was the samein all subjects; the interdot spaces of 0.9 and 1.0 times thestandard interdot space produced a long reading time andspaces larger than these produced a negligible change; under
Table 2 Mean reading time per subject. [unit: s]

Subject

Reading time

1

30.2

2

47.7

3

19.8

4

37.2

5

31.4

6

19.4

7

18.4

8

19.4

9

20.3

10

18.9

11

16.2

zi ＝ ( Xi – X )/s
The mean of the normalized z’s is 0 and the SD is 1. Fig.
6 shows the normalized reading times (the average and SD
of all subjects) under each condition.
A two-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) of thenormalized reading times demonstrates a signiﬁcant effectof the change in interdot space (F(4, 80) = 56.04, p< 0.01)
and that of the change in dot diameter (F(2, 80) = 70.98,
p< 0.01). The interaction effect of both factors was alsosigniﬁcant (F(8, 80) = 4.62, p< 0.01). According to Tukey’s HSD test (p = 1 %) (Mori and Yoshida, 1990), the reading
times at the interdot space of 0.9 times the standard weresigniﬁcantly longer than those at the other interdot spaces
at all dot diameters. At the dot diameters of 1.67 mm, theinterdot spaces of 1.10 and 1.15 times the standard yieldedsignificantly shorter reading times than the standard.
Let us focus on the effects of the diameter change at thesame interdot space. At the interdot space of 0.9 times thestandard, significant differences were observed between
three dot diameters; the larger the dot diameter, the longer
the reading time. At the interdot spaces of 1.0, 1.05, and 1.15
times the standard, the dot diameter of 1.67 mm yielded−4−

WATANABE Tetsuya & OOUCHI Susumu

Fig. 8 Correlation between normalized reading timeand lcgibility rating.

Fig. 9 Number of reading errors.

Fig. 10 Three-dimensional measurement system (from a picture in the brochure).

significantly longer reading times from the other two dot
diameters. At the interdot space of 1.10 times the standard,a signiﬁcant difference was observed only between the two
dot diameters of 1.17 and 1.67 mm.
Since the rating of legibility was on an ordinal scale, its
transformation was performed on an interval scale based on
the law of categorical judgment (Nanba & Kuwano, 1998).
As a linear correlation was observed between the original
category values and the interval scale (r = 0.999), we
considered the original category values to be on an interval
scale.
Fig. 7 shows the legibility ratings (the mean and SD fromall subjects) under each condition. A two-way ANOVA ofthe ratings of legibility revealed the signiﬁcant effects of thechanges in interdot space and dot diameter (interdot spaces:F(4, 80) = 15.62, p< 0.01, diameters: F(2, 80) = 39.01,
p< 0.01). The interaction effect of these two factors was
not signiﬁcant (F(8, 80) = 1.03, p> 0.1). Tukey's multiple
comparison test (p = 1 %) revealed that at the dot diametersof 1.17 and 1.43 mm, the stimuli with the interdot space of
0.9 times the standard were rated signiﬁcantly lower than−5−

those with the other four interdot spaces. Additionally, atthe dot diameter of 1.17 mm, the stimuli with the interdot
space of 1.15 times the standard obtained significantly
higher ratings than those with the standard. At the dot
diameter of 1.67 mm, the stimuli with the interdot spaceof 1.10 times the standard gained the highest rating, andsigniﬁcant differences were observed between the interdot
space of 1.10 times the standard and the other four interdot
spaces. Here, let us focus, on the effects of the dot diameterchange at the same interdot spaces. At the interdot space of
0.9 times the standard, the stimuli with the dot diameter of
1.17 mm obtained significantly higher ratings than thosewith the other two dot diameters. At the interdot spaces of
1.0, 1.05, and 1.10 times the standard, the stimuli with thedot diameters of 1.17 and 1.43 mm obtained significantly
higher ratings than those with the dot diameter of 1.67
mm. At the interdot space of 1.15 times the standard, asigniﬁcant difference was observed among all dot diameters
and the stimuli with the dot diameter of 1.17 mm obtained
the highest rating.
When all the trials were finished, the subjects wereA Study of Legible Braille Patterns on Capsule Paper

Fig. 11 Three-dimensional measurement of braille dots of “for” produced at dot
diameter of 1.43 mm and interdot space of 1.15 times standard. Different colors
represent different heights. Units in all axes are µm.

asked about their criteria for rating legibility. Five subjects
explained that the stimuli with large dots were difficult
to read. Two of these subjects stated that the stimuli withlarge dots that were very close to each other were difﬁcult
to read. Moreover, one of these subjects expressed that thestimuli with large dots and narrow interdot spaces were
difﬁcult to read. In addition to these ﬁve subjects, anotherperson stated that the stimuli with dots that were very close
to each other were difficult to read. These two different
expressions “large dots that were very close to each other”
and “large dots and narrow interdot spaces” are considered
to carry the same meaning. We presented the comments ofthe subjects as is. Four subjects explained that the stimuli
with narrow interdot spaces were difﬁcult to read. Two ofthese subjects claimed that the stimuli with both narrowerand broader interdot spaces than the standard were difﬁcult
to read, and one explained that the stimuli with narrowinterdot spaces were difﬁcult to read when combined withlarge dot diameters, as mentioned above. On the other hand,
as for legibility conditions, one subject supported braille of
the Japanese standard size, and another subject stated thatlarge interdot spaces are preferred to the extent that one has
to move his/her ﬁnger in the vertical direction to read.
Fig. 8 shows the correlation between the normalized
reading times and the legibility ratings. It was observedthat short reading times lead to high legibility ratings; thecorrelation between these two factors was almost linear(correlation coefﬁcient r = 0.843). When braille sentences
have unligible parts, readers tend to move their finger
on those parts repeatedly to read them correctly and thereading time increases as a result (Koyanagi, 1978). In thisexperiment, we did not only confirmed this phenomenon
by videotaping but also demonstrated the linear correlation
between the legibility rating and the reading timequantitatively.
The numbers of reading errors under each condition wereadded for all subjects (Fig. 9). As a whole, the number ofreading errors increased as the interdot space decreased.
In addition, at the interdot sapce of 0.9 and 1.0 times thestandard, the number of reading errors increased as the dot
diameter increased. These trends was the same as that of thereading time. No trade-off between speed and accuracy wasobserved; a long reading time did not lead to an increase in
the number of reading errors.

−6−

IV. Three-Dimensional Measurement of Braille Dot
Shapes
The shapes of capsule paper braille dots produced
from the same original ink-printed paper used in the
legibility experiment were measured using a laser 3D
shape measurement system. The system consists of an
XY stage-controlling system, EMS98AD-3D, COMS, anda CCD laser displacement measurement unit, LK-030,
Keyence (Fig. 10). The system enables the measurementof the displacement in the Z-direction with a resolutionof 1 µm (according to the measuring conditions on thespecifications) while moving the stage in the X- and Ydirections.
To focus on the fusion of braille dots caused by
microcapsule foaming, the braille contraction of “for” waschosen as a sample since its six dots are raised. Braille

WATANABE Tetsuya & OOUCHI Susumu

Fig. 12 Cross sections of braille dots “for” measured along horizontal line crossing either of centers of dots 1 and 4,
dots 2 and 5. or dots 3 and 6. The unit of the vertical line is µm, and the width of each cross section is 6 mm long. D
denotes the dot diameter, and IS, the interdot space. Tilt compensation and level cut were applied to the obtained data.
Since it is difficult to determine the zero level, a comparison of dot heights lacks decisive power.

samples were produced under the same conditions as thosein the legibility experiment. The cross-sectional shapeof each sample was measured along the horizontal line
crossing the center of dots 1 and 4, dots 2 and 5, or dots
3 and 6. Horizontal cross sections were chosen because
the spaces between the dots in a row are narrower thanthose between the dots in a column and these adjoining
raised dots are more inclined to fuse together. The sample
measurement of the entire character “for” is shown in Fig.
11 (at the interdot space of 1.15 times the standard andthe dot diameter of 1.43 mm). The cross sections obtained
under all the conditions are shown in Fig. 12, where we canobserve the fusion of two dots at the dot diameter of 1.67
mm. Fusion occurred markedly at the interdot spaces of 0.9
and 1.0 times the standard. It is reasonable to consider that
fusion leads to the unlegibility of braille.
Swelling parts on capsule paper became larger thanthe original ink-printed dots because of the foaming of
microcapsules. On the basis of the technical informationfrom Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co, Ltd., microcapsules of
10-30 µm particle diameter expand a maximum of 70 times.
The same principle applies to SwellPaper from Zychem,
which was used in this experiment. Microcapsules expand
not only in the normal direction to the paper surface but
also in any lateral directions. Supposing that their extent
of expansion is the same as that of vertical swelling, theparticle diameter of these microcupsules increases to a
maximum of 0.35 mm (Fig. 12) from the edge of the black
ink-printed parts of the original image. This foaming of
capsule paper should be explored in detail aside from−7−

legibility experiments.
V. Discussion
The results of this experiment clarified the unsuitable
ranges of braille dot diameters and interdot spaces on
the original image for stereocopying. Seven conditionsof the dot diameter of 1.67 mm and the interdot space of
0.9 times the standard produced long reading times andlegibility ratings lower than 3 (Fig. 8). On the other hand,the conditions of the dot diameter of 1.43 mm, which is thestandard dot diameter, the dot diameter of 1.17 mm, whichis smaller than the standard, and the interdot space rangeof 1.05 - 1.15 times the standard, which is broader than thestandard, produced short reading times and high legibility
ratings. Among these conditions, the interdot space of
1.15 times the standard and the dot diameter of 1.17 mm
produced the shortest mean reading time and the highest
legibility rating. Note that it does not necessarily indicatethat these conditions are optimum for braille dots on theoriginal image for stereocopying. Regarding the preferable
braille size, subjects had different opinions; some preferred
the standard braille size, but others, sizes larger than thestandard. Moreover, variations in heating time, temperature,and type of capsule paper differentiated the degree ofswelling. Accordingly, the suitable ranges of dot diameters
and interdot spaces clarified in this experiment should be
utilized as a reasonable guideline.
In addition to the above-mentioned heating conditions,the shape of the swelling parts of capsule paper changed in

A Study of Legible Braille Patterns on Capsule Paper

Fig. 13 Effects of edge interval on normalized reading time andlegibility rating.

quality owing to finger pressure and abrasion. Regarding
this issue, reading with a typical pressure does not rapidly
wear the swelling parts away, as proven by our experience.
Although we used the same stimulus capsule paper for all
the subjects in the experiment, the trends in the changes inreading time and legibility rating under different conditions
were in agreement for all the subjects. That is, within thelimit of this legibility experiment, it can be considered that
stimulus braille does not wear away so markedly that it
affects the result. However, in future studies, it is necessary
to measure the shapes of braille dots before and after
reading to verify the ﬁnding.
In this study, the correlation between the braille size andits legibility on capsule paper was investigated. In addition,
research studies on the legibility of braille embossed using
braille printers were performed. For example, Kuroda et al.
(1995) conducted an experiment using stimuli with different
intercell and interline spaces, and concluded that eitherof large intercell or interline space improves legibility.
Moreover, Nakano et al. (1997) showed that jumbo braillewith increased vertical and horizontal intercell and interdot
spaces can be read tactually even by visually impaired
persons who suffered from diabetic retinopathy and had
a low tactile sensitivity. If these experimental results
are applied, an interdot space larger than 1.15 times thestandard, which is the largest space used in this experiment,
might also improve the legibility of braille on capsule paper.
However, in this case, it is required to keep the dot diametersmall, about 1.17 mm (Figs. 6 and 7).
The fusion of dots, which is considered to be the causeof unlegibility, can be expressed more directly by theedge interval of dots on the original image than by thedot diameter and interdot space. The edge interval was
calculated by subtracting the dot diameter from the interdot−8−

space. The horizontal axis of Fig. 13 denotes the edge
interval. The normalized reading time and legibility ratingwere expressed in the vertical axis. The chart shows that as
the edge interval decreases, the reading time increases andthe legibility rating decreases. Large correlation coefﬁcientswere found between the edge interval and the legibility
rating (r = 0.840), and between the edge interval and thenormalized reading time (r = 0.895). To the best of ourknowledge, this is the ﬁrst time to clearly demonstrate thelinear correlation between the edge interval and the reading
time, and between the edge interval and the legibility rating.
Although this finding was derived from the experimentusing braille on capsule paper, it would be applied to brailleembossed using braille printers. New knowledge on the
speed and difficulty of tactile reading may be acquired if
future studies are conducted with a new index, the edge
interval, other than widely used diameters and interdot
spaces.
In this study, we explored the relationship between the 3D
shape of a braille dot and the reading time, and between the
3D shape of a braille dot and the legibility rating focusing
solely on dot fusion. We observed that the legibility rating
depends not only on the occurrence of dot fusion but also
on the shape of an individual dot (Kamoda and Fujimoto,2001). The opinions of the subjects who participated inthis experiment varied from “higher dots are preferable,”to “sharp and lower dots are preferable.” Koyanagi (1978)
reported that braille with 0.4 - 0.6 mm high dots is themost legible. On the other hand, the braille dots on capsule
paper used in this experiment were approximately 0.35 mm
high (Fig. 11). As for the shapes of braille dots, braille dots
embossed using braille printers generally had a shape of an
upside down bowl and their tops were round, whereas large
dots (diameter: 1.67 mm) on capsule paper had flat tops
and they resembled a plateaux (Fig. 12). It is possible thatthese shapes contribute to the difﬁculty of reading. In futurestudies, it is necessary to discuss the relationship between
the shape of a braille dot and the legibility rating more
precisely using physiological data.
VI. Conclusion
The experimental results of reading capsule paper braillequantitatively demonstrated the suitable ranges of the dot
diameters and interdot spaces of the original braille image
for producing legible braille. One of the future tasks is toselect appropriate braille fonts and sizes that keep original
ink-printed braille dots in these suitable ranges. We hopethat this research will provide useful information for
persons who perform stereocopying in their daily job andlife.

WATANABE Tetsuya & OOUCHI Susumu

Acknowledgements: Authors would like to thank Yutaka
Kitabayashi (Japan Vocational Development Center for
the Blind) and Tetsuji Tanaka (Japan Braille Library) for
helping with the conduction of the experiment, and thesubjects for their participation in the experiment.
References
１) Kamoda, M. & Fujimoto, H. (2001). The influence ofbraille patterns on the legibility: Proceedings of the27th Sensory Substitution Symposium, pp.59-62. (inJapanese)２) Kizuka, Y. (1998). Size and feeling of braille: Nihonno
Tenji, No.23, pp.19-23. (in Japanese)３) Koyanagi, K. (1978). The world of touch. Tokyo,
Kouseikan. (in Japanese)４) Kuroda, H. et al. (1995). The effects of the reading
efﬁciency in the proportions of braille, Proceedings ofthe 21st Sensory Substitution Symposium, pp.55-58. (inJapanese)５) Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd. Heat expansion
microcapsule,
http://www.mtmtys.co.jp/seihin/fmc_f/fmc_f.htm.
(in Japanese)６) Misaki, Y. (1994). Let us install braille fonts onto
BTRON: TRON Enable Ware Working Group, Vol.27.
http://tron.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/TRON/EnableWare/
TronWare/enableware/27a.html.
(in Japanese)７) Mori, T. & Yoshida, T. (1990). Data analysis technicalbook for psychology. Kyoto, Kitaoojishobou. (inJapanese)８) Nakano, Y. et al. (1997). Tactual discrimination inadventitiously blind adults with diabetic retinopathy (2)– Development of size-changeable braille embossing
system-: Proceedings of the 23rd Sensory Substitution
Symposium, pp.157-160. (in Japanese)
９) N a n b a , S & K u w a n o , S . ( 1 9 9 8 ) . M e t h o d o f
psychological measurement for hearing research,
Tokyo, Corona Publishing. (in Japanese)10) Rowell, J. & Ungar, S. (2003). The world of touch: aninternational survey of tactile maps. Part 1: Production:
The British Journal of Visual Impairment, Vol.21, No.3,
pp.98-104.
11) SIG on Psychological Experiment (1972). Experimentand test - Foundation of Psychology, 4th Edition, editedby the SIG on Psychological Experiment. (in Japanese)
12) Way T.P. & Barner K.E. (1997). Automatic visual totactile translation --- Part I: Human factors, accessmethods, and image manipulation: IEEE Transactions
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13) Zychem Limited: Products for the visually impaired,
http://www.zychem-ltd.co.uk/zy-tex.htm.

−9−—Recieved June 5, 2003; Accepted April 27, 2004—

TOKUNAGA Akio

Special Education Program for Students with Physical Disabilities through a Community
Support Network: Case Study of Social Resource Management at Special Schools

TOKUNAGA Akio
（Department of Policy & Planning）
Abstract: Nowadays special schools are increasingly called on to offer services to, not only students in special schools,
but also to people with disabilities through the social resource network of a local community. In 2001, the ‘Cooperator’s
Conference of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology stressed in its Final Report that special schools
should provide a more comprehensive service and adopt the role a special education center in a community. In this case study,
examined the development of a special education program for a student with physical disabilities in a special school, utilizing
not only the teacher, but also the wider community social support network, by analyzing the process of guidance, care plan,and ICF (International Classiﬁcation of Functioning, Disability and Helth) model Figure.
Key Words : Daily lives, Community, Social resource, Special education program, Social support network, ICF

I．Introduction
This study is designed to examine the development of a
special education program deeply rooted as a community
social resource and as part of the daily lives of students, I
would also like to discuss the details and the signiﬁcance of
this study.
Presently, special schools play the role of a special
education center in a community. At a special school where
I used to work, an educational counseling program including
training courses for counseling was offered in keeping withthe primary goal. As the person in charge, I assisted in theplanning of training courses on the interaction of children
with physical and motor disabilities, invited a physicaltherapist (PT) from an adjoining medical rehabilitation
facility to serve as a lecturer, and made courtesy calls to twoneighboring cities and six towns to guide training courses
for their boards of education. Without question, the training
needs were varied. However, I was often approached by
local people asking where the special school is located, or if
it was the adjoining facility. That is indicatcd that the local
people know more the adjoining facility. That is a schoolthat was trying so hard to take a lead in the community washaving trouble being recognized by persons outside special
school-related people not only as a “center” in the literal
sense, but also as a system facility resource. Furthermore,
every time I visited special or regular class teachers
during activitions such as study meetings, it was also quite
apparent from the reports of these teachers that people did
not regard special schools to be a social resource at all.
On the other hand, for students who are enrolled special

schools, how can we provide guidance on awareness ofthe community or everyday life? At least, the ﬁrst functionof special schools is to poovide guidance to students insuch schools. Consequently, it appears that there was notmuch need to be aware of the community. In addition to
the role of special schools as a resource center for special
education, these schools are supposed to collaborate withmany other social resources, such as the “Model Project on
Promoting Improvement in Specialties at Special Schools”
and the “Model Project Promoting Systematic EducationalCounseling for Children with Disabilities” by the Ministryof Education, Culture, Science and Technology, andthe “Project for Community Support through Medical
Treatment for Children (Persons) with Disabilities” by
the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Under suchcircumstances, special schools are entrusted to take the roleof a community social resource specifically for in special
education. As for actual guidance, a greater specialization
in independent guidance at special schools, such as special
education programs, is required. Consequently, for special
schools to perform its role as a social resonrce ecnter inthe community, for each student who is enrolled a special
school, since this cannot be accomplished within a reqular
school, the development of guidance rooted in community
life appears to be required.
Accordingly, in this study, (i) I will begin by detailingof the process of recognition of our role by becoming
gradually aware of the many social resources as oundof community “A” during the direct guidance of a boy“A” who is enrolled a special school, based on the initial
guidance expected to be provided within the school. Next,(ii) by networking with many social resources in the−11−Special Education Program for Students with Physical Disabilities through a Community Support Network

community obtained through follow-up activities, a caremanagement project, and effective use of the ICF model, I
would like to examine our role in relation with other social
resources in the community and the development of special
education program rooted in the child’s daily living.
II. Interaction with “A” through Direct Guidance
1. Introduction of “A”<General Features>
Mr. “A” is a grade 6 elementary school student, wholoves comic book characters such as “Ultraman” and“Pocket Monsters” and their videos and cards. He has alittle difﬁculty trying something for the ﬁrst time or visiting
an unfamiliar place; but once he becomes accustomed tothe place, he is quite conﬁdent. His home is located in thesame city as the special school he is enrolled. His parents
take him to school in the morning and his mother takes him
home by train.
<Basic Physical Features>“A” has a movement disorder due to cerebral palsy. He
is able to sit with his legs crossed for a few minutes (Photo1), and if an antislip mat is placed on his armchair he cansit on his chair. He is able to shift from the supine positionand crawl, and he can move forward slowly in a wheel chairusing his right hand. Moreover, since grade 4, he has beenpracticing using a walker “gate trainer” (Photo 2).

50 elementary and junior high school children are enrolled
there, and about 80% of the students go to school fromthe “E” center and 20% from their homes. Because theemphasis of the said school is special education program,apart from class teachers, two special education program
teachers are assigned there (FY2001). The special educationteachers not only take the initiative guiding students in thespecial education program at the said school, they are also
responsible for implementing an educational counselingprogram in the community.
2. Details Guidance on and Role of Persons Responsible
for Special Education Program
I was a special education program teacher responsible for
guiding “A” in activities other than his reqular classroom
activities (2 hours weekly) during the four years that “A”
was in elementary grades 2 to 5. When I look back at thedetails on guidance by paying attention to the method I
used to set our annual goal, I can understand the process
of focusing on our goals while becoming gradually awareof our role not only within the school, but also in “A’s”
community as a social resource. Although the followingchanges in goals are based primarily on the growth of

He is able to eat almost all of his food by himself withmodified spoon and fork by securing his posture andtableware. He loves to eat. He prefers western-style toilets,
which he can use by himself, and if somebody supports his
waist he also can use a urinal. He is able to change his own
clothes if his posture is stabilized.
<Basic Educational Achievements>
Although a level of study equivalent to that for his gradein a reqular school is difﬁcult for him, whenever possible hetries taking the regular class curriculum. He has absolutely
no trouble with daily conversation and listening to otherpeople talk. Although he can read some Japanese characters,“hiragana”, it is difficult for him to read texts or write
letters. He loves to browse through the pages of thick books
such as dictionaries.

Photo 1: Sitting with his legs crossed, which is gradually improving<Overview of the School He enrolls>
The prefectural special school “C” in prefecture “B”
where “A” enrolls (hereinafter referred to as the said
school) is a school for children with physical and motor
disabilities located in city “D” in the center of the prefecture
and adjacent to a prefectural medical treatment facility(hereinafter referred to as the “E” center). Approximately−12−

Photo 2: Chasing his teacher with a “gate trainer”

TOKUNAGA Akio

“A” himself (e.g., physical, intellectual and personal
relationship), it could be understood that goals waschanging from gereral model to focusstd model, with myrecognition.
Goals at the time “A” was in grade 2
 To deal with his study independently
 To lessen muscular tension
 To frequently utilize both hands (i.e., to utilize also theparalyzed side) To enhance understanding of his own body To promote stable posture To strengthen breathing
Goals at the time “A” was in grade 3
 To promote stable posture while standing To promote stability when sitting on a chair by training
to hold up his own body and improving strength in his
left hand for supportTo
be able to walk unassisted whenever possible To promote clarity of speech through stronger breathing To deal with his studies by understanding their aims
and through foresight
When “A” was in grade 2 and 3, there was a severe
muscular tension when he strechhed his body. He had
difﬁculty maintaining his sitting position. Discussions wereusually one-sided (i.e., the teacher talking about his favorite
TV cartoons); this, it was difﬁcult to have a conversation.
Moreover, since his breathing was weak it was difﬁcult tounderstand his words.
During that time, the goals were related to “A’s” growthover a two-year period. Undoubtedly, such goals werenecessary for “A”. On the other hand, because of the wide
scope of the goals we now realize that that there was little
focus during those two hours each week. The people close
to “A” evaluated that the school’s role as a social resourcein the community and the roles of individuals responsible
for the guidance of “A” were insufficient. Perhaps thisspecial education program focused on “A”, and his
environment with which he inturacts was ignared.
Goals at the time “A” was in grade 4
 To improve his in ability to maintain a sitting positionand his left hand movements which will help him eat
independently
 To become accustomed to and again mastery in using
the “gate trainer”
 To promote a stable standing position
When he was in grade 4, the scope of the goals was
narrowed signiﬁcantly. During this period, he stopped using

a wheelchair and started using a special chair designed toassist him when he is eating. With this change, the goals
set to improve his eating dexterity were streamlined evenfurther during individual special education program.
However, I introduced this special chair only after
discussions with his class teacher, his parents and medical
equipment manufacturers, and I evaluated the streamlined
goals with regard to daily life activities in a concretemanner in relation to other social resources, though this was
not my original plan. There was still a passive involvementof “A” in a self-examination such as this.
Goals at the time “A” was in grade 5
 To become accustomed to using a “gate trainer” andincrease in usage for moving
 To be able to stand and transfer to the “gate trainer”
with minimal assistance as possible
 To promote stability when sitting on a chair for ease instudying or eating meals
Gate trainer practice began during “A's” individualized
special education program, which was carried out jointlywith a physical therapist (PT) and an occupational therapist(OT) at the “E” center (hereinafter referred to as TOPS
(taken from the ﬁrst letters of Teacher, OT, PT and Student)
and after-school activities with the class teacher and parents.
For “A” who had difficulty trying new things, it was not
worthy that he gradually started taking the intiative to do
new things. However, because the same activities wererepeated many tines, which was regarded to be inefﬁcient.
After that, the actual gate trainer practice was carried out
mainly by the class teacher and parents, which was limited
to the time when leaving school. Occasionally, a special
education program teacher joined in the practice. During
TOPS (Photo 3) and individualized special education
program, which emphasized on basic posture or movement,
the action of transferring onto the trainer became part ofindividualized special education program (Photo 4).
In retrosped, with regards to the role of persons incharge of the special education program in relation withother social resources, I realized that our guidance focusedon posture and basic movements. To realize his goals, I
think it is important that we recognize our own roles after
understanding not only “A” himself, but also his classteachers, his parents, and other people important to him.
3. Roles of Persons who is Responsible for special
Education Program in the Social Resource Network
During the same period, there was a strong tendency
for specialists (e.g., special education staff, PT, OT, ST,
nurses, medical equipment manufacturers and nursery−13−

Special Education Program for Students with Physical Disabilities through a Community Support Network

other helpers shared information and provided stretching
exercises (Photo 5). These exercises were preparatory forspending the day with a stable posture. Similarly, guidancein maintaining posture was further emphasized even during
the individualized special education program. Throngh thisguidance, “A’s” posture during sitting improved (Photo6). When I told “A” he was able to sit well, he would ask
repeatedly mr “Am I doing well?” Therefore, So he wasalso pleased that he was able to sit well.

Photo 3: TOPS carried ont by teacher and OTPhoto 5Photo 4: Individualized special education program to enabletransfer to gate trainer

staff) associated with students with disabilities in a local
community to establish a network involving these students
and their families through study meetings referred to as a“therapeutic education network”. During those meetings,
in the case of “A”, we classiﬁed the people associated with“A”, we clariﬁed our future directions (Figure 1).
Then, the surrounding social resources were classified
into three groups, the school, “E” center, and private
institutions; the underlined items indicate the typesof involvement and items in parentheses indicate thefrequency. From this figure, we can note in the care andguidance of that there were many people involved “A”.
During individualized guidance during the special education
program, which was two hours per week at the school, I
again recognized that the role of the person in charge of
guidance for such activities should place emphasis on basic
body movements.
By the time he entered grade 5, except for the individualized
special education program, there were no longer any
morning meetings; instead, his mother, the class teacher andPhoto 6

In September, I visited his home to discuss with hismother, class teacher, and a staff member from a medical
equipment manufacturer regarding the use of a newwheelchair, during which time we talked about the present
and future conditions of his body and the use (in and outof school ) of various devices such as armchairs and righthand operated wheelchairs. Afterwards, I was also presen
infarmed on the diagnosis of a doctor in the last stages ofmaking the decision on what. After considering the daily
life and anticipated future growth of “A”, I shared myopinion with the doctor as a person in charge of the special
education program. In addition, we discussed his future
potentials and ways of assisting him when using the toilet orbathing, helpful tools, new types of gate trainers and issues
related to individualized special education program. Fromthese discussions, I concluded that the role of the person in
charge of special education program for “A” should be toprovide guidance on the fundamentals of body movements
during individual special education program andpsepasatory in the morning. Because changes in his body
movements and musmlar tension were expected with his
rapid growth at his age, similar theories were conﬁrmed to
be increasinghy important. Persons in charge of the special
education program also began to realize the school’s role
as a social resource in “A’s” community. However, since
OT also assisted in similar guidance on body movements,
it may not be necessary to rely so much on the school.
Nonetheless, the role of the school should be examined infurther detail.

−14−

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III. Interaction with “A” Through Follow-up Interaction
I provided direct guidance until “A” was in grade 5. Fromthen on, we talked on the telephone, or exchanged e-mails,
or I visited him. So I continued to be involved with “A”, his
parents and class teachers.
Meanwhile, it was conﬁrmed that guidance provided in
the special education program was more deeply rooted indaily life with the involvement of other social resources. I
would like to discuss the details below.
1. Worksheet on Daily Living and Requirements
In the above-mentioned “therapeutic education network”,
a worksheet was prepared for his family and related persons
on which items such as daily family life, school life, his
condition prior to going out to school and future needs wererecorded, to promote a common understanding of “A’s”
condition and needs. This worksheet was in a diagram fromfor ease of recording of activities during meals and bathing
and other activities; this, we can see the actual activities of“A” in daily living.
Figure 2 shows a portion of the worksheet written by “A’s” mother. From this worksheet, we were able to understandthe living conditions of “A” more clearly than ever before,

and many things that the teachers could not see became
clear. As a result of this, we were forced to self-examine
ourselves on whether guidance in the special education
program, which focused on basic body movements wasof any real beneﬁt to his future life. In particular, teachers
who were only involved during the daytime could not really
understand the difficulties he and his family face whenbathing. When I think about this, I recall the words of one
the welfare personnel, “school teachers can never really
understand the life of this person and his parents”.
Furthermore, the other day, at the school training
course, I asked classroom teachers to write the conditionsof students with disabilities and their wishes on the sameworksheet. Then, similarly to the case of “A”, I read many
comments sach as, “I realize that I didn’t know anything
about these students other than their school life”.
Figure 3 shows what the mother wrote under “Things I’dlike to do”. Her wish was “I want to go to a hot spring withmy family.
It would be so nice to be able to relax bathing as a familywith only one helper!” This is a good example of the social
participation, which is the aim of the special education
program. Moreover, on the basis of the worksheet, ananalysis of movements necessary for going to a hotspring−15−

Special Education Program for Students with Physical Disabilities through a Community Support Network

was made, and as a result, I was forced to respond to a very
difficult question on my personal feelings on guidance inthe special education program. Because these movements
fall under the category of guidance for leisure as lifelong learning, it is appropriate for these movements to
be included in the existing guidance. His mother not
only regarded these movements to be important, but also
considered that going out to a hot spring may help “A” inoverconing his initial feelings of resistance to a new place.
Guidance with due consideration of these feeling should be
examined.
Normally, this does not mean that we should try to
fulﬁll all the wishes of the parents or the subject. After we
become aware of the conditions of the subject and consider
meaningful guidance on the basis of these conditions, weshould simply regard this as very valuable information.
Then, in the case of the special education program, weshould provide guidance to support meaningful activities.

2. Model Project to Improve the Care Management
Scheme for people with disabilities
After talking with his mother, I realized that “A” hadbecome the model case of a project for improving the caremanagement scheme for people with disabilities in city“D”. I immediately obtained his mother’s permission andstarted to exchange information with the city “D” support
center for people with disabilities. The project was designed
in 2003 in consideration of the shift in support expenses.
Therefore, “A’s”case was a model for that school period.
This plan was prepared through ten series of explanatory
meetings, and through assessment and conferences.
A representative in charge of the planing explained that
because care management is a job that connects social
resources to individuals in need of care, in the case of “A”
a network had already been formed through the abovementioned “therapeutic education network”, and it was
extremely difﬁcult lntended meaning in this context unclcar.

−16−

TOKUNAGA Akio

Table 1: Needs of Parents in a Care Plan

Ranking

Needs

Parent’s Comments

1Would like a place where we could
A place where he can go and be taken care of after school.
pick him up after school

2

Picking up from school and dropping When the family cannot pick him up, we would like someone to pick him up inplace of us.
off at home3

Would like a place for training in the At present, we use the day care project at “F” facility once a month; if it is closer,
city
it would be better.

3

Would like him to have a comprehensive We want the “E” center to take care of him in a comprehensive manner, includingcare
medicine and rehabilitation (e.g., limbs, exarcise, speech, therapy, eating).

4

Would like information on welfare We would like to be kept informed about daily life, welfare and other eventsand everyday life
through bulletin boards, facsimile, mail, etc.

5Make friends

5

Would like a place for him to play
A place where children with similar disabilities can gather together.
outside the home

6

Restore of residence

At the “C” special school, not many students come from home; and the few who
are there are of different ages and they play with their brothers, so he cannot
make friends.

Depending on the physical condition of each person, with regards to thebathroom. * If possible, I want him to be able to use our present bathroom withphysical rehabilitation.

−17−

Special Education Program for Students with Physical Disabilities through a Community Support Network

This shows that the social resources in the community
where “A” resides were already established and evaluatedfavorably.
What I would like to point out here is that parents
conveyed to the person in charge that some needs wererooted in daily life. Here, there was a wide range of needs
that the school personnel had never heard of. Those needs
were prioritized as shown in Table 1. In addition, withrespect to the overlapping of priority, the opinions ofparents who could not decide on the priority were left as is.
Both the class teachers and I were unaware that the needs
extended over a wide range. As a matter of fact, because it
was personal information, we did not know anything morethan necessary. I was reminded of the opinion of the abovementioned welfare-related personnel with that “from the
beginning parents limited their consultations the school”.
When we examine those needs, the school could havebecome involved in meeting some of the needs. For
example, <1 A place the where “A” can stay after school> which was an important wish of the parents of “A”,
who are self-employed, should be provided by the school.
Furthermore, as an opportunity for understanding the basic
abilities of “A” and to satisfy his needs, guidance should
be considered through the special education program, forexample, movement during taking a bath or methods for
effectively utilizing assistive devices in < 6 >.
Furthermore, the goals and plans of assistance and service
providers were also esfablished in these, meetings and there
were some names that we did not know. I was surprised
because I was confident that I have developed a programfor guidance in collaboration with the network of manysocial resources. Accordingly, by referring to the real needs
in daily life, the importance of planning and implementing
guidance through the collaboration of many social resources
by focusing on the future was again recognized.
3. Examining Individual Roles by Effectively Utilizing
the ICF Model
With the many social resources and the wide range ofneeds mentioned earlier, in order to clarify individualized
roles including guidance in the special education programat the school, one of our objectives was to introduce theInternational Classification of Functioning, Disabilitiyand Health (hereinafter abbreviated to ICF), which has
the role of being a common language between other jobclassifications. In concrete terms, while referring to adetailed classiﬁcation with respect to components feasible
for evaluation that is utilized in ICF (Body functions, Body

structures, Activity and Participation, and Environmental
factors), until the second levels, using the “ICF Checklist
Version 2.1a Clinician Form”. Then, on the basis of thisevaluation, and by referring to the diagram (Figure 4) of thedisability conditions of “A” and previous works, which is areport describing the correlation between each component
and the future direction was prepared, I had discussions
with the parents, the class teacher, and PT in charge to
conﬁrme the conditions of “A” and the individual roles ofall people involved in the care and guidance of “A”.
Figure 4 shows the items regarded as issues to beevaluated at each level of Health condition, Body function,
Body structures, Activity, Participation and the Facilitatorsand Environmental factors. The meanings of these items are
as follows:
Health condition: State of health
Body function: Physiological functions of bodysystems (including psychological functions)
Body structure: Anatomical parts of the body such asorgans, limbs and their components
Activity: Execution of tasks or actions by theindividual
Participation: Involvement in a life sltuation
Environmental factors: Physical, social and attitudinal
environment in which people live and conduct theirlives. There are Facilitators and Barriers.
The symbols indicate the following. The arrow
between each item indicates the direction of influence.
Correspondingly, a bidirectional arrow indicates a mutual
influence. In addition, “↑” within an item indicatessomething that “A” can do, and “↓” indicates something that
he is poor in doing or has difﬁculty in doing. “↓↑” meansthat activity or participation is possible if the conditions inparentheses are prepared. Finally, (+) in the environmental
factors means that it had an impact on each level.
As described earlier, because the basic aspects, suchas movements or posture, were regarded to be important
issues because “A” has movement diffrculties, guidancein the special education program was mainly provided. Ina reevaluation utilizing ICF, there were certain problems
regarding movement-related functions in <Body function>and movement-related structures in <Body structure>; andas before, class teachers or PT and OT became involved.
These major needs were also conveyed by parents to theschool. However, it became clear that it was better to reexamine whether the guidance was regarded to be for thesame movements, such as moving around or self-carein <Activity and Participation>. Furthermore, throughdiscussions, we came to the conclusion that the classteachers should provide guidance in the special education−18−

TOKUNAGA Akio

program while paying attention to <Activity> level;
whereas, the PT should take a partial role approach to Body
functions while considering level of <Participation> or<Activity>. At that time, we also concluded that we should
actively exchange information and the person in charge ofthe special education program should take the initiative inthis area.
On the other hand, although it is confirmed that there
were issues regarding to cognition of <Body function andto study of <Activity and Participation>, basic cognitionor various movements, on the special education programthat required as basis of these issues had been hardly taken.
In addition, through discussions, it became obvious thatparents had hoped for a better curriculum from his classteacher. From this, we concluded that the class teacher
should examine the possibility of a greater emphasis
on study and provide basic abilities through the special
education program with the cooperation of OT. With regards
to the importance of collaboration with PT and OT, notonly by taking a partial role in the guidance of “A” within a
speciﬁed timeframe but also by promoting the collaborationfrom the planning of guidance, it is expected that teachers
can fulﬁll their roles from the education viewpoint.
In addition, in the evaluation of <Activity andParticipation>, there is a big difference between itemsin the evaluation of <Capacity> in the case of havingsome type of assistance and in the case of not having
assistance, so improvement can be realized by manipulating<Environmental factors>. It is clear that PT and OT are
not the only personnel that should be involved in theschool; other welfare personnel and medical equipment
manufacturers should either examine their role as one ofmany social resources or ﬁnd new social resources.
IV. Consideration and Future Issues
As shown in Figure 1, “A’s” life is affected by many
types of social resource. The school, teachers and persons
in charge of the special education program are in theposition to be one of the social resources in the community,
so we should fulfill our individual roles by being awareof our duties. Moreover, the current network will change
in the future. Therefore, we should consider our roles
by anticipating not only the present, but also the future
condition.
Since the support expense program began in FY2003,
we should select and built feasible social resources.
Although “A” was recognized as a model case for the care

−19−Special Education Program for Students with Physical Disabilities through a Community Support Network

management model scheme, for the time being there is no
official plan to systemize the said scheme for all people
with disabilities. Accordingly, municipal governments
are expected to prepare a preliminary list of approved
institutions; however, not only the persons with disabilities
and their families, but also the school personnel need
to be adequately informed of these resources scheme.
Considering that students with disabilities, including “A”,
frequently utilize many social resources in their daily lives,
if they are able to actively utilize such resources while
attending school, skills that they would learn will be usefulin their life after graduation. Furthermore, the community
will become more aware of the existence of children withdisabilities or special schools, thus contributing to a more
better society.
Although the subject and his family were able toestablish connection with the surrounding social resources
as indicated by the lines shown in Figure 1, this ﬁgure wasdesigned to clarify social resources presently involved inand mutually creating horizontal connections. We should
clarify our role in each of these connections. The person
responsible for the special education program should
provide guidance not only by paying attention to “A’s”
basic movements, but also by concentrating completely on
providing education for his overall growth. Moreover, thiscannot be realized during the period of individual guidance,
because it is guidance based on “A’s” daily life as shownin his worksheets or care management plan. “D” city statedthat the said school was designated for the FY2001 and2002 “Model Project to Promote the Systematization of
Educational Counseling for Children with Disabilities”.
However, the neighboring facility “E” center also received
approval for “Support Program of Regional Medical
Treatment, for Children (Persons) with Disabilities”.
Consequently, special school “C” and persons responsible
for the special education program should use their
specialties mainly through guidance in the special education
program as a social resource in specialized education.
The following two issues will be examined in the future.
First, what was the effect of the guidance described here
on “A” himself and on his daily life, and what further
considerations should be taken in the future. Second, weshould examine how guidance through social resources
based on the daily lives of students with disabilities can beprovided to these who must attend school from a boarding
house, hospital or other facilities.

* I obtained the consent of “A” and his family to use him
as a model for this study and to publish his photographs. In
addition, the parents have read this report and aereed to its
contents.
Acknowledgements: I would like to express my sincerest
gratitude to “A” and his family and other people who
participated in the course of this study.
References
１) Social Work Research Institute, Japan College of Social
Work: “Research on the Feasibility of Effective Use ofInternational Classification of Functioning, Disabilityand Health (Revised) for Social Welfare Assistance:
Application to Model Cases from 1997 Database”,
188-190, 1998.
２) Department of Education for Children with Physicaland Motor Disabilities, National Institute of Special
Education: “Report on Fact-Finding Survey on Special
Classrooms for Children with Physical and Motor
Disabilities at Elementary and Junior High Schools
Nationwide”, 2001.
３) Cooperator’s Conference of the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Science and Technology: “Special Education in
the 21st Century (Final Report)”, 26-27, 2001.
４) Nagasaki Medical Treatment Network “Worksheets”
2002 (Note) Worksheets are based on MOVE text
Japanese version (written by Linda Bidage, translatedby Matsubara Y., Movie International Japan, 1996)
and MOVE Assessment Profile (Kern County
Superintendent of Schools, Subdivision of the State ofCalifornia, USA, 1996).
５) World Heath Organization (WHO): “ICF- International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health”,
Chuohoki Publishers, 9, 2002.
６) Tokunaga, A.: “Partial Roles of Teachers and PT
and OT Expected in Special Education at Facility
Adjoining Schools II – The Key to Examining Model
Cases by Effectively Utilizing New International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health”,
The 40th Conference on Thesis Presentations, Japanese
Association of Special Education, 542, 2002.
７) WHO: “International Classification of Functioning,
Disability and Health” 2001, ICF website.
８) WHO: “ICF Checklist Version 2.1 a Clinician Form”,
same as above.
—Recieved June 5, 2003; Accepted April 27, 2004—−20−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classrooms“Period of Integrated Study” by Collaboration of Teachers in Tsukyu and Teachersin Ordinary Classrooms

KUBOYAMA Shigeki*, TOYOTA Hiromi**（*Department of Educational Support Research）（**Tsurukawa-Daisan Elementary School, Machida-city, Tokyo）
Abstract: In this case study, the author reports the progress of gaining greater understanding of the feelings of people withhandicaps to improve collaboration among ordinary classroom and Tsukyu teachers. The study was conducted during the"periods of integrated study" in ordinary classrooms of elementary schools and highlights the importance of the collaborationof teachers in Tsukyu and teachers in ordinary as in title classrooms in the education of children attached to Tsukyu.
This is because these children spend most of their school lives in ordinary classrooms. Researchers and teachers
collaborated in giving the lessons.
In the study lesson entitled, “How do you think about gentleness?” it was found that students from the ﬁrst to the sixth
grades experience continual inconvenience and this experience is reported here. The principal aim of the study lessons is thatevery child gains an awareness of the feelings of people with handicaps and to motivate children without handicap to provide
supporting activities to people with handicaps.
Key Words: Understanding handicaps, Period of integrated study, Tsukyu (resource rooms), Experience study, Collaborate

I. Preface
The tsukyu (“resource rooms”) educational system provides
special guidance and education to children with mild
handicaps. Children who attend tsukyu classes (hereinafterreferred to as “tsukyu children”) are usually enrolled inordinary classes, and thus, collaboration between tsukyu
class teachers and teachers of relevant ordinary classes
is important. In a survey concerning such collaboration
conducted by the National Institute of Special Education(NISE) in ﬁscal 1996, many respondents favored1) “start-offiscal-year coordination meetings”, “telephone contacts”,“sending of guidance reports” and “school visits”. However,few studies have been conducted on specific, practicalactivities to improve the school life of tsukyu children
in ordinary classes where they spend most of their time.
The above survey (FY 1996) included an item “lessons
for understanding handicaps” where tsukyu class teachersvisit ordinary classes and provide lessons to promote
the understanding of handicaps as one specific, practicalactivity. However, few respondents answered this item, andconsidered it only as a “special method” of collaboration.
In recent years, WHO has been advocating a newclassiﬁcation scheme of disabilities5) (l.e., ICF, International
Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health), andhas been advocating social participation and in vostigationof environmental factors that predispose the development ofhandicaps. Therefore it is important to gain understandingof the needs of people with handicaps to ensure theiractive social participation. In addition, the Nursery School
Guidelines of Japan revised in FY 1999 added the following
statement in Chapter 13: “provision of guidance to otherchildren and their guardians to correctly understandhandicaps”. Moreover, in the "period of integrated study"
provided for in the new course of study, which has been
implemented on a transitional basis since FY 2000, attempts
are being made for children in ordinary classes to undergo
simulated experiences of having handicaps.
In the field of education for children with hearing andspeech handicaps, the teacher conference of special classfor speech and hearing handicapped children (2001)
pointed out that "collaboration with the school" is the keytask of tsukyu classroom teachers, and expressly stated theneed for them to “provide lessons for the understandingof handicaps by collaborating with the school”. (Note: In
the aforementioned work, “collaboration” is deﬁned in theconference as “to carry out activities for each person toatlain independence, valuing each other, and developing
cooperative relationships on a daily basis”. This means thateach person must carry out activities related to children,
while respecting each other’s viewpoint and clarifying eachother’s responsibilities. This is a more wide-ranging concept
than what is meant by “cooperation” or “joint work”. The−21−

Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classrooms

authors use this term when carrying out activities withpersons working with children.)Some examples of specific lessons for promoting
the understanding of handicaps have been prepared by
Tahara (2000a) who continually conducted lessons forunderstanding hearing handicaps in ordinary classes
by aiding children who have difficulty in hearing, inwhich she prepared “A Supplementary Reading Material
for Understanding Hearing Handicaps” (2000b). Hori
(1999) has examined several practical materials such asvideos presenting tsukyu classes and reports on learning
experiences in such classes. He suggested that lessonspresenting tsukyu classes or lessons on handicaps canbe incorporated in the curricula of ordinary classes, andthat there is an urgent need for such lessons in ordinaryclassrooms. Aside from this knowledge, there have beenother reports on practical activities carried out as intramuralresearch studies by local study groups.
Because the authors have considered collaboration
with ordinary class teachers and children as indispensable
to improve the school lives of tsukyu children, we haveattempted to provide lessons on understanding handicaps inordinary classes. From these lessons, progress in elementary
school “A” is shown in Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 1, in the ﬁrst stage of collaboration
in FY 1999, the authors gave lessons on understanding
handicaps in all grades at elementary school “A”. Theselessons were “offered” to the whole school. Tsukyu classes
were not only offered to the classes to which tsukyu children

attended, but also to the grades to which they belonged,
Moreover, we congider that these lessons whole school
would enormously help tsukyu children in their daily school
life activites. Children and teachers in ordinary classrooms
accepted this offer at this time, and collaboration thenproceeded to the next stage.
In the second stage of collaboration in FY2000, by
experiencing what it is like to have a handicap in threegrades at elementary school “A”, lessons on understanding
handicaps were given to children from ordinary classrooms
so that they would feel the inconveniences of hawing
a handicap and become more compassionate as part oftheir period of integrated study. This activity was not
spearheaded by the authors alone, but was a collaboration
with activity that in volved the participation of ordinaryclassroom teachers.
In the second stage of development in FY2001, the trial
lessons from the previous year were implemented to all
grades at elementary school “A”.
In this report on the trial lessons made by the authors,
we will first examine lessons on better understandingof handicaps, which is regarded as the first stage ofcollaboration. Next, we will discuss the “Period of
integrated study: What is compassion?” and discuss lessons
from the simulation of a visual handicap, and then examine
the changes in children’s cognition of handicaps and theeffect of collaboration with ordinary classroom teachers andchildren.

<Figure 1: Progress of practical activities conducted by authors at elementary for school “A”>

−22−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

Table 1. Lessons on language

PurposeSimulated experiences

Lower grades

Word play (enjoy words)

Capping verses with conditions and silent videos

Middle grades

Speech conveyance(infomation processing)Sound-transmission model and silent video using
microphones or personal computers

Higher grades

Roles and functions of speech (manipulating
Word replacing game and experiencing being old
thoughts)
Table 2. Lessons on Being Compassionate to Others

PurposeDiscussion

Lower grades

To know that one cannot enjoy words if one The feeling when one cannot say what he/she wants tocannot use words wellsay

Middle grades

To know how words affect various organs

Higher grades

To know what it is like not to be able to do
What it is like to be elderly
daily activities

II. First Stage of Collaboration: Lessons from Tsukyu
Classes
1. Details of start of trial lessons at Elementary School “A”
In FY 1998, before the trial lessons were started atelementary school “A”, the authors ﬁrst conducted lessons
in other ordinary classrooms attended by tsukyu children in
an other school. These lessons were implemented to directly
promote better awareness of tsukyu children. For example,
in a class where a child who stutters attended, stutlering
became the theme of class discussion; and in a class where achild with an articulation disorder was present, articulation
disorders became the theme of class discussion. Theselessons were given so that children in schools were tsukyu
children also attended would have a better understanding ofhandicaps and be aware of the existence of tsukyu classes,
and, consequently, with the hope that tsukyu children wouldin turn be able to present themselves without inhibition in
ordinary classrooms and to enable them to spend most of
their school life productive.
While these lessons were being conducted, the principalof the school and classroom teachers asked if we would
provide such lessons not only for tsukyu classes, butalso for all classes in the same grade and other grades.
Consequently, we started providing such lessons andreviewed their contents even in classes with no tsukyu
children. As a result, we concluded that we should provide
not only lessons on simple classroom introduction orhearing and speech handicaps, but also lessons on how torecognize feeling of discomfort or inconvenience of anotherindividual and take action—in other words—to think aboutcompassion for handicapped children at the same time.

The feeling when one wants to be heard to but is not

Therefore, from the third term of FY 1998, the authors
tried a new lesson called a “2-hour set”. After it was ﬁrst
tried in other schools, in FY 1999, we provided “2-hour set”
lessons in all classes at elementary school “A”. Hereinafter,these activities will be described.
2. Overview of Lessons on Understanding Handicaps at
Elementary School “A”(1) Aim of Lessons
The lessons focused on the following two points.
(i) To be more aware of persons with various circumstancesand conditions around you and to correctly grasp the
difference between oneself and others (to be aware ofinconvenient situations through simulations or discussion
with persons with handicap or the elderly, and to think
about what can be done for a person in need).
(ii) To identify with other persons with handicap and to
express compassion (to think and act sensitively fromthe viewpoint or condition of other individuals withhandicap, and to contemplate on social relationships
such as a “give and take” relationship).
(2) Procedures
Two tsukyu classroom teachers (one of which tookcharge of recording) and one researcher in special education
gave lessons on understanding handicaps in ordinaryclasses (two classes in each grade; a total of twelve classes)
at elementary school “A”. The lessons were 90 minutes (45minutes x 2) each. In Grades 1 and 2, the lessons were given
for two days; for the other grades, the lessons were given
successively on the same day. For the lessons, the interest−23−

Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classroomsof the children was enhanced through slide presentations
using a personal computer and a slide projector, videos andsimulated experiences. Before and after each lesson, thechildren were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding
their level of previous knowledge on handicaps or theirimpressions on the lessons. The opinions of the ordinaryclassroom teachers were also obtained after each lesson.
In addition, the trial lessons of FY 1999 were implemented
as a research lesson of specialized teachers in elementary
school “A”, which became part of a joint research project
among specialized teachers (teachers in charge of music,
drawing and handicraft, and homemaking). Moreover, thelessons in the ﬁfth grade were adopted as research lessons
for the whole school.
(3) Guidance
Three types of lessons were given to the lower, middle
and higher grades on the basis of the level of guidance ineach grade. Each lesson included guidance (Table 1) on“language” and guidance on thinking about compassion toothers. (Table 2)
1. Lessons for Lower Grades (1st and 2nd grades)
First lesson: “Speech is fun, isn’t it?”(i) Using words can be fun. Let us fully enjoy is this acommonly used term in your ﬁeld which is a play ofspeech.
(ii) If we put limits on words, we cannot fully enjoy
them. Let us try capping verses by limiting the use ofwords including speciﬁc sounds. Let us compare theresults of activity (i) on capping of verses.
(iii) Let us discuss why what? is not as much fun basedon activity (ii).
Second lesson: “Speech is wonderful, isn’t it?”(iv) Do you know that some persons cannot speak using
words? Let us listen to a recording of a child who
has stammer and watch a drama about stammering.
(v) How does the person who has stammer feel? How
would you feel if that person is you?
(vi) Let us discuss what we can do after thinking aboutother persons who have stammer based on (v).
2. Lessons for Middle Grades (3rd and 4th grades)
First lesson: “How are words conveyed?”(i) How do we learn words? Let us watch a video ofthe linguistic development of a baby.
(ii) How are words conveyed and understood? Let us
learn the process of sound information processing

through simulation utilizing a microphone, apersonal computer and a speaker.
(iii) Let us experience the inconvenience of having
difﬁcultly in hearing: Let us discuss about a video
on a simulated experience of difﬁculty in hearing.
Second lesson: “Let us think about the inconveniences of
having handicaps”(iv) Let us discuss the inconveniences of going about
daily life if you are a person who has difﬁculty inhearing on the basis of your experiences from theprevious lesson.
(v) Let us discuss the feelings of a person who has
difficulty in hearing after listening to a recordingof a composition read aloud by a child who has
difﬁculty in hearing.
(vi) There are many types of people in the world. Let us
discuss barrier-free vending machines.
3. Lessons for Higher Grades (5th and 6th grades)
First lesson: “Let us discover the function of words”(i) How are we able to learn and use words? The sameas middle grades.
(ii) How do we learn words? The same as the detailed
version of middle grades (ii).
(iii) What role do words take in daily life? The symbolic
function of language, communicative function, andlanguage function as a thinking tool are summarized.
(iv) If limitations are placed on the functions of words,
it becomes inconvenient. Let us experience thisthrough a word exchange game.
Second lesson: “Let us take action while thinking about
the position or feelings of another person”(v) Let us learn about stammering and the inconvenienceof having it by listening to a recorded conversation
or a composition of a child who has with stuttering.
(vi) Let us learn about elderly persons and discuss theinconveniences they face by watching a video aboutthem.
(vii) Let us think about the feelings of persons withhandicap and elderly persons and discuss their
feelings based on (v) and (vi).
(viii) There are many types of people in the world. Le us
think about what you can do to help people withhandicap.
4. Impression after Lessons
For the impressions of children after the lessons, theirimpressions conform with (i) and (ii) of the aim of thelessons. Some of their responses “I really understand that−24−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

there are people who cannot hear or convey very wellwhat they want to say”, “If I am one of them, I will be sostressed” (lower grade), “I realized that there are many
types of people; however, I do not show them any special
consideration”, and “I should change my attitude, so let us
be kind to people” (higher grade).

On the other hand, through the “2-hour set,” which theauthors developed for ordinary classroom children and in
the pursuit of becoming more compassionate, the authors
felt that not only should lessons on understanding of
hearing and speech handicaps be given, but also lessons onunderstanding other types of handicap.

Furthermore, after the lessons, ordinary classroom
children visited the tsukyu classroom of their school more
frequently. In addition, the children told the authors, “Pleasecome again” or “When are we going to study again?”Accordingly, both the ordinary classroom teachers andthe authors agreed, and a trial study has been conductedwith the theme, “Period of Integrated Study – How about
a little compassion?” for the perpole of understanding
handicaps better in several grades at elementary school“A” since FY 2000. Lessons on the simulation of visual
handicaps were given to Grades 3 and 4 and lessons on
wheel chairs were given to Grade 6.

(4) Discussion (Toward collaboration)
The practical trial lessons taken by the authors in FY
1999 placed an emphasis on the understanding of thehandicaps of tuskyu children. With respect to the process ofacquiring accurate knowledge on handicaps and becoming
more compassionate, the lessons involved mainly theoutlines of the authors.
As a result, ordinary classroom children became morefamiliar with tsukyu classes and specialized teachers,
and expressed their willingness to continue the lessons.
We have the impression that these responses indicatethat the children wanted to become more conpassionate.
Furthermore, ordinary classroom teachers also expressed
their opinions on the lessons given by showing the children’s compositions or diaries about their impressions or
discussing their own views toward people with handicaps,
so that their relationship with the authors also deepened.
The trial lessons adopted from FY 1999 were considered
was a one-way lesson from the authors. As a result, theground for collaboration between the authors and ordinaryclassroom teachers was established.

Moreover, in due consideration of the trial lessons, thisactivity has been implemented in all grades since FY 2001.
By utilizing Life Environment Studies in Grades 1 and 2
and ensuring continuity in the “Period of Integrated Study”
in Grade 3 and higher grades, the timing for giving thelesson on “How about a little compassion?” for all children
is planned from Grades 1 to 6 (Table 3).
From these details, we will describe the lessons given on
visual handicap implemented in FY 2000.
2. Lesson Overview(1) Aims of Lessons
The following two areas represent the aims of the “Period
of Integrated Study – How about a little compassion?” overthe six year elementary period:(i) To be aware of various consequences or conditions
around oneself and to correctly grasp one's difference
from others (to understand feelings of inconveniencethrough simulated experiences or discussion about
persons with handicaps and the elderly; in addition,
to think about what one can do for a person withhandicap);(ii) To recognize the needs of other persons and to becompassionate (to think about the feelings or behaviorof another person from that person’s viewpoint
position or state; in addition, to remember that theworld is a “give and take” society).

III. S e c o n d S t a g e o f C o l l a b o r a t i o n : “ P e r i o d o fIntegrated Study” through Collaboration between
Resource Rooms and Ordinary Classes
1. Details of start of “Period of Integrated Study”
In accordance with the new course of study publishedin FY 1999, the authors gave lessons on understanding
handicaps. Probably because of the impact of the author’s “2-hour set”, several ordinary here and elsewhereat elementary school “A” started to have a better
understanding of different handicaps through their teachingmaterials for the “period of integrated study” in the newcourse of study.

From the above-mentioned points, gor the of lessons
under the theme understanding visual handicaps, thelessons are aimed to “enhance awareness of inconveniences
resulting from having handicaps and to improve sensitivty
to those inconveniences by acaviring knowledge and being−25−Remarks

Major activities

Study aim

First half of 2nd term

15 hours

4th grade
Latter half of 1st term

15 hours

5th gradehandicapand speech handicaps

Experience of having visual Experience of having hearing Experience of using wheelchairFirst half of 1st term

15 hours

3rd grade

Table 3. General Plan: “How about a little compassion?”

Experience of bing elolerly

3rd term

15 hours

6th gradeexperience−26−

impairments own thoughts

know what a hearing aid is?”and researchthrough the use silent videos

points simulated experiences 4. To c o n d u c t s i m u l a t i o n s

persons about questionable

what be done to help themGrades 3 and 6

in the school or town?

help them?
hearing some questions

6. Ask a person with difﬁalty inactually uses a wheelchairtheir inconveniences and their 9. To listen to a person whowith diffialty in hearing , 8. What we can do?
feelings. What I can do tothrough experienceon issues about the elderly

3. To conductd research study

experience set)

(By utilizing a simulated

on previous experiences.

of being anelderly baseda simulation exoerienceelementary grade

everybody during theabout compassion to

5. To convey our own views

help the elderly

can be done in the future topresent state, to discuss what

7. What conveniences are there 4. Based on learning and theof using wheelchair?

6. What are the inconveniences

person using a wheelchair

5. To think about helping ausing a wheelchair.

4. To do an intramural searchto actually use it

the elolerly
2. To compose and implement

discussing) through lessons

conclude  to convey to discuss through lessons*To obtain the basic skills of communication (basic attitudes of listening, talking and * To learn (emphasis on the process of obtaining knowledge)  to experience  to think  tocanpersons and to think about

conducted for 4 years between

c o m p a s s i o n a t e t o b e 4. To know more about blind 5. Let us think about peopleof lessons on being

5. Preliminary announcement

through pictures

c o n v e n i e n c e s i n a t o w n 3. Conclusion: To ask blind 3. Video oresentation: “Do you

hearing or talking

conveniences)the pronunciation is so.

4. To search for and think about

and removing clothing andhearingpronunciation. To learn why

doing research (everyday 2. To knowthea mechanism of

a ball, walking, putting on

3. What to do when in trouble

as folding a paper, catching

frustration due to difﬁculty in

To notice the difference in 3. To observe a wheelchair anddiffialty in hearing on video. 2. Let us imagine a wheelchair

wheelchairs?

person with simulation ofsilent video
2. Simulated experiences suchhandicap by listening to a handicap

1. Experience having a hearing 1. To discuss about visual 1. To listen to the voice of a 1. What types of people use 1. To learn basic knowledge on

handle such inconveniences

2. Experience uneasiness ordue to difficulty inwheelchairs; when one uses a elderly.

impairment and to know how to freely made if one has a hearing everyday necessities

speech difﬁculties)

speaking

through simulated experiences.

t h e T o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t wheelchair; to think about the *To make a presentation on

i n c o n v e n i e n c e s o f v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n c a n n o t b e inconveniences and types of “conpossion”by organizing one’Tothrough simulated experiences.

3. I n c o n v e n i e n t l i f everses (to experience

2. L i m i t e d c a p p i n g

1. Capping verses

information conveyance difﬁculties)

that cannot be conveyed or understood (communication and learning about visual handicap learning about hearing handicap simulated experience of using a simulated experience of theteelingsand to experienceuneasiness during inconvenience p e o p l e w i t h h a n d i c a p s b y p e o p l e w i t h h a n d i c a p s b y uses wheelchairs; the intramural years, to create and implement*To know the enjoyment of listening, talking and expressing *To realize the existence of *To realize the existence of *Through observations of the *Based on simulations over three

Word play

3rd term

Word play

2 to 4 hours
Latter half of 2nd term

2 to 4 hours

Number of hours

Implementing periodTheme

2 gradend

1 gradestLessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classrooms

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

in contact with people who are visually handicapped”.
We felt that simulated experiences should be conducted
fully to accomplish this aim, and we thought that it was
important for each child to record and present his or her
own ideas after the simulated experience, and discuss his/her experience with a person with handicap.
(2) Procedures
Altogether, the lessons were carried out in four classes,
two in the 3rd grade and two in the 4th grade at elementary
school “A”. Of those classes, we will examine class “B”
in the 4th grade as a model case for this report where theauthors were frequently involved. In addition, children in
the 4th grade, including those in class “B”, have alreadyreceived a middle grade version of the “2-hour set” when
they were in the 3rd grade (FY 1999).
(3) Collaboration in Lessons(i) Collaboration in Preparing a Guidance Draft
Initially, the authors prepared a guidance draft anddiscussed it with four ordinary classroom teachers. In thefirst discussion, ordinary classroom teachers asked us “toclarify the aims of the lessons”, “to explain the content ofa simulated experience and the presentation methods to be
used by the children”, “to describe in detail the wording ofquestions” and “to demonstrate the methods of evaluation”,
These requests were made because the teachers were
well aware of the speciﬁc characteristics of their ordinaryclasses and daily lessons. Therefore, their requests were an
indication of their need of a guidance draft to enable themto carry out their collaboration responsibilities.
Upon the teacher's request, the authors tried to explain
the content of a simulated experience by examining

anticipatory practice. Discussions with ordinary classteachers were conducted six times, over approximately
one month and a half to repeatedly evaluate the guidancedraft. In each discussion, the teachers examined the content
of a simulated experience presented by the authors andcompated the confent features of the simulated experience
with the speciﬁc features of their school children under their
responsibility. With respect to the evaluation of lessons,which was a problem until the last stage of planning, theauthors suggested that the evaluation should be extended
throughout the entire lessons instead of evaluating each
unit lesson at a time, and the authors were able to obtain theteacher's consent.
During the one month and a half-long evaluation process,despite the initiatives of the authors, in the second half ofthe evaluation process, the teachers sfarted expressing theiropinions openly. For example, some teachers commented
that there may be better methods of accomplishing a goal,or other methods to enable the ordinary classroom children
to perform better, and they started taking the initiative in our
discussions. Eventually, the teachers started saying, “Theycan probably do this” or “Let’s try this” and the expressed
enthusiasm toward the lessons to be given in collaboration
with the authors.
(ii) Collaboration in Giving Lessons
The participants in the lessons are shown in Figure 2. The
lecturers were composed of one ordinary class teacher andthe authors or one tsukyu class teacher and one researcher
on special education. During the lessons, the lecturers
performed their conesponding roles and cooperated byeffectively utilizing the special features of each class.
For example, ordinary classroom teachers who were very
familiar with the characteristics of each child, became themain lecturers of a simulated experience during discussions
and research studies. Furthermore, the authors who had<Figure 2: Participants in for consistency lessons>−27−Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classrooms<Figure 3: Lesson structure (The ﬁgures in [ ] are the number of unit lessons.)>

knowledge of and experience with handicaps became themain lecturers of the introductory lessons or the explanationof a simulated experience. Other ordinary classroom
teachers, the principal and the vice principal also provided
learning support through their experiences and ensured
safety of the children.
(4) Lesson Structure
Since FY 2000, the new course of study has entered atransitional period, and 35 unit lessons for the “period of
integrated study” for selected grades at Elementary school“A” were planned. In the planned lessons, approximately
15 unit lessons (more or less depending on the class) were
utilized. The outline of each unit lesson and the lesson
structure are shown in Figure 3.
The lessons placed emphasis on the simulated
experiences shown in Figure 3. To avoid repeating thesimulated experiences from the beginning to end of eachactivity, a child’s way of learning was established, as shown�������������������������
To
learn（know）knowledge

in Figure 4.
For each simulated experience, the lessons were given
for the purpose of (i) learning from experience, (ii)experiencing the actval lesson, (iii) thinking and formulating
a conclusion from the experience, and (iv) sharing presenting
one's experience and thought. Through these lessons, thechildren acquired new knowledge, asked questions [returnto (i) again] and moved on to the next simulated experience,and then the whole process was repeated. This process oflearning emphasized not only learning from experience,but also the development of communication skills such as
listening to an explanation or the opinion of another person,or the ability to understand and participate in discussions bygeing able to organiz one’s own thoughts.
Furthermore, we had each of the children prepare
worksheets (refer to Figure 5) regarding all their simulate
experiences. These worksheets were kept until graduation(in class “B” worksheets from the 4th grade to the 6th gradewere saved as a single ﬁle) and these worksheet data wereused as refecence data of the development of this programor the process of learning.
3. Contents of Lessons�������������������
To experience（try）

���������������������
To think and conclude���������
To convey(1) Study 1 (Introduction, one unit lesson) [The authors
served as lectures]
Aim: to increase awareness of problems faced by people
who are visually handicapped, and to explain ways oflearning and making future plans<Figure 4: Way of learning>−28−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

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Figure 5: Worksheet Example (Lesson 3: Part of daily life experiences. Original
size is, A4)−29−

Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classrooms(2) Study 2 (Experience study 1: Folded paper, two unit
lessons) [Ordinary class teachers mainly took charge]
Aim: to experience folding a paper as if one is blind, thestudents were asked to fold a paper and make a “purse” withand without a blind mask. The time it took for each student
to make a purse was measured and compared. Difﬁculties
and opinions while wearing a blind mask were recorded ona worksheet, which were diswssed after the activity.
(3) Study 3 (Experience study 2: Daily life experience, 5unit lessons) [The authors and ordinary class teachers
served as coorolinators of the simulated experiences andpresentations, respectively]
Photo 1 : Searching for one’s own shoes wearing a blind mask

To experience various daily activities without using theireyes, the children were divided into six groups, with eachgroup selecting one of the following daily activities:(i) Guessing the contents of a can of juice(ii) Putting on and taking off clothing or shoes (Photo 1)(iii) Guessing a partiwlar type of money(iv) Drawing a picture of something received(v) Pouring water into a cup and making a toast(vi) Eating school lunch (Photos 2-1 and 2-2)

Photo 2-1 : School lunch (A child extending his hand to receive
milk from another child)

Each group was divided into children doing a selecteddaily activity using a blind mask and children attempting
to assist; all the children took turns in toing the activities.
The opinions of the children regarding their experiences
and the results of the observations were recorded on aworksheet. Each group discussed the inconvenience thatthey actually felt, their means of adjusting to it, and thenmade a conclusion. Each group gave a presentation of
their experience and then presented the results of their
discussions.
Note: The time of group presentation in classroom“B” was used as a parameter for intramural research, andteachers from the whole school evaluated the lessons by
incorporating outside lecturers.
(4) Study 4 (Experience study 3: Walking experience, 3unit lessons) [The authors coordinated the activity]

Photo 2-2 : School lunch (A child did not notice that the childnext to him has not opened his bottle of milk; he took
the bottle and tried to drink from it. His milk is in thebottom center of the photo.)

To experience walking in a wide space as if blind andwith no assistance, the children were asked to walk along
a wall once in a big study room (approximately double
the size of an ordinary classroom) with and without ablind mask. Next, they walked on a crooked course of
approximately 1.5 m wide and approximately 20 m longwith a blindfold and with and without a white cane (Photo 3).
In either case, the children were divided into three groups,
those who walked on the crooked course, those who tried
to assist, and those who just observed, all of whom took

−30−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

place, and so I was very frightened. When I tried to fold apaper wearing a mask, it took a long time to complete thefolding becausu I could not see any lines in the paper forfolding. This made me wonder how blind persons could“see” lines or corners of a paper.”When the children wore a blind mask for the ﬁrst time,
we received comments such as “I was frightened” or “I
was nervous”. In addition to the above-mentioned lines andcorners for folding a paper, there were comments such as “I
could not see the center of the paper” and “I could not see
where the paperis”.
Photo 3 : Walking experience (left boy : without a cane, right boy: with a cane)turns in doing the walking activity. The opinions and resultsof the observations were recorded on a work here andelsewhere sheet and presented afterwards.
(5) Study 5 (Research study, 2 unit lessons) [Ordinary classteachers coordinated the activity]
By dividing into groups, the children searched for
documents or videos about Braille and guide dogs, orsearched for Braille signs while actually walking in a town.
(6) Study 6 (Video letter, 2 unit lessons) [The authors
coordinated the activity]
On the basis of the above-mentioned lessons, the children
listed questions they wanted to ask from blind persons, anda letter-type video was prepared. The authors asked someblind persons for their cooperation, and after listening to thequestions of the children from the video, they responded
to the questions, which was videotaped. The children thenwatched the video of the blind persons who responded totheir questions.
(7) Conclusion (Preparing composition, 1 unit lesson)[Ordinary class teachers coordinated the activity]
By reviewing all the activities, the opinions and questionsof the children were written as one composition.
4. Results and Discussion (Based on Learning State ofChildren and Their Opinions)(1) Inconveniences due to uisual handicap
Here, we will quote the opinions of children in study 2
regarding their ﬁrst visual handicap experience.
“When I wore a blind mask, I felt as if I was in a dark

From this experience, the children started to realize theimportance of vision, which they have always taken for
granted, and the inconvenience of being blind.
Next, the opinions from carrying out daily activities
while wearing a blind mask in study 3 are as follows:“I feel sorry for blind persons who try to pour juice
into a cup or water flowers without a ctually seeing
them.”“People who are visually handicapped need to beaware of the differences between various types of cannedjuice when they go shopping, so I thought this situation
was very hard for them.”
From their experiences that are directly associated withdaily life activities, more and more children began to reolize
the difﬁculty in carrying out normal activities once a person
bccothes blind. In addition, we noticed that many opinions
focused only on the inconvenience of howing a handicap,
such as “I feel sorry to them” or “It looks hard”.
(2) Importance of our senses and substitutes for sense ofsight
In the course of repeating the simulated experiencesin studies 3 and 4, the children started feeling theinconvenience of hawing a handicap. They noticed that theinconvenience resulting from a handicap could be relievedby utilizing other senses such as the sense of touch in placeof the sense of sight or tools such as a white stick. The
opinions of these children are as follows:“At first, I was able to pour water into a plastic cup
easily. I could feel the coldness of the cup, so I did very
well. However, when I used a glass cup, I could not feelthe temperature change. So I tried pouring water very
carefully, but it was very low. (Omission of interior parts)
When I checked it was my ﬁnger, it went well. [(v) from
Study 3]−31−

This student was able to confirm the water level byLessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classrooms

Table 4 Questions for Ms. “C”

Question 1: Regarding “walking”
How do you walk without bumping into things or people?
What do you watch for when going up and down steps?
What do you do when you turn in a hallway or a corner in a town?
How do you walk when there are no walls or Braille signs?
What do you do when your came cannot reach the end of a wide street or when it is crowded orwhen you cannot use your came because there are so many people?
What do you do if you drop your came?
Do you walk with a came even in your house?
What do you do when crossing a pedestrian lane?
How do you know when it says “stop” in a pedestrian lane and when there is no sound?
What do you do when you lose your way?
Question 2: Regarding shoppingHow do you check your change when you buy something?
How do you decide what you want to buy when you go shopping?
How do you know products from their wrappers?
How do you discriminate between colored pencils?
How do you buy a ticket at a station?
Question 3: Regarding meals and living
What problems do you have when making meals?
How do you eat?
How do you use chopsticks?
Do you have difﬁculty drinking?
How do you select your clothing from the closet when dressing?
Do you make your own bed?
How do you hang your laundry?
How do you read the newspaper?
Do you often watch TV? How about radio? Which do you prefer?
How do you write letters? Can you also write hiragana or Chinese characters?
How do you draw pictures?
Question 4: Others
When do you use your cane?
What trouble do encounter when using your cane?
How difﬁcult is it to memorize Braille?
How do you know what time it is?
How do you play ball?
Have you ever folded a paper?
How do you play cards?
You were dealing with a “carrier service” person. But what would you do if it was somebody else?
How do you know when there is danger?
If you are used to life without sight, have you lost any feeling of uneasiness?
What is the most convenient thing for you to do?

−32−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

inserting her ﬁnger inside the cup. However, when she waspreparing for her presentation, she commented that she will
not like it if other people put their ﬁnger in her cup. During
her presentation, she was asked “What if it is hot water?”
So she realized that her method of dhecking the waterlevel was not such a good idea. When pouring water into acup, there is really only one method, that is, to pour water
carefully, so she thought this a activity was very difﬁcult.
However, when a blind person answered that she could tell
the amount of water in a cup from the weight of the cup orfrom the sound of the pouring of water, the children were
surprised, but were soon convinced.
Next, here are some opinions on the walking experience
while blindfolded.
“When I did not have a white cane, I could not follow
the course correctly. Many students tried to give me
directions by saying “go right” or “go left”, but I became
more confused. When I used a white cane, I did betterand I did not stray of the course.” (study 4)
By experiencing not being able to walk in the rightcourse when walking without a white cane, some children
started realizing the usefulness of such tools. In addition,
the children began to realize important considerations
when assisting people who are visually handicap ped. For
example, one child realized that people who are visuallyhandicapped may become more confused if many people
give them directions simultaneovsly.
(3) Assisting people who are visually handicapped
The children were divided into groups and they carriedout research stodies on Braille, guide dogs and Braille signs(they studied the use of paving blocks to aid people who are
visually handicapped) and presented their results to eachother. This is the opinion of one child who did a researchstudy on Braille.
“I went to the library and borrowed a book on Brailleso that I could try to learn it; nobody could memorize anyof the Braille signs. However, when we watched a videoof a blind person using Braille, we were amazed at howsmoothly the blind person could read the Braille signs.”
From this, the children carried out their own research on
Braille signs unfamiliar to them but which exists aroundthem. Afterwards, they openly expressed their feelings
about their ﬁndings.
The children simulated their experience of being visuallyhandicapped from studies 2 to 4, which perhaps explains
why they carried out their investigations with so muchenthusiasm. At the same time, they began to realize theimportance of Braille, guide dogs and Braille signs.
(4) Video message from a blind person (Ms. C)
Table 4 shows that questions listed by the children inall 4 classes, which were arranged and organized into amanuscript. When watching the video of blind person“C” responding to the questions, the children wrote thefollowing impressions:“I was amazed when I watched the video. She wasblind and yet she could fold a paper so easily”.
“When Ms. “C” was going about her daily chores, it
was marvelous to see that she could walk without using
her white cane.”“She has a Braille newspaper and she was reading it
for us. She was reading the Braill newspaper as fast as
we would normally read an ordinary newspaper.”When we analyzed the children’s opinions and reactions
when they were watching the video, most of them appeared
to be interested in the following three points; the fact that
she could walk without a cane, that she could fold a paper
and that she could read Braille or printed letters as fastas, or even faster than the children could. All the children
agreed that she was amazing. The children reolized that she
could do many activities even though she is blind.
(5) General impression
Twenty-nine children among 31 in classroom “B”,
excluding those who were absent, prepared a composition.
From all the compositions, we could observe that eachchild had become more aware of the inconveniences
and conveniences of daily life, and had learned more
about visual impairment and experienced being visuallyhandicapped, which are the aims of the lessons.
Furthermore, considering the aims for the whole six yearsof elementary education, we were able to observe two thingsfrom the children: their enhanced expression of compassion
toward people who are visually handicapped and theirexpression of their willingness to help handicapped.
Eighteen children said that they would like to express
their feelings openly. Of those children, 16 said “it was
marvelous to see that “MS. C” could accomplish so much”.
One child said that “he felt sorry” for people who are
visually handicapped, and one child said that he enjoyed
the simulation experience, but was concerned about “howpeople who are visually handicapped felt about it”.
The opinion that “it was amazing that people withvisually handicap could do  even though they could not−33−

Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in Ordinary Classroomssee” came forth because children actually realized throughtheir simulation experience that inconvenience is enhanced
if they cannot see. The things that people who are visuallyhandicapped do are not very different from the things
that normal people do. However, during the simulation
experience, the children also appeared to be thinking about
the effort exerted by people who are visually handicappedin the performance of their daily activities.

carefully obsorred the presentation of teaching materials or
the methods of presentation of the lessons to the children;
this process took much time. Despite the long period of
discussions, when the contents of the lessons were ﬁnallyestablished, the ordinary classroom teachers became
more and more enthusiastic and even took the initiative in
discussions. From then on, we were able to collaborate withthe teachers in presenﬁng the lessons enthusiastically.

Moreover, four children told us what they would do ifthey met a person with handicap. Of those four children,the last part of the composition of one child was written as
follows:“Ms. C could fold a paper very well but I could
not. I thought that she was so fantastic. She could also
play table tennis even though she could not see. I was
surprised that she could do things even though she could
not see. I thought that she would be able to do things do
you mean “with some handicap”. If I am brave enough,I think I would like to help someone who is visuallyhandicapped.”

Through this experience, the authors once again
recognized the importance of carefully planning lessons
in detail, partiwlarly for large groups such as ordinaryclasses. Such careful and meticulous preparations were
ﬁnally accomplished and ordinary classroom teachers andthe authors carried out their roles in accordance with thespecial features of each class. As a result, the lessons weredeveloped smoothly. If the authors took the initiative to planand give the lessons one-sidedly without fully discussing
them with the ordinary classroom teachers, such lesson
development might not have been possible.

Although this student said she wanted to help people withhandicap, she realized that they could also do things that she
can do, so she expressed her desire to help people who are
visually handicapped. Thus, even though there were only
a few children in this study, some of these children could
already fulﬁll the general aims of this program throughout
their six year elementary education.

Next, we observed the reactions of children during the“period of integrated study”. The children initially had
negative ideas about people who are visually handicapped.
For example, some children said “they cannot do anything”.
However, when the children exchanged video letters witha blind person, and receibed answers to their questions,
their negative opinions changed. Accordingly, we felt thatthe children learned a lot about handicaps and people withhandicaps.

IV. Summary
This report represents a trial study of the authors mainly
for the “Period of integrated study – How about a littlecompassion?” through the collaboration of the authors andordinary classroom teachers. Hereinafter is the summary ofthis trial study.
First, if we look back on the collaboration between
the authors and the ordinary classroom teachers, the FY
1999 trial study was a one-sided lesson from the authors.
However, through this lessons, children began to show aninterest in tsukyu classes and teachers, and the relationshipbetween children from ordinary classes and children from atsukyu class was deepened. Thus, we were able to establish
the grounds for collaboration in the following fiscal year.
It seems that the lessons a necessary process promotecollaboration.
Furthermore, in the FY 2000 collaboration, note thatit took “one and a half months” here and elsewhere of
discussions before the lessons could be started. Ordinaryclassroom teachers meticulvously planned each lesson and

The framework for evaluating the lessons is being
further examined. A child’s understanding of handicaps
and people with handicaps cannot be accomplished in justone lesson. Each child will think more about handicaps andbecome more aware of them through various experiences.
We are conﬁdent that the lessons learned at this time haveenhanced the children’s awareness of people who are
visually handicapped and provided an opportunity for themto think of ways on how to help them. With respect to thequestion “What can I do if meet a person with handicap?”,
because the lessons were a good opportunity for thechildren to realize the needs of a person with handicap, welook forward to and support the ideas of each child throughhis/her accumulated experience until graduation.
Acknowledgements: We would like to express our
gratitude to former principal Masaaki Ando, principal
Yukio Arai and vice-principal Masaya Ota at elementary
school “A”, all children who participated in the lessons, and
Ms.“C” who participated in the video letters.
Additional note: We obtained the permission of persons−34−

KUBOYAMA Shigeki & TOYOTA Hiromi

concerned for publishing the photos. This study was a joint
effort of teachers Yaemi Miura, Sachiko Ishioka, Chieko
Fotokebuchi, Katsuko Sugii and Sachiko Ehara.
References
１) National Institute of Special Education: Departmentof Education for Children with Speech and Hearing
Handicaps: Report on a Fact-ﬁnding Survey on Classes
for Hearing and Speech Handicaps and Tsukyu Classes
Nationwide, National Institute of Special Education,
1998.
２) HORI, A.: Cooperation Between Ordinary Class
Teachers and Tsukyu Teachers in “Guidance ThroughTsukyu”, NISE Bulletin, 74, 117-136, 1999.
３) TAHARA, Y.: Methods of Aiding Children with

Hearing Handicaps Mainly Through Collaboration with
Ordinary Classes – Search for Lessons to UnderstandHearing Handicaps Created by Both Normal Children
and Children with Hearing Handicaps, Report by Longterm Trainees on Special Education in Chiba Prefecture,
89-96, 2001.
４) TAHARA, Y.: What Color is Your Heart? Seibunsha,
2000b５) WHO: International Classification of Functioning andDisability and Health, 2001.
６) Teachers Conference of Speciﬁc Class for Speech andHearing Handicapped Children – Interim Report -theJapan Public Schools Research Conference for the
Education of Hearing and Speech Handicap, 2001.

−35−—Recieved June 5, 2003; Accepted April 27, 2004—

KANEKO Takeshi

Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children:
A Case Study

KANEKO Takeshi（Department of Policy & Planning）
Abstract: Picture books for blind children include pictures made with tactile materials to enhance understanding, but
occasionally these books have pictures that can not be understood tactually by blind children. The purpose of this study is tomake relevant and interesting picture books for blind children using pictures that can be understood tactually and, using thesebooks, to enhance the development of blind children and their learning. Examples of this inclnde improvements in tactile
perception, tactile imagery and the use of imagination when presented with pictures and stories, and the learning of Braille.
These aspects were investigated in a case study using picture books with a blind girl between the ages of 3 and 6. It was
found that, 1) tactile perception generally improved and “searching” and “tracing” tactile perception improved, 2) the child
expressed the stories using gestures and by manipulating 3-D models of the characters in the picture books. Consequently, hertactile images and imagination were enhanced, and 3) she developed an interest in the Braille used in picture books and thisbecame a basis for her learning of Braille.
Key Words: Picture books for blind children, Tactile perception, Imagery, Imagination, BrailleI. Introduction
Picture books for blind children are designed for visually
impaired children. They are made from tactile materials
or pictures manufactured through stereo copying or
embossing. Using these books, it is possible for visually
impaired children to understand the picture by touching it.
However, visually impaired children are sometimes unable
to enjoy tactile picture books because the pictures in them
are difﬁcult to understand through touching. Consequently,
we tried to produce enjoyable picture books with picturesthat blind children can easily understand through touch,and we examined their appropriateness by introducing
them to visually impaired preschoolers. As a result, if
such books are manufactured in accordance coith someof the guidelines developed in this research, we feel thatenjoyable picture books containing pictures that are easy tocomprehend through touch can be produced.3)
Furthermore, although the picture books themselves are
regarded as being enjoyable materials for children, which isconsidered most important, the utilization of picture books
may contribute to some areas of development and learningin children. In general, these areas include the ongoingexchange between children and persons reading the picture
books (such as mothers or nursing individuals), enhancing
children’s images and cultivating their imagination, andstimulating an interest in letters and their learning. 1) 4) 5)
Such contributions are also relevant for visually impairedpreschoolers. Furthermore, when visually impairedpreschoolers touch pictures in picture books, it is a good

opportunity to improve their methods of tactile perception.
With regards to improvements in tactile perception, we havealready developed two guidelines that are regarded as being
effective for such improvement.3)
In this study, we will discuss the case of one visually
impaired preschooler for whom progress was observed insome areas through activities utilizing picture books forblind children developed by us. This study covers threeareas: improvement in tactile perception, enhancing images
and cultivating imagination, and stimulating an interest inletters (Braille) and their learning.
II. Prerequisites for the Activities
As described above, in this study, we examine three areasin which we observed the progress of one visually impairedpreschooler through activities utilizing picture books forblind children. As a prerequisite for these activities, thespecial features and types of picture books used in thisstudy and the order of their introduction will be mentioned.
1. Characteristics of Picture Books for Blind Children inthis study
As stated earlier, the most important aspect of a picturebook is that it is enjoyable. Therefore, the pictures shouldbe easily understood by children, which is only naturalfor a picture book. In the case of picture books for blindchildren, the pictures should be easily understood byvisually impaired children through touching. In other−37−

Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children

words, objects represented by pictures should be adequately
understood. What does the picture describe? (Is it a humanbeing, monkey, turtle, balloon, soap, kitchen sink or slide?)This should be understood easily. The events represented
by the picture (the monkey is climbing a tree, the balloon is
gradually becoming bigger, the turtle has been overturned,
the soap is falling from a kitchen sink) should also be easily
recognizable.
On this precondition, the picture book should beenjoyable for children through its pictures and its story.
In this study, picture books for blind children thatwere regarded as satisfing the above-mentioned points
was considered a prerequisite. As for the picture books
themselves, at the beginning of the treatment, as mentioned
earlier, they were based on guidelines developed by us,
and then new picture books based on new policies were
utilized. In addition, we used some picture books based on
guidelines for improving tactile perception.
Further details of these guidelines and picture books
produced will be covered later in the explanation of the
progress of the treatment.
2. Types of Picture Books for Blind Children and Orderof Introduction in this Study
The types of picture books for blind children include
those composed of pictures by pasting tactile materials on
the pages, and those composed of raised pictures throughstereo copying or embossing. In the case of stereo copying,original images are copied on special stereo copying paper
and then processed using a stereo copier, so the black areasof the images are raised. The original images can be drawn
on a computer. Embossed pictures are composed of dottedlines and dotted patterns, and formed on Braille paper.
When utilizing computer software such as EDEL (createdby Mr. Norihiro Fujino) *(Note), a drawing can be made on
a computer and printed out on Braille paper using a Brailleprinter.
For picture books with tactile materials, depending on
the type of tactile materials pasted, information on their feel(smooth, rough, wooden or furry, etc.) can be transmitted
to the children, which is not true for other forms. Even
younger visually impaired children (preschoolers) are able
to extract information from the feel. Therefore, pasted
tactile materials are regarded to be most effective in theinitial stage of activities using picture books.
On the other hand, in the case of making an original
image for stereo copying or a embossed picture bycomputer drawings, a picture can be drawn more accurately
and easily. In other words, the structural elements of apicture can be arranged more accurately. Furthermore,

more complicated features such as an outline or lines canbe more accurately and easily drawn. In addition, after
entering school, when studying a curriculum, figures,graphs, diagrams, and maps produced by stereo copying or
embossing may be utilized.
In due consideration of the above, for the introductionof picture books to blind children, the sequential order isconsidered to be ﬁrst picture books utilizing pasted tactile
materials. After this, picture books for blind children madeby stereo copying or embossing can be introduced.
In the case of the visually impaired child (preschooler)
examined in this study, at the age of 3 years and 0 months,
a picture book for blind children utilizing pasted tactile
materials was introduced for the ﬁrst time. Subsequently, a
picture book utilizing stereo copying was introduced at theage of 4 years and 5 months.
By dividing this study into two periods based on theabove, we describe the results of each period.
III. a Case Study: Introduction
The child, M, is a girl born in May 1995. She wasa 23-week-old fetus and 696g at birth, and her vision
was only at the level of light sensation due to premature
retinopathy. From age 2, she started to attend supportclasses for visually impaired preschoolers in an institute forthe visually handicapped, once a week. Since the resource
room is visited by researchers, M was involved in researchfrom the time that she started to attend the institute.
She was involved in treatment through picture books forblind children produced from this study between the ages of
3 years and 0 months and 6 years and 2 months (as of July
2001). When picture books were introduced, she had no
problems in vocalizing her comprehension through spoken
language. In addition, she was able to turn the pages of thebooks herself.
IV. Progress of Treatment
1. Introducing Picture Books for Blind Children
Utilizing Tactile Materials
The picture books that were introduced to M for the ﬁrst
time utilized tactile materials pasted onto the pages, asmentioned above.
These picture books were based on guidelines developedby researchers to satisfy the prerequisites of being enjoyableand easy to comprehend by blind children (Kaneko, et al.
1999)3). Furthermore, to stimulate improvements in tactile
perception, picture books were based on the two guidelines(from the same study).

Note*: For further details on EDEL, please refer to the author’s homepage (http: homepage2.nifty.com/EDEL-plus/).

−38−

KANEKO Takeshi

Hereinafter, the guidelines on the production of picture
books for blind children and their contents will first be
discussed. Next, the results of the introduction of picture
books to M by describing her improvement in tactile
perception and the stimulation of her interest in letters(Braille) and their learning will be covered.
(1) Guidelines on Production(i) Basic Guidelines on Production
In the case of producing picture books for blind children,
to produce tactually appropriate pictures without relying on
intuition or experience and tracing ordinary visual pictures,the following basic guidelines were considered (Kaneko etal. 1999)3).
Picture books for blind children should be produced byutilizing various attributes (such as tactile materials, size,
number, shape, present position, direction and inclination)
in a self-conscious and appropriate manner. (For instance, inthe case of the picture of a balloon, the tactical material arerubber; 7cm in diameter; there is one balloon; it is round; itis located in the lower central part of the page.)
In addition, these basic guidelines were also adopted for
picture books for blind children utilizing stereo copying.
(ii) Guidelines on Producing Easy-to-Comprehend andFun-to-Touch Picture Books
Guidelines on producing easy-to-comprehend and fun-totouch picture books for blind children (Kaneko, et al. 1999)
are described brieﬂy as follows.
(i) Each picture in a picture book should be manufactured
by different tactile materials. Moreover, tactile
materials similar to the feel of the actual object should
be selected as much as possible. This enables a childto easily and clearly understand the picture by simply
placing her hand (or ﬁngers) on it. (For example, rubbermaterials for a balloon picture, fur materials for a cat,and paper that feels like stainless steel for a kitchensink.)(ii) The shape, regarded to be one of the attributes of apicture, should be simple. It should be a simple shapesuch as a straight line, circle or square wheneverpossible, or it should be composed of these elements.
(For example, a circle for a balloon and a square for a
kitchen sink.)(iii) As a method for producing enjoyable picture books,
even if the shape is simple, attributes other than the
shape such as the size, number, position, direction andinclination should be inventive. In particular, to makepicture books simpler and more enjoyable, only one
attribute in the same picture (for instance, only size or
only position) should be changed on each page. (Forexample, only the size of a balloon picture is changedor the position of a cat is changed in consecutive
pages.)(iv) To put the above-mentioned guidelines (I).-(III) into
practice, we create original stories and pictures to
produce tactile picture books. Then, applying thelessons learned through this process, other tactile
picture books are produced on the basis of existing
picture books for sighted children.
(iii) Guidelines on Improving Tactile Perception
The guidelines on improving tactile perception are as
follows.
(i) To encourage “searching” with hands or fingers, theposition of specific pictures or structural elements inpicture books should be changed on each page.
(ii) To create movement by “tracing” with hands or ﬁngers,
pictures using straight lines, rectangles or circles (orstructural elements), which are considered to stimulate achild to trace should be included in picture books.
(2) Contents of Picture Books Created for BlindChildrenOn the basis of the above-mentioned “basic guidelines”
and “guidelines for easy-to-comprehend and fun-to-touch
picture books”, 8 picture books were created by pastingtactile materials on pages.
The pictures were created by pasting tactile materials on
the left page of double pages with the story written beneathor on the right page. The text was initially not in Braille but
comprised normal letters, and an intervener read the text out
loud. The right side of the picture book was bound so that achild turned pages from left to right.
For further details on these picture books, please refer toTable 1 and Kaneko, et al. (1999)3). In Table 1, among the 8
picture books, four picture books made in an earlier study
and mentioned in this study and one after the earlier study
are listed.
Figure 1 shows the examples of pages from picture
books.
Furthermore, of the 8 picture books, the above-mentioned
guideline (i) in “guidelines on improving tactile perception”
was incorporated into 3 picture books “Balloon”, “Soap”
and “Cat”. In the picture books “Soap” and “Nuts”,
guideline (ii) was incorporated.

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Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children

Slippery paper

Communication
board

RubberWhen trying to reach forsoap on a kitchen sink, it
fell down because it wasslippery.

A mother bought a small
balloon for daughter at a
festival.
Paper feeling like stainless steel

ThreadFelt(a) First page of the picture book “Balloon”.

(b) First page of the picture book “Soap”.

Figure 1: Examples of picture books for blind children utilizing pasted tactile materials (the picture materials are also indicated).

Table 1: Picture books for blind children utilizing tactile materials (Roman numerals ﬁgures in the table correspond to each page).

1. Picture book “Balloon” [Pasteboard is B5 and lengthwise]<Story> A balloon held in a girl’s hand gradually became bigger and lifted her up into the air. It was then pecked by acrow and burst and scattered, which turned out to be a dream.
<Pictures>(i) In this picture, the girl [6.5cm high, felt clothing, her face is a circle made of communication board (Note 1)] (Note 2)
is holding a balloon (circle of rubber material) (2cm in diameter). (The balloon is in the center of the pasteboard andthe girl is to its lower left side.) (The balloon and the girl’s hand are joined by a thread.)(ii) In this picture, the balloon is a little larger (4cm in diameter). (The girl is not in the picture.)(iii) In this picture, the balloon is even larger (6 cm in diameter). (Same as above.)(iv) In this picture, the balloon is bigger still (8 cm in diameter). (Same as above.)(v) In this picture, the balloon is in a higher position.
(vi) In this picture, a crow (furry material, its bill is made of hard paper) pecks at the balloon.
(ⅶ) In this picture, the balloon bursts and scatters (it is divided into an 8 in a fan shape, 5mm between each piece). (Sameas above.)(ⅷ) In this picture, the balloon returns to its original shape and size and the girl is holding it again [as in picture (i)].
<Text>(i) A mother bought a balloon for her daughter at a festival.
(ii) She hoped that the balloon would become larger. Suddenly, like magic, it got bigger and bigger.
(iii) It got bigger and bigger.
(iv) It got even bigger still.
(v) To her surprise, the girl started to ﬂoat up into the air, so she held on tight.
(vi) Suddenly, a crow appeared, and wondering what it was, he started to peck at the balloon.
(ⅶ) The balloon burst and the girl began to fall.
(ⅷ) The girl woke up startled. It was just a dream. She was still holding the balloon tightly in her hand.
2. Picture book “Soap” [Pasteboard is B5 and lengthwise]<Story> Soap on a kitchen sink falls down and a cat, carrying it in its mouth, goes to a park to put it on a slide. Then, thesoap falls down the slide, into a pond and dissolves.
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KANEKO Takeshi<Pictures>(i) In this picture, soap (small rectangle, 1.5cm x 2cm, slippery paper pasted on a base of thick paper) is on the top-rightcorner of a kitchen sink (large square 7cm long, paper feeling like stainless steel is pasted on a base of thick paper).
(ii) In this picture, the soap is on the bottom right-corner of the kitchen sink.
(iii) In this picture, a cat (facing left with its mouth open, 5.5cm x 12cm, made of furry material) takes the soap in its
mouth.
(iv) In this picture, there is a slide and the soap is on the top of it. (see Picture below). (Steps are made using threerectangles, the slope is drawn with oblique lines of 7mm in width and 7.5cm in length, wood board material).
(v) In this picture, the soap is at the bottom of the slope (oblique line).
(vi) In this picture, there is a pond (circle, 7cm in diameter and 7mm wide, plastic material) and the soap is in it.
(ⅶ) In this picture, we see only the pond without the soap.
<Text>(i) When a girl tried to grab some soap off a kitchen sink, the soap slipped and fell down.
(ii) The soap fell onto the ﬂoor with a bang.
(iii) The cat took the soap in her mouth and ran away.
(iv) The cat took it to the top of a slide.
(v) When she reached for the soap, it started to slip down the slide.
(vi) The soap slipped down the slope faster and faster then fell into a pond.
(ⅶ) The soap started to bubble and then it disappeared.
<Picture>

3. Picture book “Nut” [Pasteboard is B5 and lengthwise]<Story> A girl tried to take nuts from a high tree, but she couldn’t reach them. She couldn’t reach them even using a stand.
An elephant came to try and take the nuts but couldn’t reach them. Then a giraffe came to try to take them, but without
success. Finally, a monkey came, climbed up the tree and then took the nuts. The monkey shared the nuts with the girl.
<Pictures>(i) In this picture, there is a tree full of nuts on the right side of the pasteboard (wooden board 7mm in width and 15cm inlength represents the tree trunk; plastic circle-shaped board 1.5cm in diameter represents round nuts attached to the topof the tree; four artiﬁcial leaves are arranged around it) and the girl is reaching out toward the nuts on a tree from theleft side (5.5cm in height, distance between girl’s hand and nuts is quite far).
(ii) In this picture, the tree does not change its position and the girl on the left side is on a stand (3cm in length, made withwood).
(iii) In a similar manner, in this picture the tree does not change position and an elephant is facing toward the right (hisnose is reaching for the nuts, 12cm in height).
(iv) In a similar manner, in this picture a giraffe is facing toward the right (her neck is reaching for nuts, 13.5cm in height).
(v) In this picture, a monkey (4.5cm in height) facing toward the right is on the bottom-left reaching out to touch the tree.
(vi) In this picture, the monkey is on the center-left side of the tree reaching out to touch it.
(ⅶ) In this picture, the monkey is on the top-left and reaching for the nuts.
(ⅷ) In this picture, the girl and the monkey face each other on the left side of the tree and reach out to touch the nuts in thecenter (there are no nuts on the tree).
(The elephant, giraffe and monkey are made with different types of furry as elsewhere materials).

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Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children<Text>(i) A girl went to a forest to search for nuts. There were some nuts on the top of a tree, but they were so high that she
couldn’t reach them.
(ii) The girl tried using a stand, but she still couldn’t reach them.
(iii) Then, an elephant came. The elephant also wanted to get the nuts and tried extending his long nose, but he couldn’t
reach the nuts because they were too high.
(iv) Next, a giraffe came. The giraffe also wanted to get the nuts and tried to extend her long neck. She could reach theleaves, but she couldn’t reach the nuts.
(v) Finally, a monkey appeared. The monkey also tried to get the nuts. “I will climb up this tree!” he said.
(vi) The monkey easily climbed up the tree.
(ⅶ) When he reached the top of the tree, he could get the nuts easily.
(ⅷ) The monkey shared the nuts with the girl. “They were so delicious!” she said.
4. Picture book “Cat” [Pasteboard is B5 paper lengthwise]<Story> A cat who loves to go for walks went for a walk along a wall, took a nap on the roof of a house, woke up and thencame down. She then encountered a disgusting dog. She ran home in confusion to ﬁnd her favorite ﬁsh had been preparedfor supper.
<Picture>(i) In this picture, the cat is on the bottom of the page (made with furry material, 6cm high) facing toward the left side.
(ii) The cat is in the center of the page and there is a wall (rectangle) underneath. (The lower end of the wall is where thecat was before in (i).)(iii) The cat is at the top of the page and the roof of a house is below (other parts of the house are below). (Same as above.)(iv) The cat is at the bottom-right of the page and a dog is on the left side (different fur materials for the dog and cat, 7cm
large). Both animals face each other.
(v) The cat is in the same position as above and the ﬁsh is on the left (rough plastic material, 5cm in length).
<Text>(i) There was a cat. She loved to go for walks. “It’s such a nice day, so I think I’ll go for a walk!” she said. She went out.
(ii) She walked along a wall.
(iii) She climbed up onto the roof of her neighbor’s house and took a nap.
(iv) After she woke, she climbed down only to encounter a disgusting dog. She ran home in confusion.
(v) When she returned home, her supper was ready. To her surprise, it was her favorite ﬁsh. She ate a lot of ﬁsh until she
was full.
5. Picture book “The Wind and the Tree” [Pasteboard is A4 and horizontal]<Story> A tree was blown by the north wind and about to fall down, but it recovered thanks to the south wind. However,since the south wind continued to blow, this time it leaned toward the opposite side and was about to fall down. Luckily, thenorth wind blew again and returned the tree to its original position.
<Pictures>(i) In this picture, the tree is in the center of the page. (Wooden board 7mm in width and 15cm in length represents thetree trunk, 4 sheets for artiﬁcial leaves are arranged around the top.) For the tree, the trunk is drawn vertically from thebottom of the page.
(ii) In this picture, the tree is inclined 45 degrees toward the right side of the page.
(iii) Same as (i), picture of the vertical tree.
(iv) In this picture, the tree is inclined 45 degrees toward the left side.
(v) Same as (i) and (iii), picture of the vertical tree.
<Text>(i) A tall tree stood in the center of a ﬁeld.

−42−

KANEKO Takeshi(ii) One day, a big wind blew from the north, the tree bent and was about to fall down. The tree was worried, and it
thought, “Oh no! What can I do?”(iii) Then, from the opposite side, a wind blew from the south and helped the tree to recover. The tree felt relieved, andthought, “That’s better.”(iv) But, the south wind didn’t stop blowing, so the tree bent toward the opposite side this time. The tree was worried, andthought, “This is not good.”(v) To his surprise, the north wind blew again and helped the tree recover. “Thank Heaven, I’m safe!” he said.
(Note 1) Kent paper is pasted on both sides of styrene foam. Because of the sandwiching of the styrene foam, the feel isdifferent from pasteboard, even though the same Kent paper is used.
(Note 2) Hereinafter, the modeling of people in other picture books is based on this description. In addition, some legs orhands are made with the same communication board as used for the faces.

(3) Results of Using the Picture Books(i) Improvement in Tactile Perception(a) Change in Touching and Picture Comprehension
Before the introduction of these picture books when
M was 2 years and 0 months old, she was often observed
scratching with her pointing finger and its nail as a wayof touching and manipulating objects that researchers had
introduced.
This behavior had almost completely disappeared by theage of 2 years and 11 months (April 1998).
One month later, at the age of 3 years and 0 months (May1998), the above-mentioned picture books were introduced
for the first time. At that time, she would use the bulb of
the pointing ﬁnger of either hand to touch any place on the
picture. The tip of her finger did not move when she left
her finger on the picture. From the scratching movement
mentioned earlier, although she did not scratch the pictures,
we feel that her way of touching with the tips of her ﬁnger
remained.
Even by touching with the tips of her ﬁngers, she could
understand the contents of a picture because the tactile
materials were different in each picture.
For example, in the picture book “Balloon”, she could
comprehend the balloon through the rubber tactile material
and the crow from the fur. However, by touching in thisway, she could not understand the size or shape of a picture.
For example, in “Balloon”, the size of the circular balloon
grows in diameter from 2cm to 8cm as the pages progress.
Perceiving the changes in size was an important part ofthis picture book; however, M did not notice the change inballoon size through her touching style.
Consequently, a member in the institute would guide thetips of her ﬁngers from the left end of the balloon’s surface(or the right end) to the right end (left end).
After repeating this, M spontaneously began doing

this for the balloon pictures. However, her direction of
movement was from top to bottom instead of left (right) toright (left). By touching in this way, she could grasp the sizeof the balloon.
Two months later (two months after the introduction of
the picture books), after tracing the picture of a balloon
from top to bottom, she would tap the picture with the palmof her hand.
Six months after the introduction of the picture books,
at the age of 3 years and 6 months (November 1998),
instead of just pointing she began to feel the pictures withher fingers other than pointing finger or the palm of her
hand. For the balloon pictures, we discovered that she used
5 fingers and the palm of her hand. Through this way of
touching, she was able to easily grasp the change in size ofthe balloon.
(b) The “Searching” Motion
Picture books for blind children based on guideline(i) in “guidelines on improving tactile perception” wereintroduced to M. As a result, with respect to the change inthe position of the balloon in the picture book “Balloon”,
the soap in the picture book “Soap” and the cat in the
picture book “Cat”, in the early stages of introduction
when she was between 3 years and 0 months and 3 years 1
month old, we observed the searching motion of her handor fingers for these pictures. When she turned the pages,
the searching motion of her hand or ﬁngers occurred when
pictures were positioned differently from the previous page.
(see Figure 2)
We sometimes mentioned that they (the balloon, the soap,
and the cat) reached the top or the bottom of the page andthen asked “Where did it go?”, but would rarely guide her
hand.
(c) The “Tracing” Motion−43−

The picture books “Soap” and “Nuts” based on guideline

Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children(a) Change in position of the balloon in the picture book “Balloon” (pages 4 to 5).

(b) Exemples of change in position of the soap in the picture book “Soap” (pages 4 to 6).
Figure 2: Change in position of pictures that stimulated the “searching” motion.

(ii) in “guidelines on improving tactile perception” wereintroduced to M. As a result, a “tracing” motion for the
picture of the slope of the slide (oblique line of 7.5cm) in
the picture book “Soap” and the tree trunk (straight line of
15cm in length) in the picture book “Nuts” arose 6 months
after the introduction (at 3 years and 6 months). (see Figure
3.)
After their introduction, we did not provide any handassistance.
As mentioned in Kaneko, et al. (1999), for another childwith visual impairments, the tracing motion appeared 4
months (at 3 years and 2 months) after the introduction of“Soap” to a child at age 2 years and 10 months.
On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, M’s searchingmotion was observed when the picture books were first
introduced. The other visually impaired child was also
observed to search in a similar manner. However, thisvisually impaired child was different from M, because wesometimes guided her hand through the tracing motions.
But, she did not move her hand spontaneously following
such assistance.
As mentioned above, the tracing motion appears to be
more difﬁcult than the searching motion. However on thebasis of these two cases, if blind children can regularly
touch picture books that include straight or oblique lines,

we think the tracing motion before long arises. On the other
hand, even if we guide their hands, one could say that it is
difﬁcult to initiate a spontaneous tracing motion.
The reason for this, as mentioned in Kaneko, et al.
(1999), may be that the searching motion arises regularly
in daily life, whereas the tracing movement may arise lessfrequently. In addition, in our daily lives objects can be
distinguished or identified in a tactile manner by simply
holding or gripping them, which makes tracing their
outlines unnecessary.
(ii) Stimulating an Interest in Letters (Braille) and Their
Learning
For the words of the story and the title of the cover
page in the picture books produced in the study, when M
was age 3 years and 8 months (January 1999), in addition
to ordinary letters, Braille in transparent tag paper was
attached, because we expected that M might touch them.
As a result, M touched Braille letters when reading(feeling) a picture book at age 4 years and 0 months (May1999), which developed into an interest in Braille. When
M touched Braille, she sometimes asked the assistant what
the part she touched said. Furthermore, during the same
period M even began to show an interest in Braille in places−44−

KANEKO Takeshi

Figure 3: Tracing motion in the picture books “Soap” and “Nuts” (the arrows show the direction of motion).

other than picture books (such as Braille room names on
handrails within the facilities).
2. After Introducing Picture Books for Blind Children in
the Form of Stereo Copying
At age 4 years and 5 months (October 1999), in addition
to picture books for blind children using the abovementioned tactile materials, picture books for blind childrenthat utilized stereo copying were produced and introduced
to M. In these books, original drawings for stereo copying
were created on a computer.
Hereinafter, the guidelines for producing picture books
for blind children utilizing stereo copying and the contentsof picture books based on this will ﬁrst be described. Afterthese picture books were introduced to M, there was an
improvement in her tactile perception, enhancement in her
imagery and imagination, and a greater interest in learning
letters (Braille). This will then be discussed.
(1) Guidelines on Production(i) Guidelines on Easy-to-Comprehend and Fun-toTouch Picture Books
When producing picture books through stereo copying,
it is impossible to discriminate between pictures throughdifferences in tactile materials in the same manner as thosewith pasted tactile materials. Guideline (i) in the “easy-tocomprehend and fun-to-touch pecture books guidelines”
for picture books for blind children using pasted tactile
materials cannot be utilized.
However, if attributes other than tactile materials such assize, number, shape, position, direction or inclination wereused inventively, we thought that each book would become
easy to understand and fun. Furthermore, for the structuralelements of a picture, to distinguish the major elementsfrom other elements, we decided to incorporate differencesin paintings and drawings (outlines). The guidelines are
summarized below.
(i) Attributes other than tactile materials such as size,
number, shape, position, direction or inclination
should be used inventively.
(ii) The major structural elements on each page should
be expressed through painting, while other elements
should be expressed through drawings (outlines) foreasy identiﬁcation.
(ii) Guidelines on Improving Tactile Perception
Compared with pasting tactile materials, the advantage
in the case of creating original drawings on a computer for
stereocopying is that a picture (and its structural elements)
can be arranged accurately and easily. It is also possible todraw more complicated lines such as bending lines, curvedlines and spiral lines. Of these, the former is superior
when producing pictures to stimulate the more advanced
searching motion to improve tactile perception. The latter isadvantageous in the case of stimulating the more advanced
tracing motion by producing more complex lines in picture
books.
With due consideration of the above, the following
guidelines on stimulating improvement in tactile perception
were followed.

−45−(i) To establish more advanced searching motion, placing
the one hand on base points and searching with theother hand, two related pictures (on two related
structural elements) should be arranged relative tovertical, horizontal or oblique positions.

Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children(ii) For the development of more advanced tracing
movement, more complicated lines such as obliquelines, bending lines, curved lines and spiral or longer
lines should be arranged in picture books as a picture(or its structural element).
(2) Contents of Picture Books for Blind Children
The form of production is the same as for the abovementioned pasting of tactile materials, other than raised
pictures, which are made by stereo copying.
All the pictures and stories were produced by us.

Furthermore, all of the original drawings were drawn on acomputer for greater accuracy and easy modiﬁcation.
Five picture books for blind children were produced on
the basis of the above-mentioned guidelines. For further
details, please refer to Table 2. In addition, examples ofpictures are shown in Figure 4.
Of the ﬁve above-mentioned picture books, one picturebook “Butterﬂy” was produced by incorporating guideline(i) in “guidelines on improving tactile perception”. Two
picture books “Norimaki: Vinegar Rice Rolled in Laver”
and “Adventure of the Grass Bead” were produced byincorporating guideline (ii) of the same guidelines.

(b) The second page.

(a) The ﬁrst page.

(c) The third page.

(d) The sixth page.

Figure 4: Examples of a picture book for blind children utilizing stereo copying(based on the picture book “The Turtle Picnic”, only pictures are shown).

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KANEKO Takeshi

Table 2: Picture books for blind children utilizing stereo copying (the roman numerals in the table correspond to each page)

1. Picture book “The Turtle Picnic” [Paper is A4 and horizontal] < stereo copying><Story> A family of turtles, father, mother and baby go on a picnic in the forest. The family travels in the order of father,mother and baby. On the way, father turtle is overturned, mother turtle becomes frightened and jumps, and baby turtle loses
his way. They eventually arrive safely in the forest, play happily and eat lunch. On the way home, mother turtle rides onfather, and baby turtle rides on mother. They return home.
<Pictures>(i) A picture of father, mother and baby turtle in a row from left to right. In the center of the page, semicircles of 7cm,
4cm and 2cm in diameter are shown with the diameter sides down. (The inside of each semicircle is painted). The
space between each turtle is 3cm.
(ii) A picture of father turtle overturned. Father turtle is represented by placing the diameter-side up.
(iii) A picture of mother turtle frightened and jumping. Mother turtle is represented by placing the semicircle 6cm higher.
(iv) A picture of baby turtle losing his way. This is represented by the disappearance of the baby turtle.
(v) A picture of the family eating lunch together. The turtles are in the center of the page in the order of father, baby andmother from left to right, with a spacing of 1.5cm.
(vi) A picture of mother turtle riding on the back of father turtle, and baby turtle riding on her back. This is represented
by arranging the turtles in the order of father, mother and baby turtle from the bottom in the center of the page. Eachspace is 5mm.
<Text>(i) A turtle family went on a picnic in the forest. Mother turtle walked behind father turtle, and baby turtle walked behindmother turtle.
(ii) On their way, father turtle stumbled over a stone and was overturned.
(iii) Mother turtle was very frightened by a snake and jumped.
(iv) Baby turtle lost his way.
(v) However all of them played happily and ate lunch together in the forest.
(vi) On the way back, mother turtle rode on father turtle’s back, and baby turtle rode on mother’s back. They quietly wenthome.
2. Picture Book “Norimaki” Vinegar Rice Rolled in Laver [Paper is A4 horizontal] <stereo copying><Story> A girl makes Norimaki (vinegar rice rolled in laver) together with her mother. At ﬁrst, she makes a round Norimaki
by rolling once, twice and three times. Next, a square Norimaki is made in a similar manner by rolling once, twice and threetimes.
<Pictures>(i) A picture of a round Norimaki being rolled once. This is represented by spiral lines with an inside diameter of 4cm, thediameter of the outside circle is 6cm (line thickness is 1mm).
(ii) A picture of a round Norimaki being rolled twice. This is a double spiral line. By drawing a circle once through theend of the outside line of (i), the picture is connected (diameter of outside circle is 10cm).
(iii) A picture of a round Norimaki being rolled three times. In a similar manner as (ii), this is a triple spiral line created byadding one more line (diameter of outside circle is 14cm).
(iv) A picture of a square Norimaki being rolled once. This is a square spiral line of 4cm on the inside and 6cm on theoutside (line thickness is 1mm).
(v) A picture of a square Norimaki being rolled twice. In a similar manner as the round Norimaki, this is a double squareline created by connecting the lines (length of outside square is 10cm).
(vi) A picture of a square Norimaki being rolled three times. In a similar manner as the round Norimaki, this is triple squareline created by connecting the lines (length of outside square is 14cm).

−47−

Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children<Text>(i) A girl made Norimaki together with her mother. She rolled out a round Norimaki once.
(ii) She rolled it twice.
(iii) She rolled it three times and it was ready to serve.
(iv) Then, she rolled a square Norimaki once.
(v) She rolled it twice.
(vi) She rolled it three times and it was ready to serve.
3. Picture Book “Adventure of Marble Boy” [Paper is A4 horizontal] <stereo copying><Story> A marble boy went out to play outside his house on a hill. On the way, he passed various types of hills, a beetle
pushed him up a hill and he fell down into a hole. A mole then helped him to get out from the hole.
<Pictures>(i) The road is represented by a line 1mm in width. A horizontal line of 4cm is at the top left of the page. An oblique line
runs 40 degrees downward for 11cm from the right end of this line, and a horizontal line runs 4cm from the right endof the line. The marble boy is represented by painting a circle 1.5cm in diameter. The marble boy is located on thehorizontal line in the top left of the road (distance between the horizontal line and the marble boy is 3mm).
(ii) The road is the same as (i). The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the bottom right.
(iii) The road is a horizontal line running 24.5cm along the bottom of the page. The marble boy is in the center on thehorizontal line.
(iv) For the road, horizontal lines of 4cm are drawn on the top left and top right of the page. Two lines of length 10.5cm
are in the center, bending downwards (angle of slope is approximately 40°) and connected. The marble boy is on thehorizontal line at the top left.
(v) The road is the same as (iv). The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the top right.
(vi) For the road, through each horizontal line of 3cm on the botton left and bottom right of the page, an oblique line of
10cm at 40 degrees from bottom left to top right, a horizontal line of 3cm and an oblique line of 10cm at 40 degrees
toward the bottom right are connected. The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the bottom left of the page.
(ⅶ) The road is the same as (vi). The marble boy is on the horizontal line in the center of the top part. On the left side, abeetle is on the oblique line. The beetle is made by drawing lines, as shown in picture (a), and has a 3cm body lengthand a 1.5cm for the long horn.
(ⅷ) The road is the same as (vi). The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the bottom right of the page.
(ⅸ) The road (under the ground) is expressed by lines as shown in picture (b). The position of the marble boy is shown inpicture.
(ⅹ) The road (under the ground) is the same as (ix). The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the top right.
(xi) The hole is represented by connecting two 10.5cm horizontal lines from top left and top right, two vertical 7cm lines
downward from the center, and the 4cm horizontal line. The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the top left of thepage.
(xii) The road (including the hole) is the same as (xi). The marble boy is on the horizontal line in the hole.
(xiii) The road (including the hole) is the same as (xi) except that there are no horizontal lines under the hole. In the hole, amole is 1.5cm from the top line. The mole is made by a line drawing, as shown in Picture (c). Its size is 7cm x 3.5cm.
The marble boy is on the horizontal line at the top right of the page.
<Text>(i) A marble boy went out to play outside his house on a hill.
(ii) He went rolling down the hill.
(iii) He kept going.
(iv) He was ﬁne going on such a hill.
(v) He could go to the top of the hill.
(vi) But, he could not go up such a hill.
(ⅶ) When he was considering what to do, his friend the beetle came. “I can push you up to the top of the hill” he said.
The beetle pushed him up to the top. “Thank you. I am alright now,” the marble boy said. The marble boy thanked thebeetle.

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KANEKO Takeshi(ⅷ) Then he rolled down the hill.
(ⅸ) “Ah!” It looks like he fell into a hole.
(ⅹ) But, the hole spiraled up. “Ah!” He came out of another hole.
(xi) He went rolling again, but there was another hole. “Ah! There’s another hole. The previous time I was OK, so thistime I will be OK, too.” he said, Just as he thought that, he fell down into the hole.
(xii) But, this time the hole was a dead end.
(xiii) “What shall I do?” he asked himself. As he was thinking about it, a mole, surprised that something had fallen into thehole, poked his head out of the hole. So, the mole pushed the marble boy so he could escape the hole. He then became
friends with the mole.
<Pictures>

4. Picture Book “Butterﬂy” [Paper is A4 horizontal] <stereo copying><Story> There was once a family of butterflies. The baby practiced flying by following his father. He flew vertically,horizontally and diagonally around some ﬂowers. On the way, they took a rest on some ﬂowers. Finally, they sat on a ﬂower
and ate some honey.
<Pictures>(i) The butterﬂy is shown in Picture (a); father butterﬂy is 6cm x 7cm and baby butterﬂy is 2.5cm x 3cm. In this picture,father butterﬂy is on the left side of the page and baby butterﬂy is on the right side. They are 5cm apart.
(ii) Father butterﬂy is in the top center of the page and baby butterﬂy is 6cm below.
(iii) By turning the picture of the butterﬂy shown in Picture (a) 90 degrees, father butterﬂy moves to the left of the pageand baby butterﬂy is 6cm to the right.
(iv) Father butterﬂy is at the top left of the page at 45 degrees to picture (a) and baby butterﬂy is 10cm away and at 45
degrees, toward the bottom right.
(v) The ﬂower shown in Picture (b) is situated on the left side of the page, and the length of the stem is 9cm. Next, anotherﬂower, with a 5cm stem is drawn, 6cm to the right. Father butterﬂy is on the left ﬂower and baby butterﬂy is on theright ﬂower. The direction of the butterﬂies is shown in Picture (a). The space between the ﬂowers and the butterﬂies
is 5mm.
(vi) A ﬂower shown in Picture (c) [made by removing the stem and leaves from Picture (b)] is located in the center of thepage. The size of the ﬂower is 4cm x 4cm. Father butterﬂy is facing in the direction shown in Picture (a) and is 2cm
left of the ﬂower. Baby butterﬂy is 2cm right of the ﬂower and by turning 180 degrees in direction to father, is on theright.
(ⅶ) The ﬂower and its position are the same as (vi). Father butterﬂy, by turning 45 degrees clockwise, is in the top left tothe ﬂower, and baby butterﬂy, in the same way, is in the bottom right to the ﬂower. The distance between the ﬂower
and the butterﬂies is the same as in (vi).
(ⅷ) The ﬂower is the same as (vi). By turning 45 degrees clockwise (90 degrees cloclcwise from the picture shown in
Picture (a)), father butterﬂy is on the upper side of the ﬂower, and by turning 45 degrees clockwise, baby butterﬂy ison the bottom of the ﬂower.
(ⅸ) Flowers with stems are arranged in a similar manner as (v). Baby butterﬂy is on the left ﬂower and father butterﬂy ison the right ﬂower. The distance between the butterﬂies and the ﬂowers is 5mm.
<Text>(i) There was a family of butterﬂies. The baby butterﬂy could not ﬂy well yet, so he practiced ﬂying by watching hisfather.

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Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children(ii) They ﬂew vertically in a straight line.
(iii) They ﬂew horizontally in a straight line.
(iv) They ﬂew diagonally.
(v) When they were tired, they stopped to rest on some ﬂowers. Father butterﬂy rested on a tall ﬂower. Baby butterﬂy
rested on a short ﬂower.
(vi) They ﬂew around the ﬂowers. At ﬁrst, father butterﬂy faced upwards and baby butterﬂy faced downwards.
(ⅶ) After a while, they flew around; father butterfly faced diagonally upwards. Baby butterfly faced diagonally
downwards.
(ⅷ) Then, they ﬂew around some more. Father butterﬂy faced right and baby butterﬂy faced left.
(ⅸ) When they got tired of ﬂying, they stopped again to rest on some ﬂowers. But this time, baby butterﬂy took a rest on atall ﬂower, and father butterﬂy took a rest on a short ﬂower. Then they had a delicious snack of honey.
<Pictures>

5. Picture book “The Sea Bathing Turtles” [Paper is A4 horizontal] <stereo copying><Story> A family of turtles went sea bathing. The family marched in the order of father, mother and baby. On the way,father turtle sank into the ground, mother turtle fell into a hole, and baby turtle had difﬁculty climbing up a hill. However,they arrived at the sea safely and began sea bathing. The family swam on top of the waves and under the waves.
<Pictures>(i) A Father, mother and baby turtle are lined up from the left. In the center of the page, the turtles are represented bysemicircles 7cm, 4cm and 2cm in diameter, respectively (inside of semicircle is painted). 3mm beneath them, a road isrepresented by a horizontal line of 23cm (1mm in width). The distance between each turtle is 3cm.
(ii) A picture showing the position of father turtle who has moved 1.2cm down. The others are in the same position as in (i).
(iii) As (i), but there is a hole under father turtle. The hole is 5cm wide (for this, the horizontal line of the road is deleted)and 4.6cm deep.
(iv) As (i), a hole similar to that in (iii) is made under mother turtle. Then, mother turtle is placed in the hole below thehorizontal line.
(v) From the center left of the page, a road is represented by an oblique line 23cm at 20 degrees to the horizontal and a
3cm horizontal line is drawn towards the right. In the order of father, mother and baby, they are lined up on the centerof the slope 2.5cm apart. The bottoms of the semicircles are parallel to the road.
(vi) The angle of a road in (v) is changed to 36 degrees. The bottom of the turtle family is parallel to the road; only the
distance of baby turtle from mother turtle is changed to 6cm.
(ⅶ) By transposing the left and right of the road in (vi), it changes to a downward slope toward the right with a 3cm
horizontal line on the left. The bottom of the turtle family is parallel to the slope, father turtle is located near thehorizontal line, mother and baby turtles are situated 5mm apart on the slope in order.
(ⅷ) The line shown in the Picture is used to represent waves. Three waves are arranged vertically on the left side of thepage. The size of a wave is 3.5cm x 13cm. On the right side of each wave, father, mother and baby turtles are arranged.
The distance between the waves is 2.5cm. The distance between each wave and the center of the turtle on the right is
5cm.
(ⅸ) The wave shown in the Picture is drawn 6cm x 22cm in size; only one wave appears in the center of the page. Father
turtle is on the left peak, mother turtle is at the bottom of the wave, and baby turtle is on the right peak.
(ⅹ) On the road in (i), father turtle is in the center, mother and baby turtle are arranged on him. The turtles are 3mm above
each other.

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KANEKO Takeshi<Text>(i) A family of turtles went sea bathing. Mother turtle walked behind father turtle, and baby turtle walked behind motherturtle.
(ii) On the way, father turtle sank into the soft ground.
(iii) When father turtle ﬁnally got out, there was a hole in the ground. Father turtle could not fall down into the hole.
(iv) However, mother turtle fell into the hole. Father and baby turtle helped to pull mother out of the hole.
(v) They went on for a little while and they came across a hill. The hill didn’t pose much of a problem.
(vi) But, baby turtle had difﬁculty climbing the next hill. Baby turtle got left behind. But he kept on trying to climb thehill.
(ⅶ) Soon, they were going downhill, so mother turtle almost bumped into father turtle, and baby turtle almost bumped intomother turtle.
(ⅷ) Eventually they made it down the hill and came to the sea.
(ⅸ) All of them swam together. The waves were so high that father and baby were on top of the waves and mother turtle
was under the waves.
(ⅹ) They really enjoyed that. As they were going home, mother turtle rode on father’s back and baby turtle rode on
mother’s back. Finally they arrived home happily.
<Picture>(3) Results of Using the Picture Books(i) Improvement in Tactile Perception(a) Change in Touching and Picture Comprehension
Of the five picture books for blind children that utilize
the above-mentioned stereo copying, the picture book “The
Turtle Picnic” was introduced to M for the ﬁrst time at age
4 years and 5 months (October 1999).
In this picture book, the three turtles, the father, motherand baby, were represented by large, medium and small
semicircles (painted). When father turtle was overturned
after stumbling over a stone, he is turned 180 degree,when mother was frightened and jumped, her position is
moved upwards, and when baby turtle lost his way, this isrepresented by his removal from the picture. In the story, thefamily of turtles went on a picnic in the forest incorporating
the above-mentioned episodes.
When we introduced this picture book to M, although she
could not discriminate and identify pictures based on the
difference in tactile materials, by introducing the various
attributes of the above-mentioned pictures, she could
fully discriminate between and identify each picture andunderstand what each picture represented.
As mentioned earlier, M had touched the pictures withnot only with her pointing finger but with all five fingers
and the palm of her hand. In doing this, she was able tograsp such attributes as the size and direction of a picture
and understand the picture. If she had only touched thepictures with the bulb of her finger, it would have beendifficult to understand the pictures in such picture books
utilizing stereo copying, where information from tactile
materials can not have been obtained.
On the other hand, at age 5 years and 1 month (June2000), by touching with the bulb of her pointing ﬁnger, shebegan to show that she could obtain information on moredetailed parts of the picture. For example, in the picturebook “Nuts” (utilizing pasted tactile materials), by touchingin this way, it was observed that she touched part of a leaf
on a tree, and in the monkey picture, she touched the hand
and tail of the monkey. (For a picture of the tree, pleaserefer to Figure 3 (b).). When she was ﬁrst introduced to thebook, instead of not moving her ﬁnger on the picture, she
moved her ﬁnger on the picture (tranced it) while pressing
the picture. She traced the leaf from the center to the end,
and whereas in the case of the monkey picture, she traced
the thin hands and the tail of the monkey (5mm wide, 2cmlong). Furthermore, it was also observed that she traced
the proﬁle of the picture, for example, the radius of a piece(fan shape 4cm in radius with an angle of 45 degrees) of
the broken balloon. Even in the picture books that utilized
stereo copying, for example, the picture book “Butterﬂy”,
introduced at age 5 years and 8 months (January 2000),−51−

Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children

it was observed that she could discriminate between andidentify the antenna and other parts of a butterfly bytouching them with her fingers in this way. Moreover, in(a) Vertical arrangement.

this picture book, by touching the antenna of a butterﬂy, she
could understand the butterﬂy's direction. (For the pictureof a butterﬂy, please refer to Figure 5.)(b) Horizontal arrangement.

(c) Oblique arrangement.

Figure 5: Searching motion with one element as a base in the picture book “Butterﬂy”(after touching one butterﬂy, she touched the other)(a) Oblique line.

(b) Valley-shaped bent line.

(c) Mountain-shaped bent line.

(d) Valley-mountain-valley.

Figure 6; Tracing a road in the picture book “Adventure of Marble Boy”
(the divections of motion are expressed by arrows).

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KANEKO Takeshi

Therefore, to obtain information on the detailed parts ofthe pictures, her way of touching—by placing the bulb ofher ﬁnger on a picture and tracing—was effective.
(b) Searching Motion
When she was introduced to the picture book “Butterﬂy”
based on guideline (i) in “guidelines on improving tactile
perception”, at age 5 years and 8 months (January 2001), by
using one hand as a base, she began to search with her otherhand.
In this picture book, the parent and child butterﬂies arearranged on a page in vertical, horizontal, oblique andsymmetrical positions. She was able to touch one butterﬂywith one hand and search for and touch the other butterﬂywith the other. (Please refer to Figure 5.)
With respect to this movement, when M touched theparent or child butterfly, even though an assistant would
sometimes ask her where the other butterfly was, theassistant did not guide her hand to it.
In such a manner, if the number of elements was limited
to two, one hand was able to touch one of the elements
while the other hand could search and touch the otherelement.
However, for this to arise, a child can relate two elements
and has intention to touch both elements at the same time.
If not, other means such as wording to encourage this could
be taken.
(c) Tracing Motion
The picture book “Norimaki” based on guideline (ii)in “guidelines on improving tactile perception” wasintroduced to M at age 4 years and 5 months (October1999). This picture book contains one-fold, two-fold andthree-fold spirals and square shapes (lines 1mm in width) torepresent Norimaki. A single fold spiral shape is represented
by a circle with an inside diameter of 4cm and an outside
diameter of 6cm. The double shape is represented by adding
a 10cm circle, and the triple shape is represented by adding
a circle 14cm in diameter.
In this picture book, when we encouraged her to trace,
although she could trace part of a shape, we did not observe
her trace from the beginning to the end, even in the case of
the single shape.
After that, the picture book “Adventure of Marble Boy”
based on guideline (ii) was introduced to her at age 5 years
and 4 months (September 2000). In this picture book, thestructural elements of each picture are arranged throughcontinuous oblique lines expressing a road, valley-shaped
bent lines, mountain-shaped bent lines and valley-mountainvalley-shaped curved lines. The width of each line is 1mm
and the length is 11cm (oblique line), there are 2 obliquelines 10.5cm in length (mountain-shaped bent line), 2
oblique lines 10cm in length and a horizontal line 3cm inthe center (mountain-shape bent line); the distance of thestraight line is 16.5cm (valley-mountain-valley-shaped
curved line). (Please refer to Figure 6.)
The circle-shaped “marble boy” went along on a road in
the story.
Four months after being introduced to this picture book,at the age of 5 years and 8 months (January 2001) M could
trace the three above-mentioned oblique lines, the valleyshaped line and the mountain-shaped lines well.
To trace all the valley-mountain-valley-shaped curvedline, someone had to intervene and provide partial guidanceby taking M’s hand. At that time, the intervener read the
movement of M’s hand in a tactile manner. If the motion
stopped, the intervener guided her hand, encouraging her
to move her hand. If she moved her hand forward, theintervener trusted her to continue moving her hand andused no force, which was effective. Through this method,
although partial guidance of the intervener was necessary,spontaneous movement was possible.
(ii) Enhancing Child’s Use of Images and Cultivating
Imagination(a) Tactile Perception of Pictures, Body Actions, andUsing Models
At age 4 years and 5 months, in the picture book “Turtle
Picnic”, M's actions began to correspond with the picturesand story.
As mentioned earlier, this picture book is about a familyof turtles—a father, mother and baby who go on a picnic
in the forest—represented by large, medium and small
semicircles.
After reading this picture book, she displayed actions
such as lying on her back, jumping up and searching forthe baby turtle who had lost his way, then pretending topick the turtle up from the ﬂoor when she found out fromthe picture book that “father turtle had been overturned”,“mother turtle was frightened and jumped” and “baby turtle
lost his way and disappeared”, respectively. After that,with other picture books, we observed her rolling over on
the slope when the marble boy rolled over on a hill in the
picture book “Adventure of Marble Boy”, and she bumped
her head on the body of the observer when the baby turtle
was about to bump into mother turtle in the picture book
“The Sea Bathing Turtles”.
Next, in the case of the picture book “Turtle Picnic”, 2months after the above-mentioned actions (at age 4 years
and 7 months) we created three-dimensional models of theturtles (large-sized father, medium-sized mother and smallsized baby turtles, the lengths of the bases were 10cm, 6 cm

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Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children(a) Models of turtles.

(b) Causing mother turtle to jump.

(c) Making mother turtle ride on father'sback, and baby turtle ride on mother's back.
Figure 7: Models of turtles and manipulation of models.

and 3cm, respectively) similar to the pictures in the picture
book. By manipulating these, we tried to get M to act out
the story. (Please refer to Figure 7.)
As a result, it was quite simple for M to assign the large,
medium and small models as father, mother and baby
turtles. In addition, when the mother turtle was frightened
and jumped, she held the mother turtle up with her hands.
Moreover, when mother turtle rode on the back of father
turtle, and when baby turtle rode on mother turtle, M
manipulated the models in such a manner. She continued tomanipulate the models as she was recounting each scene of
the story.
As observed above, the body actions or the manipulationof models appeared to be effective for creating a deeper
understanding of the picture books for blind children. Thisbehavior made it possible for her to understand the story as
being associated with the images through speciﬁc actions.
Next, when reviewing the pictures in the picture books
for blind children, it seemed that touching the pictures madeit possible for children to understand the story associatedwith the images through specific tactile actions. For
example, in the picture book “Turtle Picnic”, when motherturtle was frightened and jumped, the picture of motherturtle, which was previously the same height as father andbaby turtles, moved to the top of the page. When M turned
the page and touched the same place as father and baby

turtles, there was nothing there. In the story when motherturtle was frightened and jumped, if M moved her hand up,
she could ﬁnd mother turtle.
In other picture books, she traced the slope of the slideor the trunk of the tree, or she confirmed by touching thepictures that the balloon had become bigger every time
she turned the page. Consequently, in the various scenes,
speciﬁc tactile movements arose. In this manner, one might
say that touching the pictures also made it possible for her
to understand the story associated with each image throughspecific tactile actions. In addition, in the case of picture
books for blind children utilizing pasted tactile materials,
information obtained through feeling various materials may
also instill speciﬁc images.
Even totally blind children are able to understand stories
associated with speciﬁc images through nonvisual pathways
such as the tactile perception of pictures, bodily action andthe manipulation of models.
Picture books are believed to cultivate children’s
imagination by inviting them into a story world different
from daily life. This is the same for stories provided throughpicture books for blind children.
To further cultivate this imagination, we feel that it isvery important to awaken and enhance images throughthe tactile perception of pictures, body actions and themanipulation of models that can also be used by visually−54−

KANEKO Takeshi(a) Father turtle is overturned.

(b) Father turtle sinks into the ground.

(c) Mother turtle jumps.

(d) Mother turtle falls into a hole.

Figure 8: Comparison of two types of picture books for blind children[comparison made by touching (a) and (b), and (c) and (d)].

impaired children.
(b) Comparison of Two Picture Books for Blind Children
After introducing the picture book “Turtle Picnic” at theage of 4 years and 5 months (October 1999), the picturebook “Sea Bathing Turtles” was introduced at the age of 6
years and 2 months (July 2001). In these two picture books,
the father, mother and baby turtles appeared in the samemanner. Furthermore, although the stories were different,
father turtle being overturned, mother turtle being frightened
and jumping, and baby turtle losing his way correspondedwith father turtle sinking into the ground, mother turtle
falling into a hole, and baby turtle haing difﬁculty climbing
a hill, respectively. They were designed so that M could
make a comparison of the two sets of pictures and stories.
As a result, When the picture book “Sea Bathing Turtles”
was introduced, after reading (touching) the book, M
wanted to reread the picture book “Turtle Picnic”. From
this, we observed her touching the pictures alternately tocompare the two stories.
There fore, if the characters appearing in both books are
the same and there are corresponding parts in both stories,
one could presume that a comparison between two stories
and pictures will be made.
On the basis of this comparison, it is possible that the two
picture books deepened her understanding of these stories

and enhanced the images.
Although this process might occur in ordinary picture
books, if the books belong to a series, this may be effective
in promoting the enhancement of images in picture books
for the blind, too. This could be carried out by producing
books oneself or by adapting a series of ordinary picture
books.
(iii) Stimulating an Interest in Letters (Braille) and their
Learning
As described earlier, at age 4 years and 0 months (May1999), M began to develop an interest in Braille sentences
and the Braille title on the cover pages on the picture books
for blind children. After 9 months had elapsed, at age 4
years and 9 months (February 2000), while tracing Brailleletters, she could recite part of the story by memory. After
that, at age 4 years and 11 months, she could type somebraille letters (a, wa, tsu, i and o in Japanese characters)
using a Braille typewriter (Perkins Brailler) and then touch
what she had typed.
Later, at age 5 years and 0 months (May 2000), she began
to study Braille seriously and learned each Braille letter
through Braille models at the school for the blind where she
attended. At the same time, in the picture books for blindchildren she was able to distinguish each Braille letter andstarted to show an interest in what each letter represents.

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Educational Activities Using of Picture Books for Blind Children

After that, at age 6 years and 1 month (June 2000),
without depending on the context of a passage, she began tounderstand the Braille letters of “a”, “ka” and “me”. Then,she started to read these Braille letters, in the picture books
for blind children.
While reading ordinary picture books, sighted children
begin to show an interest and learn the letters in the books.
In a similar manner, in the case of visually impaired
children, under natural circumstances such as reading(touching) picture books, they also appear to develop aninterest in letters (Braille), which becomes the basis for
Braille learning.
Furthermore, in the case of M, before the start ofinvolvement through picture books for blind children, hermother would read books to M. In other words, there was aperiod when M just listened to stories with only her ears.
According to this case study, one way visually impaired
children can smoothly acquire letters (Braille) is to ﬁrst beread stories, in other words, listening to stories only withthe ears. The next step is to listen to stories while touching
the pictures in picture books for blind children. The final
phase is to read the Braille included in the picture book.
V. Conclusion and Considerations
1. Improvement in Tactile Perception
In this study, through treatment using picture books
for blind children, M’s method of touching changed fromtouching pictures only with the bulb of her pointing ﬁnger
to touching with ﬁve ﬁngers and the palm of her hand. In
addition, we later observed her touch more effectively. She
used tactile motions to obtain general information, such as
the size or direction of a picture, using ﬁve ﬁngers and thepalm of her hand, and to obtain more detailed information
about a picture, she used the bulb of her pointing ﬁnger.
Furthermore, by incorporating settings through picture
books for blind children to stimulate improvement in tactile
perception, we could see progress in the searching andtracing motions of her hands and ﬁngers. When carrying out
the searching motion, she searched for the same picture ina different position as each new page was revealed. Next,
when there were two related elements in the same page, oneelement became the base point and she then searched forthe other element. When tracing, she could initially trace
a short diagonal line and a vertical line for approximately
10cm, after which we could observe progress, for example,
her tracing of a valley shape or a mountain shape 20cm intotal length.
However, she was unable to trace a spiral or all of avalley-mountain-valley-shaped curved line on her own. In
addition, a picture containing a spiral was introduced after
she was observed tracing the above-mentioned short lines.

This turned out to be difﬁcult for M, and therefore appeared
to be a too big step for her.
From this case, it seems that pictures should be presented
at an appropriate time for each child to stimulate the tracing
motion. For example, pictures should progress from short tolong lines, straight to curved lines, curved lines to circles,
and then circles to spirals.
2. Enhancing Children’s Use of Images and Cultivating
the Imagination
Through the treatment using picture books for blindchildren, M was able to express part of the story by bodily
actions, such as lying on her back on the ﬂoor, and rollingover on the slope.
In the picture book “Turtle Picnic”, after we had
observed her expressing part of the story with her body, we
presented models of the turtle family that appeared in thebook, after which she began to express part of the story by
manipulating these models.
Body action, manipulation of models and tactile
perception based on picture books for blind children may
make it possible to understand a story associated with
the images of each specific tactile action. Even if visual
images cannot be utilized, tactile images may be utilized.
In the case of visually impaired children, it is important tostimulate and enhance such use of tactile images. Moreover,this may lead to the enhancment of the imagination.
Furthermore, to build on the success of the manipulationof models based on the picture books, an assistantintervened with the intention of developing pretend play.
For example, immediately after the period of manipulationof models in the picture books, when a miniature piano anda doll were introduced, M took the doll and manipulated
the doll to hit the keyboard of the piano (pretend action).
Later, during a more recent period (May 2001 at age 6 years
and 0 months), when we introduced Anpan-man (Bean-Jam
Bun Boy) dolls, characters that M often watched on TV orvideos, we started to observe her acting out (pretend action)
the defeat of the doll Baikin-man (Germ Boy) using Anpanman, or acting out (pretend action) Jam-ojisan (Uncle Jam)
healing the broken face of Anpan-man.
Such characters may also stimulate pretend play andenhance the imagination through images of tactile actions.
Furthermore, in the case of sighted children, it appears
easy to search for an appropriate object for them tomanipulate on their own and effectively utilize this inpretend play. However, visually impaired children seem tohave difficulty searching for appropriate objects on theirown during an activity.
In addition to the above-mentioned tactile perceptionof pictures through picture books for blind children or the
manipulation of models, even in the case of pretend play, an−56−

KANEKO Takeshi

object feasible for touching and manipulation by visually
impaired children is effective. Consequently, appropriate
introduction of tactile objects to blind children and its
timing appears to be important.
3. Stimulating an Interest in Letters (Braille) and their
Learning
At the present time in Japan, most sighted children areable to read hiragana (simple phonetic characters) before
they enter school2). Depending on the child, it is possible
to encourage blind children, even before entering school,
to learn Braille, which is regarded as being necessary forsmooth progress after entering school.
However, most sighted children are blessed with anenvironment of abundant letters and can obtain suchinformation visually. Such an environment means that
picture books or fairy tales can be read by a parent,
newspapers can be read by the whole family, and books andtextbooks by their brothers and sisters. Letters are projected
on TV, printed on bags of snacks, store signboards and on
advertisements. This environment becomes the basis forlearning letters. On the other hand, in the case of blindchildren, none of this information can be utilized.
Therefore, for the purpose of providing an appropriate
environment for blind children as a basis for learning letters(Braille), a course for learning Braille, as observed for M,
may be a good reference. This course begins with being readstories or listening to stories with only the ears, followedby listening to stories while touching tactile pictures, thendeveloping an interest in and touching the Braille in thestory or title. This becomes a basis for learning Brailleand leads naturally to its learning. Therefore, this course isconsidered to be effective.

Acknowledgments: I would like to express my appreciation
to M and her family for allowing me to study throughpicture books for blind children. I would also like to thank
Mr. Tomohide So (Kanagawa Light Center), Ms. Mariko
Wakamatsu (same as above) and Ms. Nahomi Yagi (same asabove) and other staff.
Additional Note: A portion of this study was subsidized
through a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology for (A) “Study on the
Production, Effective Use and Diffusion of Picture Books
for Visually Impaired Children” (Subject No.12710162)
References
１) Fujizaki, H. (1997) Learning via Media. Compiled by
Miyake, K., Uchida, N. Child Psychology, Society for
the Promotion of the University of the Air, 115-123.
２) Imai, H. (1987) Children’s Reading of Letters.
Compiled by Fukuzawa, S. Speech Psychology-2,
Children’s Language, Dainippon-tosho, 57-93.
３) Kaneko, K., & Sugai, H. (1999) Study on Production
and Effective Utilization of Picture Books for BlindChildren – Examination through Trial in 2 Study Cases.
Bulletin of the National Institute of Special Education,
26, 37-50.
４) Muto, T. (1994) Children in the Modern Society.
Compiled by Ogiwara, M., Takahashi, K. Revised Child
Education, Society for the Promotion of the Universityof the Air, 109-120.
５) Sasaki, H. (1984) Compiled by the Utsunomiya PictureBook Library, Children’s Psychological Development andPicture Books. Reimei-shobo.
—Recieved June 5, 2003; Accepted April 27, 2004—−57−

WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki & NAKAMURA Hitoshi

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy Educationin Special Schools

WATANABE Akira*, OSUGI Nariki**, NAKAMURA Hitoshi*（*Dpartment of Teacher Training and Information）（**Shiga-Univ, Special Needs Education）
Abstract: In this study, 255 examples of teaching in the area of joho kyouiku (information-literacy education) in special
schools were analyzed. The analyses were conducted from the following perspectives: 1) type of disability, 2) educational
subject, 3) educational content, 4) educational methodology, and 5) educational outcomes. Interpretations of results, current
states of the educational practice of information-literacy in special schools were discussed. Finally, efforts to improve theteaching of information literacy to meet the educational needs of children with disabilities are presented.
Key Words: Information-literacy education, Special schools, Educational practiceI. Purpose
Information-literacy education utilizing computers will
be expanded in the new courses of study implemented
from 2002. Thus, the enhancement of information-literacy
education for students with disabilities has become an
important issue in the area of special education.
The Ministry of Education (now Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) published theresults of its 1999 survey on information-literacy educationin public schools2). The results revealed that in FY1999,
100% of schools for the visually impaired, 100% of schools
for the hearing impaired, and 99.5% of schools for theotherwise disabled had computers installed. The average
number of units was 25.9 for schools for the visually
impaired, 23.1 units for schools for the hearing impairedand 13.3 units for schools for the otherwise disabled.
Moreover, 75% of schools for the visually impaired,
76.9% of schools for the hearing impaired and 56.2% ofschools for the otherwise disabled had Internet access.
On average, 33 types of software were used at schools
for the visually impaired, 37.9 types at schools for the
hearing impaired and 39.1 types at schools for the otherwise
disabled. The proportion of software purchased was 91% atschools for the visually impaired, 86.5% at schools for the
hearing impaired and 88.6% at schools for the otherwise
disabled. Conversely, the proporthion of teacher-developed
software was 3.1% at schools for the visually impaired, 5.4%
at schools for the hearing impaired and 6.7% at schools
for the otherwise disabled. With respect to improvements
made in hardware and software, which are the foundation of
information-literacy education, the results of these surveys
show that improvements are being steadily made.
At special schools, where the infrastructure for

information-literacy education is already in place, whatsteps were taken to utilize computers?
Nakamura (1997) carried out an analysis of the utilizationof computers and the introduction of multimedia at special
schools3). He analyzed survey data collected by the National
Institute of Special Education on research implemented
each year by schools for the visually impaired, thehearing impaired, and the otherwise disabled as well as byprefectural centers for special education and educational
research institutions. He then proposed that distinctive
features of research issues addressed can be observed inaccordance with the type of school. At first, there weremany Braille-related issues at schools for the visually
impaired, whereas, the addition of captions to videotapes, thepresentation of picture cards for linguistic instruction andsoftware development through arithmetic and mathematics
drills could be observed at schools for the hearing impaired.
In addition, since a newly invented method of inputting
became the focus of schools for children with physical andmotor disabilities, the development of software to meetthese inputting means could also be observed. At schools
for children with intellectual disabilities, despite various
issues, it was suggested that in many cases the motivationof learning could be enhanced by utilizing computers. At
schools for the health impaired, there were many issues
associated with the learning of subjects, therefore issues
concerning the utilization of parsonal computers as acommunication tool were observed.
It is pointed out that the distinctive features of suchresearch issues in accordance with the type of school could
be observed through the approaches taken by the special
schools, and we can therefore infer that research topics
are created to meet the educational needs of students who
attend these various types of schools.

−59−

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy Education in Special Schools

Now that information-literacy education in special
education is being promoted, and if we can assess efforts
taken by special schools using computers, it might be ofsome beneﬁt when examining the directions for improving
future information-literacy education.
In due consideration of such recognition, from theviewpoint of approaches that must be taken to meet theneeds of children with disabilities at special schools on anationwide scale by focusing on the answers to practicalmodels of computer instruction, which are regarded tobe part of the “Survey on Implementing Conditions ofInformation-Literacy Education at Various Special Schools”
conducted in March 1999, the purpose of this study is
to examine the types of steps being taken in computerutilization.
II. Method
1. Subject of Analysis
The subject of analysis in this study was data frompractical models of instruction utilizing computerstaken from the “Survey on Implementing Conditionsof Information-literacy Education at Special Schools”
conducted as part of the “Basic Study on Curriculum
Development for Children with Disabilities Adaptable to an
Advanced Information-Oriented Society”.
A total of 983 special schools were targeted by the survey
in March 1999, and the major survey contents included thenumber and type of computers, their usage in computerbased instruction, the hardware and software improvements,
use of the Internet, and teacher training.
In this survey, responses were obtained from 797 schools
in total, including 59 schools for the visually impaired, 89
schools for the hearing impaired, 388 schools for children
with intellectual disabilities, 142 schools for children withphysical and motor disabilities, 83 schools for the healthimpaired, and 30 schools where several types of services
were provided. In all, 81.1% of those surveyed responded.
The subject of the analysis was the response data for
Question 15 of the survey: “If you have any practicalmodels for instruction utilizing computers, please givedetails.” This question asked subjects to provide a
description of the disability of the children, stage ofeducation, subject areas/subjects, instructional content, andinstruction methods and effects.
There were 255 responses to this question in total, 18
from schools for the visually impaired, 28 from schools
for the hearing impaired, 98 from schools for children withintellectual disabilities, 58 from schools for children withphysical and motor disabilities, 41 from schools for thehealth impaired, and 12 from schools where several types ofservices were provided.

In some of the responses, several practical models were
described in a single answer, and if clear patterns could be
identiﬁed, they were treated as individual practical models.
Furthermore, these practical models were published in
March 2001 for use as reference materials for the “Basic
Study on Curriculum Development for Children with
Disabilities Adaptable to an Advanced Information-Oriented
Society”1).
2. Analysis Method
1) Description of Practical Models
The description of practical models includes a descriptionof the disability of the children and stage of education towhich the children belong.
Children were categorized as either visually impaired,hearing impaired, intellectual disabilities, having physicalor motor disabilities, health impaired, or having multiple
disabilities.
However, in the responses from schools for the visually
impaired, since the categories were more detailed, andincluded such classiﬁcations as partially sighted and blind,
their responses were also classified according to partiallysighted or blind.
The description of the stage of education was summarized
by classifying the responses into kindergarten (3-5 years
old), elementary (6-11 years old), lower secondary (12-14
years old) and upper secondary education (15-17 yearsold). When a description of several stages of education
was provided, each individual stage of education was
categorized as one case.
2) Subject Areas/Subjects
In the responses to subject areas/subjects, the types ofapproaches utilizing computers and subject areas/subjects
were described. In the description for this item, some
responses described subject areas/subjects. In such cases,
the names of subject areas/subjects are included. In addition,
the descriptions of seikatsu-tangen gakushu (learning basedon life activities) and sagyo gakushu (learning based on
work activities) were classified as instruction integrated
subject areas/subjects.
Moreover, in the responses concerning subject areas/
subjects yougo-kunren (nursing and training activities) werementioned. In the new national curriculum standards, thesubject area was renamed as Jiritsu Katsudou (activities forindependence), however, during the implementation of thesurvey the new national curriculum standards were not yetin effect. Therefore, Yougo-Kunren was used, which waswhat it was called at the time of the survey.
When several subjects were described as one practicalmodel, each subject was categorized as a single case.

−60−

WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki & NAKAMURA Hitoshi

3) Instructional Contents
In the responses concerning instruction contents,
approaches taken toward computer utilization were
described.
A short title describing the contents of individual
responses was provided. Then, all the titles werecategorized.
4) Instruction Methods
Responses on instruction methods described the type of
instruction provided for utilizing computers.
From these responses, we extracted and accumulated
information on the type of software utilized, devices
utilized, and means of obtaining information. When several
types of software and information devices were describedas one practical model, each was categorized as a single
case.

1) Subject Areas/Subjects
Answers concerning subject areas/subjects are shown in
Table 2.
For approaches taken in science, which was the mostcommon subject areas/subjects, there were four cases
for partially sighted and one case for blind. By stage ofeducation, there were two cases for elementary and threecases for upper secondary.
For approaches taken in yougo-kunren (nursing andtraining activities), which was also the most common
subject areas/subjects, there were two cases for partiallysighted and three cases for blind. In terms of the stage ofeducation, there was one case for elementary, two cases
for lower secondary, one case for upper secondary and one
case where no description of the stage of education was
indicated.
Table 2: Number of Responses for Practical Models by Subject
Areas/Subjects at Schools for the Visually Impaired

5) Effects
The items covering effects include a description of
approaches taken using computers.
These descriptions were classified into the following
categories according to the aspect most affected by learning.
Improved understanding.
Enhanced interest.
Improved motivation.
Improved skills.
If one practical model fell under several categories,
several categories were selected. In the case of total
categorization, each one was considered to be a single case.
When responses on the effects did not fall under any of theabove categories, a summary was provided.
II. Results and Discussion
1. Approaches Taken by Schools for the Visually Impaired
1) Practical Models at Schools for the Visually Impaired
The practical models were divided into ten cases forpartially sighted, eleven cases for blind, and three cases
where no description of partially sighted or blind wasindicated.
Responses for each stage of education are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Number of Responses for Practical Models at Schools
for the Visually Impaired

Stage of education

Number of Cases

Elementary

8

Lower secondary

5

Upper secondary

9

No description of stage of education

2

Subject Areas/Subjects

Number of Cases

Japanese Language

3

Social Studies

1

Science5

Industrial Arts and Home Economics

2

Foreign Language

1

Commerce

1

Special Activities

4

Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities)

5

Indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects

22) Instructional Contents
Figure 1 shows that there were more than two cases inthe total categorized contents of approaches taken at schools
for the visually impaired.
In one case, the following contents were observed; studyof the natural environment, astronomy, key inputting, studyof characters, statistical calculation, and preliminary studyof school trip (shugaku ryoko).
As shown in Figure 1, the most common practical modelat schools for the visually impaired was “composition”,
followed by “research” and “free activities utilizing
computers”.
For the most common practical model “composition”,
there were two cases for partially sighted and four cases
for blind. There were two cases for elementary, one casefor lower secondary and three cases for upper secondary.
Furthermore, by subject areas/subjects, there were three−61−

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Figure 1: Contents of Approaches in Practical Models at Schools for the Visually Impaired
cases for Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities),
two cases for Japanese language and one case forcommerce.
3) Instructional Methods
Figure 2 shows that there were two or more responses
related to software and information devices in practicalmodels at schools for the visually impaired.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
utilization of educational software, utilization of image

processing software, utilization of screen magnification
software, utilization of Japanese language dictionary
software with sound information, utilization of gamesoftware, utilization of key inputting practice software,
utilization of word processing software, and utilization ofe-mail.
As shown in Figure 2, the most common practical models
at schools for the visually impaired were “utilization of
Braille translation software” and “surfing the Web”. As
mentioned earlier, these results support the top ranking
contents “composition” or “research”.

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Figure 2: Software and Information Devices Utilized Practical Models at Schools for the Visually Impaired−62−

WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki & NAKAMURA Hitoshi

For the most common content, “utilization of Brailletranslation software,” there were four cases for blind andone case where partially sighted or blind was not indicated.
By stage of education, there were two cases for elementary,
one case for lower secondary and two cases for upper
secondary. In addition, by subject areas/subjects, there were
two cases each for special activities and Yougo-Kunren(nursing and training activities) and one case for Japanese
language.
For “surﬁng the Web”, which was also the most common
content, there were two cases for partially sighted, one casefor blind and two cases where partially sighted or blind
was not indicated. By stage of education, there were fourcases for upper secondary and one case where the stageof education was not indicated. When examining subject
areas/subjects, there were two cases for science, one caseeach for social studies and foreign language, and one casewhere subject areas/subjects was not indicated.

For responses classiﬁed as “better understanding” there
were three cases for partially sighted and seven cases for theblind. In terms of stage of education, there were four cases
for elementary, two cases for lower secondary, two cases forupper secondary, and two cases where the stage of education
was not indicated. There were two cases each for Japanese
language, science, industrial arts and home economics, andYougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities), one case forforeign language, and one case of indeﬁnite subject areas/
subjects. From these, we could see that the response “better
understanding” covered a relatively wide range of subject
areas/subjects.
2. Approaches Taken by Schools for the Hearing Impaired
1) Practical Models at Schools for the Hearing Impaired
Twenty-ﬁve practical models were classiﬁed into hearing
impaired and three models into multiple disabilities.
Responses by stage of education are shown in Table 3.

4) Effects
Figure 3 shows the results for the effects of practicalmodels at schools for the visually impaired.
Other points included the following.
Effective as a method for presenting teachingmaterials.
Attitude of self-learning was cultivated.
Students were amazed.
Enjoyable.
Not very effective due to limited lesson time.

Table 3: Number of Responses by Stage of education for Practical
Models at Schools for the Hearing Impaired

As shown in Figure 3, the effect “better understanding”
was the most common for practical models at schools forthe visually impaired.

2) Subject areas/subjects

Stage of education

Number of Cases

Kindergarten

1

Elementary

9

Lower secondary

10

Upper secondary

7

No description of stage of education2

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Figure 3: Types of Effects of Practical Models at Schools for the Visually Impaired−63−

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy Education in Special Schoolsin Table 4.
For the most common subject, science, there were fivecases for elementary, three cases for lower secondary, andone case for upper secondary.
Table 4: Number of Responses by Subject Areas/Subjects for
Practical Models at Schools for the Hearing Impaired

Subject areas/subjects

Number of Cases

Japanese Language

1Social Studies

3

Arithmetic

2

Science8

Drawing and Handicrafts

1

Physical Education

1

Industrial Arts and Home Economics

4

Foreign Language

1

Commerce

5

Special Activities

1

Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities)

3

Indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects2

preparation, preparation of event records, calculation study,
introductory learning and review of arithmetic, learning
about the human body, learning about sound, collection ofworks, utilization to present information, communication
study through e-mail, operation of image processing andillustration software, inputting and editing of letters andimage data, learning for effective utilization of hearing,language and number games, sex education, and preparationof research materials on various issues.
As shown in Figure 4, the most common practical modelat schools for the hearing impaired was “astronomy”.
When we examine “astronomy” by stage of education,
there were three cases for elementary and one case forlower secondary. In all the above cases, the subject area/
subject was science.
4) Instructional Methods
Figure 5 shows two or more responses for any categoryof software and information devices utilized in practicalmodels at schools for the hearing impaired.

3) Instructional Contents
Figure 4 shows that there were two or more cases inall categories of approaches at schools for the hearing
impaired.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
learning to express an intention, research, newspaper

In one case, the following contents were observed: use of
e-mail, projectors, and text editors.
As shown in Figure 5, the most common content was
the utilization of educational software, followed by theutilization of digital cameras.
When examining the “utilization of educational����������������

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Figure 4: Contents of Approaches in Practical Models at Schools for the Hearing Impaired−64−

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Figure 5: Software and Information Devices Utilized in Practical Models at Schools for the Hearing Impaired
software” by stage of education, there was one case forkindergarten, seven cases for elementary and two cases forlower secondary. By subject areas/subjects, there were ﬁvecases for science, two cases for arithmetic, and one eachfor physical education, Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities), and indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects.
For “utilization of digital cameras” there were three cases
for elementary, one case for lower secondary and one casefor upper secondary. By subject areas/subjects, there were
two cases for science, and one each for Japanese language,
industrial arts and home economics, and indeﬁnite subject
areas/subjects.

5) Effects
Figure 6 shows the results of the classification of theeffects of practical models at schools for the hearing
impaired.
Other descriptions included the following.
Feeling of satisfaction.
Impressed by the huge display.
As shown in Figure 6, responses classiﬁed as “enhanced
interest” were the most frequent. When we look at the
response “enhanced interest” by stage of education,
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Figure 6: Types of Effects of Practical Models at Schools for the Hearing Impaired−65−

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy Education in Special Schools

secondary, and four cases for upper secondary. By subject
areas/subjects, there were two cases each for social studies,industrial arts and home economics and commerce, and one
case each for arithmetic, science, drawing and handicraft,physical education, foreign language, and indeﬁnite subject
areas/subjects. From these results, we could see that the
response “enhanced interest” covered a relatively wide
range of subject areas/subjects.

Table 6: Number of Responses Related to Subject Areas/Subjects
for Practical Models at School for Children withIntellectual Disabilities

3. Approaches Taken by Schools for Children withIntellectual Disabilities

Subject areas/subjects

1) Practical Models at Schools for Children with Intellectual
Disabilities
There were ninety-seven cases of practical models
classified into intellectual disabilities and two cases
classiﬁed into of physical and motor disabilities.
Responses related to the stage of education are shown in
Table 5.
Table 5: Number of Responses Related to Stage of Education for
Practical Models at Schools for Children withIntellectual Disabilities

Stage of education

Number of Cases

Elementary

16

Lower secondary

17

Upper secondary36

No description of stage of education

32

Number of Cases

Japanese Language

16

Social Studies

2

Arithmetic

6

Mathematics

6

Science

2

Music

3

Drawing and Handicrafts

1

Arts

4

Home Economics

1

Vocational

2

Manufacturing

1

Commerce2

Special Activities

13

Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities)

4

Instruction Integrated subject areas/
subjects

29

Indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects

113) Instructional Contents
Figure 7 shows that there were two or more cases in eachof the categorized contents of approaches at schools forchildren with intellectual disabilities.

2) Subject Areas/Subjects
Responses related to subject areas/subjects are shown in
Table 6. As shown in the table, the most common was for
instruction integrated subject areas/subjects, followed by
Japanese language.
For instruction integrated subject areas/subjects,
there were four cases for elementary, six cases for lower
secondary, eleven cases for upper secondary and eight cases
where the stage of education was not indicated.
For Japanese language, there were six cases forelementary, four cases for upper secondary, and six cases
where the stage of education was not indicated.

In one case, the following contents were observed:
learning of Kanji characters, learning to express one’s
intention, numerical ﬁgures, study of charts, astronomy, theweather, presentation of lyrics, operation of word processor,
summarizing events, reading illustrated books, newspaper
preparation, pronunciation, preparing a picture diary, studyof laundry jobs, introduction and conclusion of orientation
at school, supplementing the morning meeting, study of
personal grooming, preliminary learning of study provided
outside the school, and summarize learning provided
outside the school.
As shown in Figure 7, the most common content was“learning characters”, followed by “preparing assigned
work” and “research”.
For the most common content, “learning characters”,
there were seven cases for elementary, two cases for upper
secondary, and two cases where no description of the stageof education was indicated. When examining this task by
subject areas/subjects, there were nine cases for Japanese−66−

WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki & NAKAMURA Hitoshi

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Figure 7: Contents of Approaches in Practical Models at Schools for Children with Intellectual Disabilities

language, one case of Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities) and one case of indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects.
From these results, approaches for “learning characters”
were frequent in the elementary stage, and Japanese
language was also often observed.
When examining the 2 nd ranking content, “preparing
assigned work,” by stage of education, there was one casefor lower secondary, four cases for upper secondary, andfour cases where there was no description of the stage ofeducation. In terms of subject areas/subjects, there werefour cases for instruction integrated subject areas/subjects,
two cases for art, and one case each for drawing andhandicraft, homemaking and special activities.
For the 3rd ranking content, “research”, there was one
case for lower secondary, five cases for upper secondary,and one case where there was no description of the stageof education. By subject areas/subjects, there were fourcases for instruction integrated subject areas/subjects, andone case each for social studies, vocational, and indeﬁnite
subject areas/subjects.
4) Instructional Methods
Figure 8 shows more than two responses related tosoftware and information devices utilized in practicalmodels at schools for children with intellectual disabilities.

software, and utilization of switches.
As shown in Figure 8, the most common contents were
“utilization of educational software” followed by “utilizationof drawing software”, “utilization of word-processing
software” and “surﬁng the Web”.
For the most common content of “utilization of
educational software”, there were ten cases for elementary,
one case for lower secondary, eight cases for upper
secondary, and six cases where no description of the stageof education was indicated. By subject areas/subjects,
there were ten cases for Japanese language, four cases forarithmetic, three cases each for mathematics and YougoKunren (nursing and training activities), one case each forscience, special activities and instruction integrated subject
areas/subjects, and four cases for indefinite subject areas/
subjects. From among these, educational software was themost actively utilized in Japanese language.
When examining the 2 nd ranking content, “utilizationof drawing software”, by stage of education, there was
one case for elementary, two cases for lower secondary,four cases for upper secondary, and five cases where no
description of the stage of education was indicated. By
subject areas/subjects, there were five cases for special
activities, three cases each for arts and instruction integrated
subject areas/subjects, and one case for manufacturing.

In one case, the following contents were observed:
utilization of image database software, website preparation−67−

For the content, “utilization of word-processing

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Figure 8: Software and Information Devices Utilized in Practical Models at Schools for Children with Intellectual Disabilities

software”, which was also the 2 nd ranking, there was
one case for elementary, four cases for lower secondary,
three cases for upper secondary, and four cases where no
description of the stage of education was indicated. By
subject areas/subjects, there were two cases for special
activities and instruction integrated subject areas/subjects,
one case each for Japanese language, mathematics, home
economics, vocational, commerce and Yougo-Kunren(nursing and training activities), and two cases of indeﬁnite
subject areas/subjects.
For the 3 rd ranking content, “surfing the Web”, there
was one case for lower secondary, five cases for upper
secondary, and three cases where no description of thestage of education was indicated. By subject areas/subjects,
there were five cases for instruction integrated subject
areas/subjects, one case each for social studies, vocational,
special activities, and indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects.
5) Effects
Figure 9 shows the classiﬁcations of the descriptions of
the effects of practical models at schools for children withintellectual disabilities.
The following other descriptions were also given.
I could feel a sense of achievement.
It was fun to learn.
Children were very happy.
Children were not bored during break time.
Leisure time was effectively spent.

Unclear because the number of days for which thestudy was implemented was limited.
The abilities of some, but not all, students
improved.
As shown in Figure 9, in the practical models at schools
for children with intellectual disabilities, the response“enhanced interest” was frequently observed. By stage ofeducation, there were eight cases for elementary, sevencases for lower secondary, two cases for upper secondary,and nine cases where no description of the stage ofeducation was indicated. By subject areas/subjects, there
were nine cases for instruction integrated subject areas/
subjects, ﬁve cases each for Japanese language and special
activities, three cases for mathematics, two cases each forarithmetic, vocational and Yougo-Kunren (nursing andtraining activities), one case each for social studies, science,music and arts, and four cases for indeﬁnite subject areas/
subjects. From among these, the response “interest wasenhanced in a wide range of subject areas/subjects” wasoften observed.
4. Approaches Taken by Schools for Children with
Physical and Motor Disabilities
1) Practical Models at Schools for Children with Physicaland Motor Disabilities
There were fifty-three practical models classified into
physical and motor disabilities and five classified into
multiple disabilities.

−68−

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Figure 9: Types of Effects of Practical Models at Schools for Children with Intellectual Disabilities
Responscs by stage of education are shown in Table 7.

Table 8: Number of Responses by Subject Areas/Subjects from
Practical Models at School for Children with Physicaland Motor Disabilities

Table 7: Number of Responses by Stage of Education for Practical
Models at Schools for Children with Physicaland Motor Disabilities

Subject areas/subjects

Stage of education

Japanese Language

6

Social Studies

3

Arithmetic

2

Mathematics

2

Science

4

Music

1

Drawing and Handicrafts

1

Arts

2

Industrial Arts and Home Economics

1

Vocational

2

Commerce

1

Special Activities

3

Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities)

25

Instruction Integrated subject areas/
subjects

3

Indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects

2

Number of Cases

Elementary

14

Lower secondary

15

Upper secondary

9

No description of stage of education

202) Subject Areas/Subjects
Answers related to subject areas/subjects are shown in
Table 8.
For the most common content, Yougo-Kunren (nursing
and training activities) there were six cases for elementary,
five cases for lower secondary, two cases for upper
secondary, and twelve cases were no description of thestage of education was indicated.

−69−

Number of Cases

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Figure 10: Contents of Approaches in Practical Models at Schools for Children with Physical and Motor Disabilities

3) Instructional Contents
Figure 10 shows two or more cases categorized into thecontents of approaches taken by schools for children withphysical and motor disabilities.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
studying Kanji characters, studying means of transportation,
learning multiplication tables, learning about time, learning
about plants, learning about the weather, learning about
rockets, playing music, preparation of websites, presentationof assigned work, learning pronunciation, preliminary studyof school trip (shugaku ryoko), learning computer, wordprocessing and spreadsheet software operations, learning
about the local community and schedules, and utilization ofpresent information.
As shown in Figure 10, in the practical models at schools
for children with physical and motor disabilities, “learning
to express an intention” was a frequently observed
approach.

For the most common content, “learning to express anintention”, there was one case for elementary, three cases
for lower secondary, two cases for upper secondary, and six
cases where no description of the stage of education was
indicated. By subject areas/subjects, there were eight cases
for Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities), twocases for Japanese language, and two cases for indefinite
subject areas/subjects. From among these, learning to
express an intention was the most frequently conducted task
in Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities).

−70−

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Figure 11: Software and Information Devices Utilized for Practical Models at Schools for Children with
Physical and Motor Disabilities

4) Instructional Methods
Figure 11 shows that there are two or more cases related
to software and information devices utilized for practicalmodels at schools for children with physical and motor
disabilities.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
utilization of e-mail, utilization of software to search fora means of transportation, utilization of music software(DTM), utilization of image-processing software, utilizationof scanners, utilization of authoring software, utilizationof spreadsheet software, utilization of game software, andutilization of joysticks.
For the most common content, “utilization of educational
software”, there were three cases for elementary, four cases
for lower secondary, and six cases where no descriptionof the stage of education was indicated. By subject areas/
subjects, there were three cases each for Japanese language,
science and Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities),
and two cases each for arithmetic and mathematics.

For the content, “utilization of word processing software”,
which was the most common, there were three cases forelementary, two cases for lower secondary, three cases forupper secondary, and ﬁve cases where no description about
stage of education was indicated. By subject areas/subjects,
there were seven cases for Yougo-Kunren (nursing andtraining activities), two cases for Japanese language, andone case each for vocational, special activities, instruction
integrated subject areas/subjects, and indefinite subject
areas/subjects. From among these, the utilization of wordprocessing software was frequently observed in YougoKunren (nursing and training activities).
For the 2 nd ranking content, “utilization of speech
output communication software”, there was one case forelementary, two cases for lower secondary, two cases forupper secondary, and three cases where no description of
the stage of education was indicated. By subject areas/
subjects, there were six cases for Yougo-Kunren (nursing
and training activities), one case for Japanese language andone case for indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects. From among
these, the utilization of speech output communication
software was also frequently observed in Yougo-Kunren(nursing and training activities).

−71−

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Figure 12: Types of Effects of Practical Models at Schools for Children with Physical and Motor Disabilities

5) Effects
Responses by stage of education are shown in Table 9.
Figure 12 shows the results of the classification ofdescriptions related to the effects of practical models at
schools for children with physical and motor disabilities.

Table 9: Number of Responses by Stage of Education for Practical
Models at Schools for the Health Impaired

Stage of education
The following other descriptions were observed.
It was fun to create something.
Means of expression could be extended.
As shown in Figure 12, responses classiﬁed as “enhanced
interest” were frequently observed in descriptions related tothe effects of practical models at schools for children withphysical and motor disabilities.
For responses classified as “enhanced interest”, there
were seven cases for elementary, five cases for lower
secondary, two cases for upper secondary, and fourcases where no description of the stage of education was
indicated. In addition, by subject areas/subjects, there werefour cases for Japanese language, three cases each for social
studies and Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities),
two cases for science, one case each for music, drawing andhandicrafts and instruction integrated subject areas/subjects,
and two cases for indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects.

Number of Cases

Elementary

15

Lower secondary

13

Upper secondary

8

No description of stage of education

82) Subject Areas/Subjects
Answers concerning subject areas/subjects are shown in
Table 10.
For the most common subject, science, there were twocases for elementary, five cases for lower secondary, onecase for upper secondary, and one case where no descriptionof the stage of education was indicated.
Table 10: Number of Responses Related to Subject Areas/Subjects
in Practical Models at School for the Health Impaired

5. Approaches Taken by Schools for the Health Impaired
1) Practical Models at Schools for the Health Impaired
There were forty-one practical models classified into
health impairments and two classified into intellectual
disabilities.
−72−

Subject areas/subjects

Number of Cases

Japanese Language

3Life Environment Studies

1

Social Studies

6

Arithmetic

4

Mathematics

6

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Figure 13: Types of Approaches Taken in Practical Models at Schools for the Health Impaired

Music

3

Arts

1

Physical Education

1

Industrial Arts and Home Economics

2

Foreign Language

2

Commerce3

Special Activities

2

Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities)

6

Instruction Integrated subject areas/
subjects

4

Indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects

2exchange with students overseas, preparation of websites,
learning about the causes of seizures, activities on
expression through drawing, and learning about shopping.
As shown in Figure 13, “research” was most frequently
observed in practical models at schools for the healthimpaired.
When examining “research” by stage of education,
there were four cases for elementary, one case for lower
secondary, one case for upper secondary and two cases
where no description of the stage of education was
indicated. By subject areas/subjects, there were four cases
for social studies, two cases for Japanese language and one
case each for music and arts.

3) Instructional Contents
Figure 13 shows two or more cases for each of contents
of approaches taken by schools for the health impaired.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
supplementary learning from the main school to additionalclasses, research within the school, learning to resolve
problems posted on the Web, learning about the human
body, learning about waves, utilization in experiments,
utilization in personal health, instruction of Japanese
language for foreign nationals, learning computer operation,4) Instructional Methods
Figure 14 shows two or more responses related tosoftware and information devices utilized in practicalmodels at schools for the health impaired.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
utilization of TV conferencing, utilization of authoring
software, utilization of music software (DTM), utilizationof MIDI equipment, utilization of encyclopedia software,
utilization of scanners, utilization of drawing software, and−73−

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Figure 14: Software and Information Devices Utilized in Practical Models at Schools for the Health Impaired

utilization of presentation software.
As shown in Figure 14, the most frequently observed
content was “utilization of educational software”, followedby “surﬁng the Web”. As mentioned earlier, one reason why
surﬁng the Web was ranked high could be that many typesof research activities were undertaken.

there were three cases for elementary, two cases for upper
secondary, and one case where no description of the stageof education was indicated. By subject areas/subjects, there
were two cases for special activities, and one case each forsocial studies, foreign language, commerce, and YougoKunren (nursing and training activities).
5) Effects

When examining the most common content, “utilizationof educational software”, by stage of education, there were
five cases for elementary, five cases for lower secondary,
two cases for upper secondary, and two cases where no
description of the stage of education was indicated. By
subject areas/subjects, there were seven cases for science,four cases for arithmetic, three cases for mathematics,
one case each for social studies, industrial arts and home
economics, and Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities), and one case for indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects.
From among these, the utilization of educational software
was most frequently observed for science.
For the 2nd ranking content, “surﬁng the Web”, there werefour cases for elementary, four cases for lower secondary,
one case for upper secondary and two cases where no
description of the stage of education was indicated. By
subject areas/subjects, there were three cases each for social
studies and science, two cases for Japanese language, andone case each for music, arts, and indeﬁnite subject areas/
subjects.
For the 3 rd ranking content, “utilization of e-mail”,

Figure 15 shows the classiﬁcation of effects of practicalmodels at schools for the health impaired.
The following other descriptions were observed.
Lessons could be provided by the main school.
The self-education competency was enhanced.
Simulated experience could be gained through theInternet.
Helped to eliminate unease of returning toprevious school.
Lack of learning could be alleviated.
As shown in Figure 15, responses classiﬁed as “enhanced
interest” were frequently observed in descriptions of
the effects of practical models at schools for the healthimpaired.
When examining responses classified as “enhanced
interest” by stage of education, there were three cases forelementary, four cases for lower secondary, two cases forupper secondary, and two cases where no description of thestage of education was indicated. By subject areas/subjects,−74−WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki & NAKAMURA Hitoshi�����������������

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Figure 15: Types of Effects of Practical Models at Schools for the Health Impaired

there were three cases of science, two cases for music,
and one case each for Japanese language, life environment
studies, arithmetic, mathematics, arts, commerce, YougoKunren (nursing and training activities), and instruction
integrated subject areas/subjects. From among these,“enhanced interest” was observed in a wide range of subject
areas/subjects.

Table 12: Number of Responses by Subject areas/subjects
in Practical Models at Schools Providing
Several Services

Subject areas/subjects

6. Approaches Taken by Schools Providing Several
Types of Services
1) Practical Models at Schools Providing Several Types ofServices
There were five practical models classified into
intellectual disabilities and six classified into physicaland motor disabilities, and three classified into healthimpairment.
Responses by stage of education are shown in Table 11.

Number of Cases

Lower secondary

4

Upper secondary

7

No description of stage of education

1

Japanese Language

1

Science

1

Arts

2

Industrial Arts and Home Economics

2

Vocational

1

Commerce

1

Special activities

1

Instruction Integrated subject areas/
subjects

1

Indeﬁnite subject areas/subjects

23) Instructional Contents
There were two or more cases of “preparation of assigned
work” (four cases) and “activities to express oneself throughdrawing” (two cases) in schools providing several services.

Table 11: Number of Responses by Subject Areas/Subjects inPractical Models at Schools Providing Several
Types of Services

Stage of education

Number of Cases

In one case, the following contents were observed:
newspaper preparation, research, communication via e-mail,learning word-processing software operation, preparing acollection of works, and learning how to spend leisure time.

2) Subject Areas/Subjects
Responses related to subject areas/subjects are shown in
Table 12.

When examining the instructional contents by category of
disability, the approaches taken by students with intellectual
disabilities included three cases of “preparation of assigned
work” and one case each of “preparing a collection ofworks” and “activities to express oneself through drawing”.
By stage of education, all cases were for upper secondary−75−

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy Education in Special Schools

school. By subject areas/subjects, there was one case eachfor arts, vocational, special activities, and instruction
integrated subject areas/subjects.
In the approaches taken by students with physical andmotor disabilities, there were two cases of “activities toexpress oneself through drawing” and one case each of“preparation of assigned work”, “learning word-processing
operation”, “newspaper preparation” and “learning how tospend leisure time”. By stage of education, there was one
case for lower secondary, four cases for upper secondary,and one case where no description of the stage of education
was indicated. By subject areas/subjects, there was one caseeach for Japanese language, arts, industrial arts and home
economics, vocational, and commerce.
In the approaches taken by students with healthimpairments, there was one case each of “research”,“preparation of assigned work” and “learning
communication via e-mail”. By stage of education, all cases
were for lower secondary school. By subject areas/subjects,
there was one case each for science, arts, and industrial artsand home economics.
4) Instructional Methods
There were two or more cases of software andinformation devices utilized in practical models of services
provided by several schools, two cases each of “utilizationof word-processing software” and “surﬁng the Web”.
In one case, the following contents were observed:
utilization of image-processing software, utilization ofe-mail, utilization of illustration software, utilization ofdigital cameras, utilization of spreadsheet software, andutilization of integrated software.
Of the approaches taken by students with intellectual
disabilities, there was one case each of “utilization ofimage-processing software”, “utilization of integrated
software”, “utilization of digital cameras” and “utilizationof spreadsheet software”.
Of the approaches taken by students with physical andmotor disabilities, there were two cases of “utilization ofword-processing software”, and one case each of “utilizationof illustration software”, “utilization of image-processing
software” and “surﬁng the Web”.
Of the approaches taken by students with healthimpairments, there was one case each of “surﬁng the Web”
and “utilization of e-mail”.

5) Effects
Responses concerning the effects included, from mostto least, ﬁve cases of “improved motivation”, two cases of“better understanding”, and one case each of “enhanced
interest”, and “improved skills”.
The following other descriptions were also observed.
I began to think about my own future as a result of
improved self-conﬁdence.
I could easily improve my composition.
Of the approaches taken by students with intellectual
disabilities, there were two cases for “enhanced interest”,
and one case each for “better understanding” and “improved
skills”.
Of the approaches taken by students with physical andmotor disabilities, there were three cases for “enhanced
motivation”.

Of the approaches taken by students with healthimpairments, there was one case each for “better
understanding”, “enhanced interest” and “improved
motivation”.
III. Comprehensive Consideration
In this section, the special features of computer utilization
by type of school, inferred from the analysis of practicalmodel data obtained through this study, and common
areas observed among various types of schools will beconsidered. Furthermore, on the basis of the results of thisexamination, the direction of improvement of informationliteracy education in the future will be considered. Finally,
future issues will be mentioned.
1. Distinctive Features and Common Areas by Type of
SchoolBefore examining the distinctive features and common
points by type of school, we will discuss the nature of thepractical model data analyzed in this study. The analysis
was designed for the purpose of obtaining response datafor questions on existing practical models of instruction
utilizing computers, which was one of the items of a survey
conducted for special schools. Of the 797 schools that
responded to the survey, only 252 answers were received
for these questions. Therefore, the number of answers forthese items was small.
In the questions, free descriptions were usually requested
and hence it should have been possible to gain a fair amount−76−

WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki & NAKAMURA Hitoshi

of information. However, having to give free description
is regarded to be one of causes for the number of answers
being so small. In fact, many more types of practices
are probably being implemented. Consequently, wheninterpreting the results of the analysis, we should take into
consideration that the survey time was March 1999, and thatpractical model data was obtained from free descriptions in
the above-mentioned survey.
Furthermore, with respect to schools providing
several services, since the number of answers was small,hereinafter, we consider only the results for practical models
at schools for the visually impaired, schools for the hearing
impaired, schools for children with intellectual disabilities,
schools for children with physical and motor disabilities
and schools for the health impaired.
Regarding the number of cases of practical models
of utilizing computers at special schools, in all types ofschools, approaches utilizing computers in each stage ofeducation were actively taken.
On the other hand, with respect to subject areas/subjects
approaches utilizing computers showed, distinctive
features in accordance with the type of school, Firstly,
these approaches were most frequently taken in scienceand Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training activities) at
schools for the visually impaired, and in science at schools
for the hearing impaired and schools for children withhealth impairments. On the other hand, at schools forchildren with intellectual disabilities, these approaches
were most frequently taken in instruction integrated subject
areas/subjects, and in Yougo-Kunren (nursing and training
activities) at schools for children with physical and motor
disabilities.
Furthermore, in computer-utilization approaches, thecontents most frequently observed were “composition” atschools for the visually impaired, “astronomy” at schools
for the hearing impaired, “learning characters” at schools
for children with intellectual disabilities, and “research”
at schools for the health impaired. Therefore, distinctive
features could be observed in the contents of the mostfrequently taken computer-utilization approaches inaccordance with the type of school. Terefore, computers arebeing effectively utilized to address the needs of children
who attend the various types of schools for learning.
In other words, at schools for the visually impaired, it
has been suggested that there may be a considerable needto train students to become competent in using Brailletranslation software or screen reader.

Computer-utilization approaches in science were
frequently undertaken at schools for the hearing impaired.
In the case of instruction for children with hearing
disabilities, by utilizing various types of educational
software, rich visual images such as photographs or motion
pictures can be presented, so instruction is considered to bemade more effective.
At schools for children with intellectual disabilities,
since many computer-utilization approaches to learning
characters were observed, learning characters throughsoftware utilization, particularly educational software,
helped to motivate students that have difficulty learning
characters. Therefore, the need for effective instruction ishigh.
At schools for children with physical and motor
disabilities, since learning to express an intention wascommon, when instructing children and students who
have difficulty expressing their intentions due to motor
or vocalization disabilities, the need for approaches that
expand the means of communication through the use ofcomputers is regarded to be great.
At schools for the health impaired, since research bysurfing the Web was conducted in various subject areas/
subjects, the need for lessons in Internet usage is deemed tobe quite signiﬁcant.
With respect to software and information devices utilized,
since “educational software” was the most frequently listed
at schools for the hearing impaired, schools for children
with intellectual disabilities, schools for children withphysical and motor disabilities and schools for the healthimpaired, at these types of schools, instruction utilizing
educational software in lessons appeared to be fairly
common.
In addition, “surfing the Web” utilizing the Internet
ranked fairly high at all types of schools: the highest at
schools for the visually impaired, 4th at schools for the
hearing impaired, 3rd at schools for children with intellectual
disabilities and schools for children with physical andmotor disabilities, and 2nd at schools for the health impaired.
From these results, we can see that in steps taken by
special schools, even in March 1999 when this survey was
implemented, the utilization of the Internet in lessons wascommon.
With respect to the effects of computer-utilization
approaches, responses classiﬁed as “better understanding”
were most frequently observed at schools for the visually
impaired, whereas, responses classified as “enhanced−77−

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy Education in Special Schools

interest” were most frequently observed at schools for the
hearing impaired, schools for children with intellectual
disabilities, schools for children with physical and motor
disabilities, and schools for the health impaired.
Since the response that computer-utilization approaches
had an effect on understanding was frequently given byschools for the visually impaired, where Braille translation
software, screen reader and magnification software areutilized, it is probably one cause behind the effect that
information could be presented to visually impaired
children through easy-to-understand methods.
Furthermore, at schools for the hearing impaired, schools
for children with intellectual disabilities, schools forchildren with physical and motor disabilities, and schools
for the health impaired, we could see that approaches
utilizing computers were widely recognized to have aneffect on enhancing the student’s interest in learning.
2. Improvement in Information-literacy Education
In due consideration of the above-mentioned analysis
on approaches taken at special schools, improvements to
information-literacy education in the future are investigated.
In the responses concerning practical models analyzed
in this study, the use of various types of software andinformation devices was indicated. Moreover, they were
utilized at each type of school because of their uniquefeatures. By promoting the improvement of conditions at
each school so as to enable smooth utilization of softwareand information devices on the basis of the results of thepractical model analyses in this study, further promotion ofcomputer utilization at special schools is anticipated.

data in this study, surﬁng the Web as a means of obtaining
information was ranked fairly high at each type of school.
Approaches that promote the utilization of the Internet are
expected to continue to increase in the future. Therefore,
one might say that the enhancement of teaching materials
at websites, which are accessible to all schools, is one
important way of improving educational software.
Furthermore, in the future, computers will be utilized
not only independently, but also in a network. Accordingly,
high-speed and mass-volume communications should bepromoted and budgetary steps taken. At the same time,
security approaches are also regarded to be extremely
important. It is considered important to create theinfrastructure for future information-literacy education
at special schools to enable, the rapid expansion of theutilization of networks.
3. Future Issues
In this report, we presented an examination of practicalmodels of instruction utilizing computers and part of theresults of the “Survey on the Teaching of InformationLiteracy Education at Special Schools” implemented in
March 1999. However, in order to accurately grasp thelevel of computer utilization at special schools on a nation
wide scale, practical models should continue to be surveyed
through questionnaires. Moreover, in line with the progressof information technology and the rapid expansion of
its utilization as a network, new and effective types ofutilization are expected at special schools. Further surveys
should be implemented so that trends associated with new
approaches implemented at such special schools can be
fully understood.
References

Furthermore, we could also see that many schools
actively utilize educational software. Accordingly, since theneed for educational software that can be utilized in lessons
appears to be extremely high, the enhancement of thecognitive characteristics of students or educational software
according to educational need is deemed to be an urgent
task.
The purchase or improvement of various types ofsoftware to meet the learning needs of individual students
at individual schools is considered to be limited from abudgetary viewpoint. Therefore, with regard to the directionof future enhancement of educational software, one
effective solution would be to ensure that all schools haveaccess to teaching materials at websites via the Internet.

１) National Institute of Special Education: 2000 Special
Research “Basic Study on Curriculum Development forChildren with Disabilities Adaptable to an Advanced
Information-Oriented Society” Reference Material“Practical Models of Instruction Utilizing Computers at
Various Special Schools” 2001.
２) Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology: Results of Survey on Actual State ofInformation-Literacy Education at Schools” 2000.
３) Nakamura, H.: Multimedia in Special Education.
Journal of Information Processing and Management,
Vol. 40, No. 7, 570-577, 1997.

According to the results of the analysis of practical model−78−—Recieved June 5, 2003; Accepted April 27, 2004—

NISHIMAKI Kengo

Current Conditions and Issues on Education for Children with Health Impairments
in Japan

NISHIMAKI Kengo（Department of Educational Support Research）
Abstract: In recent years, Japan has seen a shift away from “special education”, in which instruction that matches the degreeof disabilities is provided at speciﬁc sites, to “special support education”, through which appropriate educational support isprovided in accordance with the special educational needs of individual schoolchildren. This shift is taking place at special
schools and special classes that provide education for children with health impairments and physically weak children.
However, beyond simply providing education for schoolchildren with chronic diseases who are undergoing treatment
in hospitals, special schools for children with health impairments are now taking on new roles; they are now accepting
children with a long absence from school because of psychosomatic illnesses or family problems. Psychosomatic illnesses
and school refusal are common and frequent among schoolchildren who are under considerable mental and physical stress.
These problems are also associated with school health. While reviewing the history of education for children with healthimpairments in Japan, in this article problems that confront education for children with health impairments are addressed andspecial schools for children with health impairments under special support education are discussed.
Key Words: Education for children with health impairments, Special education, Special support education, Special
educational needs

I. Introduction
Education for children with health impairments wasestablished to provide learning opportunities to children
who must undergo continued treatment as in-or outpatients.
Under the current special education system, such education
is provided through special schools for children with healthimpairments, classes in hospitals as special education
courses of elementary and lower secondary schools, specialclasses for children with health impairments and physicallyweak children in elementary and lower secondary schools,“resource rooms”, and home visits from special schools(i.e., schools for children with health impairments, motor
disabilities, thranghont. and intellectual disabilities).
However, Japan is currently undergoing a systematic shift
from “special education”, in which instruction is provided
at speciﬁc sites in accordance with the degree of a person’s disability, to “special support education”, through whichappropriate learning support is provided in accordance withthe special educational needs of each child.
Special schools for children with health impairments aswell as classes for children with health impairments andwho are physically weak are part of this shift. Schools forchildren who are bind or deaf or have intellectual or motor
disabilities lead the way in providing education that meetsspecial educational needs of these children. However,
because of changes and diversiﬁcation of diseases with thechanging times, special schools for children with healthimpairments have become places that can encourage
nonattendant children, who require hospitalization or
medical treatment due to psychosomatic illnesses, to return
to society. These facilities have also become places forproviding protection to abused schoolchildren with chronic
diseases. The operation of varions schools and classes isrequired because special educational support is needed tomeet these different medical and welfare-related needs.
While reviewing the history of education for children
with health impairments in Japan, in this article we will
examine into current conditions of this type of education,
analyze its characteristics, and consider the role it shouldplay in special support education.
II. Prototypes of schools for children with healthimpairments
If we examine the history of education for children
with health impairments in Japan, we find that it has
characteristics different from those who are blind or deaf,or those with intellectual disabilities or motor disabilities.
Let us clarify these characteristics as we review the social
conditions in the early days of education for children with−79−

Current Conditions and lssues on Education for children with Health lmpairments in Japan

health impairments.

schools would be set up in all parts of the country.

1. Establishment of public health and school systems as
state-run operations

The time from the end of the Meiji Period (1868 1912) to the Taisho Period (1912 - 1926) was a period ofindustrial expansion in Japan. This led, however, to a social
problem whereby the conditions of laborers deteriorated in
opposition to the nation’s dramatic industrial and economic
growth. Japan’s citizens experienced additional hardshipbecause of the Great Depression of 1920 and as a result of
the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The infant mortality
rate (number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births over thecourse of a year), which is a measure of regional health,stood at 189 in 1918. This was the highest rate everrecorded in mother-and-child health statistics in Japan. The
nation thus experienced a high infant mortality rate as well
as a high rate of mortality due to chronic and infectious
diseases such as tuberculosis and sexually transmitted
diseases.

Japan began to establish itself as a modernized country
on a par with those in Europe and North America during
the Meiji Restoration Period. As part of this effort, it tooksystematic steps to establish a health and medical system aswell as a school system.
In the late 1870s and early 1880s, the containment ofcholera and other infectious diseases became one of thenation’s highest priorities, and this led to the establishmentof a public health administration at the central and regional
levels. At the same time, the Meiji government promoted
efforts to develop awareness and knowledge of sanitation
among the nation’s citizens to raise their understanding ofsanitation. The Japan Sanitation Association, which wasestablished as a private-sector organization in 1883, also
played a major role in enlightening the public; indeed,
the expression “school hygiene” can be found in the
Association’s bylaws. With this background, Japan began
pursuing a strict education program to build up the nation’s
strength after its school system was established in 1872, andcontinuing health problems among students (called “school
diseases” at the time) led to efforts to immediately provide
relief and prevention.
2. Birth of special schools for children with healthimpairments in Japan
The ﬁrst education for children with health impairments
in Japan was provided to pupils suffering from beriberi at
Mie Prefectural Normal School for the Primary Level. At
the time, beriberi had a major impact on national health as
it had a high mortality rate and depleted the country’s labor
force.
This led the Ministry of Education to focus on school
sanitation, and in 1897 it took steps to assign a physician
in all of the country’s public schools. That was alandmark move never before seen even in other countries.
Furthermore, because it was believed that those with a weakphysical condition were susceptible to tuberculosis andother diseases, the Ministry of Education provided special
instruction at “vacation colonies” where children with poor
health were gathered on nonschool days with the purpose ofpromoting health and improving physical strength. Fromthe good results of the activities carried out at the vacationcolonies, it was realized that providing long-term andsystematic education for physically weak children in forest
or coastal areas was effective. It was thus decided that such

According to the Ministry of Education statistics on
physical examinations for 1924, on average, 5% of thenation’s children (approximately 500,000 children) sufferedfrom poor physical health in forms such as malnutrition,eye diseases (e.g. trachoma), and tuberculosis, and social
inequality was noted in the health of the weakest children.
In line with changes in the country’s prevailing disiases,
Japan’s education for children with health impairments,
which had started as a countermeasure against “school
diseases” during the Meiji Period, shifted roles to one thatprovided countermeasures for tuberculosis, the incidence of
which increased rapidly during the Taisho Period. Throughthis shift, education for children with health impairments
was making slow but steady progress.
As Japan entered the Showa Peciod (1926 - 1989), it
began taking steps to foster healthy soldiers as part of its
policy to increase the nation’s wealth and military power
amid the Manchurian Incident and other events. The
National School Order in 1941 clearly mentioned this asan objective of primary education. The Regulations for
the Enforcement of the National School Order thus bannedchildren with infectious diseases from attending classes,
called for the organization of special schools and classes forthese children, and made the education for physically weakchildren as a measure against tuberculosis as a national
policy. As a result, the number of schools and classes ofthis type increased markedly.
According to the Ministry of Education documents in
1942, the total number of special classes in national schools
was 1,682, with the number of attending children reaching
65,930. Of these, the number of classes for physicallyweak children was 1,616 (96%) and the number of children−80−

NISHIMAKI Kengo

attending these classes was 64,891 (98%). Thus, it isnotable that nearly all of the children attending these classes
had poor physical weakness. If the scarcity of medical
resources at the time is considered, the signiﬁcant role thatthese special classes played from the aspect of prevention
and treatment of tuberculosis, leprosy, and other chronic
and contagious diseases is intriguing.
III. Genealogy of education for children with healthimpairments following World War II
Article 25 of the Constitution of Japan ensures the rightto live and stipulates the government’s social security
obligations by stating that “All people shall have the rightto maintain the minimum standards of wholesome andcultured living. In all spheres of life, the State shall use its
endeavors for the promotion and extension of social welfare
and security, and of public health.” Furthermore, Article
26 ensures the right for the nation’s citizens to receive an
education and details the government’s obligation in termsof education by stating, “All people shall have the right toreceive an equal education correspondent to their ability, as
provided for by law. All people shall be obligated to haveall boys and girls under their protection receive ordinary
education as provided for by law. Such compulsory
education shall be free.”
The above-mentioned items are guaranteed as social
rights that are included among citizens’ basic human rights,
and the guaranteeing of these rights is a responsibilityof the government. The two articles mentioned above
also form the philosophical basis for Child Welfare Law,
Basic Education Law and School Education Law anongothers that were enacted after the war. While the previous
Constitution considered education as one of “three major
responsibilities” that must be fulfilled by the nation’s
citizens (with military service and payment of taxe as theother two responsibilities), the new Constitution represented
a 180-degree change in this philosophy by establishingeducation as a right of the nation’s citizens, and by making
it the national government’s responsibility to ensure thisright. Consequently, the foundation ensuring opportunities
for schoolchildren with disabilities to receive compulsory
education was laid.
1. Issue of securing the right of education for children
with health impairments: toward the establishment ofcompulsory education at special schools
Japan’s School Education Law was enacted in 1947.
Article 71 of the law stipulates the following as an objective
for establishing special education schools: “Schools forblind children, schools for deaf children and special schools

will provide education based on kindergarten, elementary
school, lower secondary school, and upper secondary school
curricula for all schoolchildren suffering from blindness,deafness, intellectual disability, motor disability, or otherphysical disabilities. At the same time, these schools shallteach their schoolchildren knowledge and skills necessary
to help them overcome their disabilities.” Thus, efforts
from the prewar era to realize compulsory education for theblind and deaf were ﬁnally bearing fruit.
In the past, there was a persistent belief that education
for children with health impairments would worsen theircondition because the main treatments of tuberculosis andother infectious diseases were rest and eating nutritious
food. Thus, such children were exempted from attending
schools under Article 23 of the School Education Law.
Article 75 of the law, however, stipulated the establishmentof special classes for these children. Paragraph 1 of Article
75 states that children with physical weakness should be
educated at special classes, and Paragraph 2 states that
schoolchildren currently undergoing treatment can be
educated at special classes or by dispatching teachers tothem. The two paragraphs. followed in the wake of thespecial classes that were established in prewar elementary
schools, national schools, secondary schools, and girls’
secondary schools. There was an increasing need tocontinue special classes for schoolchildren with physicalweakness. because of food shortages, worsening sanitation,
tuberculosis epidemics, and other problems that occurred in
the days following World War II.
After the war, many special classes were set up.
However, to realise the continual establishment of special
schools for children with health impairments, which were
not covered in legal stipulations, a government notiﬁcation
on disability classification standards in 1953 was revisedin 1957 to clearly state that schoolchildren suffering fromtuberculosis, heart diseases, renal diseases, or those withphysical weakness should receive education in special
schools. Furthermore, the Special Measures Law for
Establishment of Public Special Schools in 1956 added
momentum to the establishment of schools for children
with health impairments, as did a revision of Article 71 of
the School Education Law in 1961, which clearly laid thegroundwork for the establishment of such schools (including
those for persons with physical weakness). A newly revised
Item 2 of Article 71 entrusted the regulation of the degreeof disability of schoolchildren attending special education
schools to government ordinance. Item 2 of Article 22of the enforcement regulations of the School Education
Law in 1962 established that the term “health-impaired
schoolchildren” should refer to those who experienced
medical or living restrictions lasting for six months or more.

−81−

Current Conditions and lssues on Education for children with Health lmpairments in Japan

It was at this point that health-impaired schoolchildren were
finally included in the School Education Law and began
to receive the same educational services as schoolchildren
with other disabilities.

a base for harmonized development of both the mind andbody by alleviating children’s disabilities and by providing
these children the knowledge, skills, and attitude, they will
require to overcome their disabilities.

A preliminary government ordinance on a compulsory
program for special school education was issued in 1971.
In working toward implementation of this program, oneof the major barriers in education for children with healthimpairments was that their parents had to shoulder an
extremely high portion of their medical expenses because
they require long-term hospitalization or medical care.
However, through the efforts of concerned individuals with
common interests, a path was opened for making public
support, which covered many diseases, available for manyof the children with health impairments. The compulsory
program was thus implemented in 1979.

The course of study for upper secondary schools wasestalalished in 1973, and the first course of study forkindergarten was implemented in 1989.

2. Transitions in school curricula
The ﬁrst course of study at special schools for children
with health impairments was established in 1963 througha notification issued by the Administrative Vice Ministerof for Education. Prior to this, the courses at these schools
were imprementud in accordance with the condition of
the schoolchildren, and varions methods were tried inefforts to return the schoolchildren to their former schools.
While engaging in health management in a suitable
natural environment and based on a well-regulated daily
routine, their school courses put emphasis on care from thestandpoint of education that is based on elementary andsecondary school courses.
Apart from physical education, the educational content
of the initial school curriculum was based on that inelementary and secondary schools. The subject “physicaleducation” was replaced by “care and physical education”,
with “care” being composed of “rest, exercise, andrecreation”. Even schoolchildren with diseases or healthimpairments were able to participate in the lessons and toeasily move up to the next grade.
The course of study was revised in 1971 and inplemented
through a ministerial notification. Moving away fromthe traditional assumptions for tuberculosis or physicalweakness, this revision allowed for a flexible response
to diversified types of illness and disability as well as
to interruptions in the studies of schoolchildren. Majorchanges included those based on the compulsory programfor special school education to “include all children, no
matter how severe their disabilities” and, in terms ofeducation, the establishment of a sphere of instruction in“care and training”, as it was deemed necessary to cultivate

3. Conditions since establishment of compulsory programfor special school education
Through the implementation of the compulsory programfor special school education, all children with healthimpairments and who had been excluded from schooling
due to their illnesses were now guaranteed the opportunity
to receive an education. The number of health-impaired
schoolchildren who received this special education reacheda high point of 8,313 in 1979. However, for several years
after, this number vacillated up and down before beginninga declining trend in 1984. As of 2002, the number stands at
3,921, which is less than half the 1979 ﬁgure.
There are three reasons for this decline. One is improved
medical management, which has resulted in a decline
in the number of schoolchildren requiring long-term
hospitalization due to asthma or kidney disease, which
made up a large proportion of health-impaired children
receiving special school education. Furthermore, regarding
the quality of life (QOL) continuous medical treatment
through repeated short-term hospitalizations (even forpatients with malignant neoplasms), has led to fewer
schoolchildren needing to go to special schools for children
with health impairments. Moreover, a revision of medical
insurance coverage of medical fees has resulted in shorter
hospitalization, and the withdrawal of highly non-proﬁtable
pediatric treatment imparticular, due to limitations on longterm hospitalization. Even for patients reguiring continuous
treatment, there is a trend toward repeated hospitalizations
and discharges.
The second reason is that education-related personnel,
medical personnel, and caretakers have insufficientunderstanding of education for children with healthimpairments. It is also true that these children and theirfamilies are not receptive to the idea of transferring to a
special school. Conversely, the more understanding ofthese schools grows, the more schoolchildren (and theirfamilies) not attending school because of psychosomatic
disorder elect these schools.
The third reason involves administrative problems;
expertise in education to support children with health−82−

NISHIMAKI Kengo

impairments at the regional level is in decline. Thisis evident in an insufficient placement of personnel
specializing in children with health impairments in boardsof education of local government, the manner in which
school enrollment and guidance committees are set up, andthe short terms that school principals serve, among otheritems. It can thus be inferred that many health-impaircd
school children do not rcceive the special education theyrequire.
4. Working to “provide education to all children undergoing
medical treatment”
In compulsory education, schoolchildren who do notattend classes due to illness make up a large proportion of
all students who are absent from school for a long period oftime. Because only a portion of these schoolchildren havereceived education for children with health impairments, in
1993 the Ministry of Education established a “Conferenceof Persons Involved in Survey and Research on Education
for Children Receiving Medical Treatment”. An official
notice entitled, Byoki Ryoyo-ji no Kyoiku ni Tsuite (OnEducation for Children Receiving Medical Treatment),
was released in December 1994 based on the Conference’s
report.
The notice basically called for the following: a.)understanding of the actual conditions of children who are
hospitalized, b.) work to ensure appropriate educational
measures (e.g. simplification of transfer procedures)for schoolchildren who want to change their schools,c.) promotion of educational institutions for children
receiving medical treatment (e.g. establishment of classes in
hospitals) by boards of education of local government, andd.) improvement in the expertise of educational personnel.
Since then, there has been a gradual increase in the numberof classes held in hospitals.
However, a basic survey of schools conducted in 2002
revealed that 54,336 schoolchildren had long-term absencesof 30 days or more due to illness in compulsory education.
Of these, 2,761 went to schools for children with healthimpairments, 1,693 attended special classes, 8 attended“resource rooms”, and 64 were exempted from education.
Of the children that possibly require special education
to health impairments, the percentage of those actually
receiving this education was 8.3% . This is only a slight
improvement over the 6.8% recorded in 1994.
Schoolchildren who require special education due tohealth impairments but who do not receive it are registeredin regular schools. An issue for future reseach will be toinvestigate the actual conditions in these schools.

5. Education for children with health impairments and “OnSpecial Support Education in the Future”
In March 2003, a report entitled Kongo no Tokubetsu
Shien Kyouiku no Arikata ni Tsuite (Saishu Houkoku)(On Special Support Education in the Future [Final
Report]) clerly showed a shift away from special education
conducted in particular places to “special support
education” that meets individual needs. For the frameworkfor special support education, the report pointed out theneed to “actively respond to the needs of schoolchildren
who require special educational support in regular classes”
as well as the need to provide integrated counseling on
medical care, welfare and labor for children and theircaretakers that spans from infancy to graduation fromupper secondary schools. Although these perspectives are
considered important for the future education of children
with health impairments, “special educational support”
currently focuses only on mild developmental disorders;the issue of children undergoing medical treatment andattending regular classes was not clearly addressed.
6. New school enrollment measures and education forchildren with health impairments
Article 22, Item 3 of the Enforcement Order of the School
Education Law was revised in April 2002. This revision
allow for the flexible management of disability levels(school enrollment measures) for enrollment in schools forchildren who are blind or deaf or with other disabilities.
The revision also made it possible for children to enroll
in an elementary and secondary school as a “certified
enrollee”, if the board of education of local government
certiﬁes that they have conditions requiring them to receive
an appropriate education in the said school, even if theschoolchild do not meet the school enrollment measures.
This was the ﬁrst time in 40 years that a revision was madeto the Enforcement Order of the School Education Law,
which is the foundation of the school enrollment system forchildren with disabilities, and it brought Japan closer in linewith international education trends.
IV. Transitions in basic concept regarding human rights
as noted in education and welfare-related policies:
advancement of normalization in JapanThe constitution of Japan establishes that all of thenation’s citizens shall “possess basic human rights”, “beguaranteed freedoms and rights”, and “be respected as
individuals” among other items. The Basic Education Law
places emphasis on the “dignity of the individual” and“equal educational opportunities”. The concept behind−83−Current Conditions and lssues on Education for children with Health lmpairments in Japan

child welfare is described in the Child Welfare Law as “Allcitizens must work to ensure that children are born healthy
in both mind and body and that they are given an education”
and “All children must be ensured fairness in daily living
and protection.” The Children’s Charter, which was enacted
in 1951, integrated both mental and physical disabilities
into its philosophy on child welfare as follows: “Allchildren shall be guaranteed a healthy birth (both mentallyand physically), upbringing, and living environment”, “Allchildren shall be given appropriate medical care, education,and protection, if they would be born with physical ormental disabilities.”
However, analyzing these policies in more detail, it
was clear that the concepts of social defense and social
effectiveness were the cornerstone. For example,
implementing educational and welfare policies for people
with intellectual disabilities entails only minimal burden
and hardship on the society, and these policies wereconsidered necessary to turn negative aspects of the society
into positive aspects.
Japan’s Fundamental Law on Measures for People with
Physical and Mental Disabilities was enacted in 1970. Thislaw stated, “The dignity of all persons with disabilities
shall be respected and they shall have the right to be treatedin such a manner” (Article 3) and “nation and regional
municipalities shall prevent the occurrence of physical andmental disabilities.”(Article 4) Article 9 of the Fundamental
Law deﬁned the basic policy for prevention of physical andmental disabilities.
Two contrary statements in The Fundamental Law wereas follows: measures to prevent disabilities and strategies toprovide welfare support to persons with disabilities. These
became a source of problem later.
In connection with the “International Year of Disabled
Persons” (1981) and “The United Nations Decade of
Disabled Persons” (1983 to 1992), Japan domesticallyenacted its “Long-Term Plan for Measures for Disabled
Persons”.
Then, in 1993, Japan made large-scale revisions to theFundamental Law on Measures for People with Physicaland Mental Disabilities, which was eacted as the Disabled
Persons Fundamental Law. With the end of The United
Nations Decade of Disabled Persons, this revision was
carried out to reflect the concept of “normalization”.
The words “measures for people with disabilities” were
excluded from the law’s name. In Article 1 (“Purpose”) of
the new law, the expression “measures for disabled persons”
was clarly mentioned, whereas, the expression “preventthe occurrence of physical and mental disabilities” waseliminated. In Article 3 (“Fundamental Principles”), thephrase, “All disabled persons shall, as members of society,be provided with opportunities to fully participate in social,economic, cultural and other area of activity” was added
to the phrase, “The dignity of all disabled persons shallbe respected and they shall have the right to be treated insuch a manner” that appeared in the law’s previous version.
The new law states that the “prevention of disabilities” is a
responsibility of the nation and its municipalities.
In 1995, Japan enacted “The Government Action Plan
for Persons with Disabilities: A Seven-year Normalization
Strategy” in connection with the Disabled Persons
Fundamental Law. The Action Plan was established
as a specific means for implementing the high-priority
policies of the “New Long-Term Program of Government
Measures for Disabled Persons: Towards a Society forparticipation of all estalolished in 1993”. The governmentis currently working to implement these policies basedon the Action Plan’s idea of rehabilitation, which aims at
improving disabilities at all stages of the life cycle andthat of normalization, which aims to create a society inwhich persons with disabilities are equal to those without
disabilities in daily life and activities by minimizing theirhandicaps.
A new “Master Plan for Persons with Disabilities”
and “Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities” werecommenced in 2003. The Master Plan fine-funes thegovernment’s response on the basis of the special needsof an individual in line with its basic policy in the
education and care field: “In order to provide fine-tuned
support that meets the needs of each child with disability,
the government shall provide integrated and systematic
education and medical care from infancy to postschool
graduation, while at the same time responding appropriately
to children with special educational and care needs by,among other activities, providing educational support for
disorders suchas leaning disabilities (LD), attention deﬁcit/
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.”
Furthermore, as a cross-sectional approach within thebasic policy of the entire Master Plan, the government will
study strategies toward the application of International
Classiﬁcation of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF),
which was adopted by the World Health Organization, fromthe standpoint of promoting understanding of disabilities
and appropriate policies.
“Disability” is understood as the relationship between an
individual and his or her environment. When considering
disability from this new perspective, it is important to−84−

NISHIMAKI Kengotake an integrated approach that involves working for theindividual by alleviating disability and developing capacity,while also creating an environment in which people
with disabilities can be fully active and utilize their own
particular skills. Rather than helping people with disabilities
live and work independently by building their personal
capacity, it is better to create an environment in which they
can live and work independently. It is considered that thismethod is more effective in helping people with disabilities
develop the capacity for independent living.
Macover, in looking at the relationship between the two
above-mentioned ideas, if we realize “normalization thataims to create a society in which persons with disabilities
are equal to those without disabilities in daily life andactivities by reducing their handicaps”, then it is only
natural that the “rehabilitation that aims at improving
disabilities at all stages of the life cycle” will also realized.
V. Current issues surrounding education for children
with health impairments
If we look at efforts that promote measures for people
with disabilities and current conditions in education forchildren with health impairments in Japan, we find that
education for children with disabilities is undergoinga significant shift and that relevant issues cover a wide
spectrum. This section will concentrate on issues aboutschools for children with health impairments.
1. Establishment of integrated counseling and support
systemCurrently, schools for children who are blind or deaf orwith other disabilities are utilizing their expertise in their
particular fields to become regional centers for special
education-related counseling and support for elementary andsecondary school teachers and their caretakers. Only one
school for children with health impairments in Japan sets
up kindergarten. This is primarily thought to be because
infants are generally hospitalized for short periods of timeand because there is a tendency toward placing emphasis on
the treatment of their illness. However, the types of illnessof hospitalized infants are diversifying, and the disabilities
appear to be more severe and complicated. Some of themmust be hospitalized for long periods of time. People havebecome increasingly aware of the importance of earlyeducation in recent years, and it is becoming particularly
necessary to provide childcare and kindergarten education,
including play, for hospitalized infants. Thus, in the ﬁeldof medical care studies are underway on the introductionof a system for nursery teachers in hospital wards aswell as volunteers who assist hospitalized infants to playin pediatric wards. Tests on guidance and counselingof infants are also being started in the field of school
education. It is desirable that “kindergarten should be set
up in schools for children with health impairments thatare attached (linked) to hospitals having a certain numberof hospitalized infants in order to provide appropriate
education for them.
Furthermore, there will be an increase in the numberof schoolchildren who need long-term medical careand regimen in daily living following the end of their
compulsory education and who are judged suitable foreducation at upper secondary department of special schools
for children with health impairments. Consequently, it
will be important to promote the establishment of thesedepartments to enhance educational opportunities for themso that they can receive an upper secondary education. In
addition, current procedures for leaving school or enteringschool in midterm in upper secondary education, schools
make it difficult for students to return to their original
schools. Even in cases in which students move on tosenior high school, there are many instances when thesestudents suffer disadvantages because their studies havebeen delayed by their medical treatment or because it isdifficult for them to participate in physical education.
Thus, there are issues that must be resolved with regard to
credit acquisition and college preparation at senior highschools. It will be necessary to respond to the diversifying
educational needs of children with health impairments bystrengthening frameworks related to credit systems andtheir admission to credit-system or part-time senior highschools.
2. Securing education for hospitalized children
Classes in hospitals serve an important role by providing
hospitalized schoolchildren with opportunities to learn
and by making up for delays in learning, while at the sametime stabilizing their conditions and making the most of
their time in hospiatls. In actual fact, however, there are
prefectures in Japan that have not established these classes
in hospitals, while others are abolishing these classes due tothe scaling back of pediatric services in hospitals. On top ofthis, hospitalized schoolchildren must transfer from regularschools to schools for children with health impairments toreceive education, and this takes time as the procedure isboth difﬁcult and burdensome. Furthermore, children andtheir families sometimes have an aversion to transferring tosuch a special school.
A flexible education management that will allow
schoolchildren to receive the education they need withouttransferring schools is required. Furthermore, under the−85−Current Conditions and lssues on Education for children with Health lmpairments in Japan

current system, through which classes are certified basedon the number of registered students as of May 1 of eachyear, teacher allocation cannot be immedialely implemented
in response to increases in students that occur during theﬁscal year. Thus, there are many instances in which a gap
occurs in a schoolchild’s learning during the period of hometreatment that occurs between the student’s discharge fromthe hospital and his or her return to the original school. It
is therefore important to ensure that education is provided
not only during a student’s hospitalization but during hometreatment as well.
3. Expanding the range of schoolchildren with healthimpairmcnts eligible for special education
In recent years, the number of schoolchildren with healthimpairments attending special schools has been declining.
This trend has become a problem in the management ofthese special schools that are attached (linked) to hospitals
and other medical care institutions. However, there areschoolchildren who need to go to hospitals over a long
period of time and to undergo medical care in their daily
life without hospitalizing. It is important to promote theacceptance of such children with health impairments inresolving the above problem. Such schoolchildren are
showing a gradual increase nationwide.
According to a basic survey on reasons for long-term
absence from school that was conducted in 2002, of
204,069 schoolchildren who did not attend school for 30days or more, 54,336 were absent due to illness and 131,211
refused to attend school. Thus, the educational needs ofchildren who refused to attend school and those who areundergoing medical treatment are signiﬁcant. Pediatricians
often point out the various problems that affect the school
life of children suffering from chronic diseases (e.g. asthma,
atopic dermatitis, epilepsy, diabetes, heart diseases, renal
diseases, and psychosomatic disorders) when they attend
regular schools. However, despite the fact that over 90%
of schoolchildren who were absent from school for long
periods of time due to illness are registered in regularschools and are eligible for school health services, thespecial needs of these schoolchildren are rarely recognized
as in the case of the needs of those who refuse attendivg
school. In the future, it will be necessary to include persons
connected with school health (e.g. school physicians, healthmanagers, and school nurses) as targets for training in
education for children with health impairments.
At the same time, it will be important to conduct
enlightenment activities to deepen understanding andawareness of education for children with health impairments
among elementary, secondary school students who areabsent for long periods of time due to illness as well as
among their caretakers and teachers in charge. Similarly, it
will be necessary to expand the range of children who are
eligible for this kind of education by working to transfer
children to schools for children with health impairments.
4. Enhancing educational content and methods
The upper secondary departments of schools for children
with health impairments currently have general courses forfull-time studies. In recent years, vocational education in avariety of forms (including such courses as domestic scienceand commerce) have been implemented, with consideration
for admission and transfer of students from commercial andindustrial high schools among others. Considering changes
in society brought about by computerization and otherfactors as well as the conditions of students enrolled in such
upper secondary department of school, it will be important
to study the establishment of data processing, commerceand other courses, and means of mading school curricula
ﬂexible so as to promote future employment and academic
advancement.
In addition to children with severe and complicateddisabilities, it is anticipated that there will be a further
increase in the number of schoolchildren who refuse
to attend school and who are diagnosed as having
psychosomatic disorders and nervous disorders, amony
others. It will be important to develop and devise anappropriate educational content and methods that match theconditions of these children. Among children with healthimpairments, there are some that are hospitalized while
facing the prospect of dying. For example, schoolchildren
with severe heart or renal diseases or pediatric cancer
require terminal care. For these children, it will benecessary to improve the quality of teacher training inuniversities and other institutions as well as on-thejob training to respond appropriately to the diversifying
conditions of schoolchildren and to implement effective
education.
VI. Conclusion
In looking back at the history of education for children
with health impairments, we see that such education has
progressed while being influenced by attitudes towardschool hygiene and physical education. This has occurredagainst a background in which each era has had its own
school health issues, beginning with simultaneous medicalcare and education for schoolchildren needing treatment fora disease (beriberi) that was becoming problematic in theearly days of Japan’s schools system. As part of this trend,
differences in the historical development of education for−86−

NISHIMAKI Kengo

children with health impairments and education for children
with other disabilities, such as blindness and deafness,began to emerge. Following World War II, special schools
for children with health impairments were developedand enhanced to ensure an education for schoolchildren
who were forced to undergo long-term treatment (e.g.
tuberculosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma, renal andheart diseases.), without first establishing the legal basis
for ensuring education for children with health impairments. With the establishment of a compulsory programfor special school education, education for children withhealth impairments was set within the framework of special
education.
However, today, as efforts are underway for asystematic shift toward “special support education”, thebasic foundation of education for children with healthimpairments, which has been built within the “special
education” framework, has become endangered. We are
now facing a situation in which the methodologies that havebeen developed until now cannot, by themselves, handle
issues such as the decrease in the number of schoolchildren
enrolled in special schools for children with healthimpairments and the diversification of illnesses eligible
for special education. The number of school children withhealth impairments who actually need special education is
not decreasing. Rather, the issues here are to respond to
the diversiﬁcation of eligible illness and to expand a sphere
within which the services of schools for children withhealth impairments can reach.
On the other hand, education administration is notexempt from reforms of local administration and finance.
Thus, there are some prefectures in Japan that are merging
or abolishing schools for children with health impairments
because of low enrollment or to increase financial
efficiency. All areas in Japan are now facing merging or
abolishment of national and public hospitals, and this isleading to the closure of educational institutions establishedwithin these hospitals.
At the foundation of the shift toward “special support
education” is the international trend toward “educationthat is based on special needs”. Here, it is important toview this foundation not only within the traditional special
education framework, but also within the current school
system, including regular classes. In this article, the points
that should be borne in mind in this endeavor has beensummerized by examining the changes that have occurredin the history of Japan’s education for children with healthimpairments.

References１）National Research Federation on Education forChildren with Health Impairments and PhysicalWeakness, Committee for Research on the History of
Education for the Health-Impaired, ed. Nihon Byojyaku
Kyoiku Shi (History of Education for Children with
Health Impairments and Physical Weakness). 1990.
２）All Japan Association of Principals of Special Schools
for Children with Health Impairments, ed. Byojyaku
Kyoiku Q & A PART I (Education for Children with
Health Impairments Q & A PART I). Tokyo: Gias Kyoiku
Shinsha, 2001.
３）Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Tokushu
Kyoiku Hyaku-niju-nen no Ayumi (Special Education ofJapan during these 120Years). 1999.
４）Cabinet Office, ed. Shogaisha Hakusho: Heisei
14-Nendo Ban (A White Paper of Persons with
Disabilities 2002). 2002.
５）Conference of Persons Involved in Survey andResearch on Means of Providing Special Education in the
21st Century. 21-Seiki no Tokushu Kyoiku no Arikata ni
Tsuite (Saishu Hokoku) (On Special Education in the 21stCentury: Final Report). 2001.
６）Conference of Persons Involved in Survey andResearch on Means of Providing Special Support
Assistance. Kongo no Tokubetsu Shien Kyoiku no Arikata
ni Tsuite (Saishu Hokoku) (On Special Support Educationin the Future: Final Report). 2003.
７）Special Support Education Division; Elementary andSecondary Education Bureau; Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Tokusyukyoiku
Shiryo (Heisei 14-Nendo) (Data book of Special
Education 2002), 2003.
８）Japan Welfare League for Persons with Intellectual
Disabilities, ed. Hattatsu Shogai Hakusho: Sengo no
Goju-nen-shi (A White Book: 50 years ’ History ofDeveloping Disorders after the War). Nihon Bunka
Kagakusha Co., Ltd., 1997.
９）Yamamoto, Masakuni. “Byojyaku Kyoiku no Hensen to
Tenbo” (Changes and Prospects of Education for Children
with Health Impairments and Physical Weakness)
Japanese Journal on Developmental Disabilities Vol. 18(No. 4), 1997. pp. 280-284.
10）Ikari, Emiko. “Dai-san Sho: Tokubetsu na Niizu to
Kyoiku Kaikaku.” Byojaku Kyoiku to Tokubetsu na Niizu
Kyoiku (The 3rd Capter; Special Needs and Educational
Reform: Education for Children with Health Impairments
and Special Needs Education) (Japanese Society forStudy of Special Needs Education and Integration, ed.).
pp. 51-66. Kyoto: Kamogawa Shuppan, 2002.
11）Society on School Enrollment and Counseling forChildren with Disabilities, ed. Atarashii Shugaku Kijun−87−

Current Conditions and lssues on Education for children with Health lmpairments in Japanto Korekara no Shogaiji Kyoiku (New School Enrollment
measures and Special Education in the Future) . Tokyo:
Chuohoki Publishers, 2003.
12）Kato, Yasuo. “Byojaku Kyoku no Rekishi Hensen” (AHistorical Change of Education for Children with Health
Impairments) Education and Medicine Vol. 43 (No. 7),
1995. pp. 13-21.

13）Yokota, Masashi. “Byojyaku Kyoiku no Genjo to
Kadai” (Current Conditions and Problems of Education
for Children with Health Impairments ) Education andMedicine Vol. 43 (No. 7), 1995, pp. 4-12.

−88−—Recieved June 5, 2003; Accepted April 27, 2004—

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute ofSpecial Education Vol. 30
A Study of Legible Braille Patterns on Capsule Paper: Diameters of Braille Dotsand their Interspaces on the Original Ink-printed Paper
WATANABE Tetsuya*, OOUCHI Susumu**（*Department of Educational and Information Technology）（**Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments）
Abstract: An experiment was conducted using braille readers to search for the suitable range of diameters of braille dots
and their interspaces on the original images of capsule paper braille. The result showed that capsule paper braille under thecondition of 1.17/1.43 mm diameter and interdot spaces of 1.05 to 1.15 times used in standard Japanese braille was read ina shorter time and with fewer mistakes and rated more highly by the subjects. In contrast, braille with larger diameters andnarrower interdot spaces was read in a longer time and with more mistakes and rated lower. Three-dimensional measurementof braille shapes suggests that difﬁculties in reading braille under latter conditions may arise from the fusion of dots due to the
expansion characteristic of microcapsules.
Key Words: Stereo copying, Braille pattern, Reading time, Tactile legibility, Three-dimensional shape

Development of Assistive Technology Devices for Children with
Difﬁculties in Manipulating Objects and Locomotion Due to Myopathy:
Development of Special Hand-bells Player and a Low-ﬂoored Scooter
MUNEKATA Tetsuya（Department of Educational and Information technology）
Abstract: This paper describes the development and evaluation of two types of Assistive Technology Devices or technologybased teaching aids for children with disabilities. Firstly, three instruments for playing hand-bells were devised. These aids
were designed to help people with difﬁculties in manipulating objects. Secondly, a low-ﬂoored scooter for an infant withdifficulty in locomotion due to myopathy was devised and evaluated. In particular, the two devices consist of a microcontroller and stepping motors. The paper illustrates the process involved in the development of these technologies, details of
the devices, such as blueprints, ﬂowcharts, pictures, the procedures involved in evaluating these technologies, and the results.
Original evaluation forms based on the International Classiﬁcation of Functioning, Disability and Health(ICF) were used. The
results suggest that these technology-based teaching aids are effective. Finally, the future issues involved in the developmentof these helping technologies, or Assistive Technologies in education are discussed.
Key Words: Assistive technology, Educational materials, Myopathy, Micro-controller, Special Education−89−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

The Practice of Consultation for Teachers of Regular Classes
who Teach Children with Autism: A Case Study of Two Children
Two Cases Using "Order Made Manual"
HIROSE Yumiko*, ITHO Yoshiko** and II Tomoko***（*Branch: Section of Education for Children with Autism）（**Matsumaedai Elementary School, Moriya-city, Ibaraki）（***Ochanomizu University）
Abstract: Based on the ﬁndings of a survey of teachers of regular classes who teach children with autism demonstrating
the need for more inservice training and a teaching manual for the education of children with autism,a prescriptive teaching
manual for two children was devised. This study reports on the effectiveness and problems of this manual in its practicalapplication by teachers.
An outline of the evaluation of the manual is presented as follows. The positive ﬁndings were that: 1) teachers could better
understand the features and behavior patterns of the children, 2) teachers were able to obtain more concrete information
specific to the needs of the children, 3) the anxiety-level of a teacher who taught children with autism for the first timedecreased, and 4) manual additions, such as including teaching records in the manual itself were found to enhance teaching
performance.
The negative ﬁndings were as follows; 1) the manual could not provide all the information that teachers needed, 2) the
manual could not cope with the children's rapid development and changes in the pattern of their behavior ,3) in certain
situations, the manual might make it hard to enhance the teacher's expertise, and 4) external personnel not directly involved
with the child in the school settings, such as an expert of special education, might have difﬁculty using the manual if they did
not have enough information about the child in school, and 5) the issue of privacy of information arises in the use of theserecords.
Key Words: Children with autism, Order made manual, Regular classroom's teacher, Consultation

Early Intervention for an Infant with a Hearing Impairment:
Support in the First Sixteen Months
SATO D. S. Masayuki*, KOBAYASHI Michiyo* and TERASAKI Masako**（*Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicaps）（**Odawara City Hospital）
Abstract: This paper reports on an individual case of early intervention for an infant with a hearing impairment. The subject
is a baby girl who was diagnosed as hearing impaired by Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS). We provided theearly intervention program for the subject and her parents on educational guidance and counseling. Three areas of support
were discussed: First, audiological support, which included the observation of various audiological behaviors, the appropriate
fitting and usage of hearing aids and guidance for auditory learning in daily life. Second, developmental support, which
included the observation of various physical activities and emotional conditions. Finally, on the support for her parents, it wassuggested that the provision of guidance on understanding hearing impairment, interaction and communication between infant
and parents, and health care were the major considerations.
Key Words: Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening, Infant, Hearing impairment−90−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

An Examination of the Validity of the Kanji Component Learning
Method for Children with Blindness
SAWADA Mayumi*, KAGAWA Kunio** and CHIDA Koki*（*Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments）（**Tsukuba University）
Abstract: Japanese language can be written using solely the phonetic syllables “kana” or using a combination of “kana”
and ideographic characters “kanji.” The latter style is predominantly used in Japan, but Japanese Braille letters correspondbasically to kana. However, the knowledge of kanji is necessary for Braille users as there are many hononyms in Japanese
language represented by different kanjis.
This paper proposes a new method to acquire knowledge of kanji characters based on the following hypothesis; that is,
if a child is instructed to extract the components that constitute a kanji character, then further knowledge of kanji can besystematically constructed using this base .
Two children with blindness and who were already familiar with the use of Braille but who had not learned any kanji were
the subjects of the study. Shape discrimination and the ability to learn the meaning of some basic kanji was analyzed. In
addition, whether or not the shape of new kanji, which are composed of basic kanji, could be imagined by the subjects withthe support of verbal explanation from the instructor was investigated.
Firstly, basic kanji were selected from the list of kanji allotted to first grade children to learn in Japanese schools. The
standard to select basic kanji was dtermined by the researchers considering the kanji formation rules. Secondly, the composed
kanji, which consisted of the basic kanji, were selected from the list of kanji allocated to ﬁrst and second grade children.
These 'composed kanji' were shown in raised dotted lines, and the children were taught to extract basic kanji and their positionin the 'composed kanji'. Following this procedure, whether or not the subjects could imagine new 'composed kanji' using
verbal explanation from the instructor was evaluated.
The results showed that if children could understand basic kanji they could imagine a new 'composed kanji' with the supportof verbal explanation. This ﬁnding suggests a new possibility in expanding the knowledge of kanji in children with blindness.
Key Words: Braille users, Basic kanji, The composed kanji, The support of verval explanation

An Overview of the Provision of Educational Support for Children
with Attention-Deﬁcit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Ordinary Classes
TAMAKI Munehisa*, SUGITA Hironori**, TANAKA Hiromi***, IIDA Hiromi****,
KOREEDA Kiyoji** and ATSUMI Yoshikata*（*Department of Education for Children with the Emotional Disturbance）（**Wakaba Elementary School, Noheji-cho, Kamikita-gun, Aomori）
nd（***Shimoda Elementary School, Ota-ku, Tokyo）（****Ikegami 2 Elementary School, Ota-ku, Tokyo）

Abstract: The provision of educational support for children with ADHD in ordinary classes,and the role of educationalcounselling were illustrated by the example of one child with ADHD. The educational intervention involved the parents, anordinary registered class and school, and a resource room, and direct instruction of the child on a monthly basis. Although thechild had violent speech and behaviour, including avoidance behaviour initially, improvement was noted in a comparatively
brief period. This result suggests that the improvement was due to the integrated nature of the support services provided forthe child.
Key Words: ADHD, Vegular, classroom, educational Counselling−91−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

The Development of a Teaching Method for the Reading of Braille:
A Case Study Promoting the Efﬁcient Use of Both Hands
from the Introductor Sy StageOOUCHI Susumu（Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments）
Abstract: When reading braille, it is desirable to coordinate the use of both hands to achieve greater efﬁciency in the reading
process. Furthermore, to read well with both hands, the ability to read braille using either hand is necessary. In this study,
focus was on the importance of the ability to use either hand from the introductory stage of teaching braille. Based on theability to use either hand, and a new teaching method with the aim of developing cooperative use of both hands in braillereading was attempted. This involved the following strategy. First, the subject was instructed to read with the right hand andthen with the left hand. Next, the child was instructed to start reading the line with left hand and then relay to the right hand at
about midline. From this stage, the teaching strategy was to complete braille reading utilizing both hands in coordination. A
trial of this teaching method revealed the following results. An increase in the reading speed using either hand was observed
and the speed of relay reading also improved. In addition, it was easier to monitor how the subject was using his/her hands
since hand preference was obvious using this method.
Key Words: Braille, Braille teaching at the introductory stage, Tactile reading, Reading with both hands, School for the Blind

Developing a Special Education Program for a Child with Physical
Disability using the Community Social Support Network:
A Case Study of the Social Resource Management of a Special School
TOKUNAGA Akio
（Department of Education for Children with Physical/Motor Disabilities）
Abstract: Nowadays special schools are increasingly called on to offer services to,not only children in special schools,but
also to people with disabilities in the social resource network of the local community.In 2001 the 'Cooperator's Conferenceof the Ministry of Education,Culture,Science and Technology stressed in its Final Report that the role of the special schools
should provide a more comprehensive service and adopt the role a Special Education Center in community.
This case study reports on the development of a Special Education Program for a child with physical disability in a special
school utilizing,not only the teacher,but also the wider community social support network.
Key Words: Daily lives, Community, Social resource, Special education program , Social support network−92−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

A Study of Computer Use in Scools for the Deaf
YOKOO Shun
（Department of Education for Childeren with Speech and Hearing Handicaps）
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to clarify the present condition of computer usage and the future of computers inschools for the deaf in Japan. This analysis presupposes that educational change in the future will be a result of the spread of
information technolgy in schools at present, and therefore, it is important to provide an overview of current practice in deaf
schools. Initially, a literature survey of past practice in schools for the deaf using reports of meetings on deaf education (Zen
Nihon Rou Kyouiku Kenkyu Taiki/ ZEN NIHON ROU KYOUIKU KENKYU TAIKAI)was conducted. Four items concernedwith the study of current practice were investigated:(1) The purpose of current practice,(2)a device point in current
practice,(3) The outcomes of current practice, and (4) the problems of current practice.
Key Words: Computer, The use for education, A deaf school, Communication

Special Educational Support for Students with Mild
Developmental Disabilities in Upper Secondary Education
SATO Katsutoshi, TOKUNAGA Yutaka（Department of Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities）
Abstract: This paper reports on a survey of educational administration and education centers designated by government
ordinance in all prefectures and major cities in Japan. The survey was designed based on a analysis of some practice about
special educational support for students with mild developmental disabilities in upper secondary education. We found that
educational administrators were largely unaware of the number of students with mild developmental disabilities in ordinaryhigh schools and the support services these students are offered.
Furthermore, we found (some?)teachers in ordinary high schools had participated in inservice teacher training about methodsof assessment and special support education for students with mild development disabilities, and that there was a demand forthat inservice training. Some education centersindicated that there were many from teachers about how to cater for the needsof students with mild developmental disabilities in ordinary high schools.
Takng into account these results and current trends in education policy, we propose that special educational support isnecessary for students with mild developmental disabilities in upper secondary education.
Key Words: Mild developmental disabilities, Upper secondary education, Questionnaire investigation, Special educational
supports−93−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

Problems and Prospects of In-Service training for Teachers
Offered by Special Education Centers in Writing kobetsunoshido-keikaku (individual teaching plans)
CHIKURINJI Takeshi, HIGO Shoji（Department of Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities）
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to clarify the problems facing educational planners in providing in―service training
in the preparation of kobetsuno-shido-keikaku(individual teaching plans). Responses to three open-ended questions wereanalyzed using the KJ method developed by Kawakita (1967). The three questions were as follows:(1) What problems doteachers have in making individual teaching plans in schools? (2)What problems do in-service training planners have indeveloping programs for the writing of individual teaching plans? And, (3) What problems do Special Education Center staff
have in helping teachers in schools develop individual teaching plans?
The ﬁndings clariﬁed that that partnerships between teachers and teachers, teachers and parents, among institutions, approachto school organizations, and protection of personal information were very important as well as knowledge and techniques
for making individual teaching plans. In addition, by comparing the results of a previous study with the present research, it
is suggested that the knowledge and techniques which teachers expected to have would be adapted to speciﬁc contexts andcurrent trends in thinking in special education. It is also suggested that theoretical applied knowledge is very important in thedevelopment of new in-service training programs.
Key Words: Kobetsuno-shido-keikaku (individual teaching plans), In-Service training, Special education center, KJ method'The Network for Blind Schools to Utilize Braille Documents Data' :The Current Situation and Prospects for the Future
KANEKO Takeshi, OOUCHI Susumu and CHIDA Koki
（Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments）
Abstract: 'The Network for Blind Schools to Utilize Braille Documents Data' is a system in which electronic data, including
Braille documents made by schools for the blind are up-loaded to a host computer and used by all schools by down-loadingthese data. The system began in April 1992, and was revised in May 2001 to enable it to be acessed through the Internet (URL:
http://www.tenji.ne.jp).
This study reports on the current situation, the tasks yet to be solved, and the prospects for the future of the new system. Data
were gathered from a questionnaire survey of the teachers -in -charge of the system in schools for the blind.
The results are as follows: 1) The number of computers used to access the Internet is greater than 5 in about 90% of blindschools, but the number used to access the latest system is less than4 in about 50%. We propose that the current restriction
on access to the system by ID needs to be relaxed, 2) The frequency of down-loaded data from the system has increased verymuch compared with the old system, but the number of up-loaded data from schools for the blind is very low. To increase
the rate of up-loaded data, asking for volunteer help in translating of Braille documents , with coordination of schools forthe blind is needed, 3) The kind of Braille documents already in the system is not always compatible with that needed inschools for the blind because workbooks and reference books for each subject are especially needed. To increase the volumeof Braille documents volunteer help is required.
Key Words: Braille, Visual impairments, Network, Internet, Schools for the blind−94−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 30

The Development of Web-based Educational Materials Equippedwith Accessibility Features:Revision of Recognized Special
Education Software Programs for Use of the Web with theAddition of Accessibility Features
MUNEKATA Tetsuya*, FUNAKI Eimei** and NAKAMURA Hitoshi*（*Department of Educational and Information Technology）（**Digital Contents Group, Gakken Co.Ltd.）
Abstract: The authors report the development of Web-based educational materials equipped with accessibility features
for enhancing special education as a part of the ministerial project named "Development of Web based Education Contents
in 2001-2002." They describe the Web-based materials mainly focused on their accessibility features such as keyboard
navigation, key scan, voice guidance as well as equipment for their practical use.
Finally, a summary of results is presented and a discussion of added accessibility features as integral to the materials ispresented.
Key Words: Educational software, WWW, Accessibility, The digital classroom, Special education−95−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 31

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute ofSpecial Education Vol. 31
Cooperation between Guardians and Resource Room Teachers:
A Comparison of Guardian and Teacher Feelings
KOBAYASHI Michiyo*, KUBOYAMA Shigeki* and SATO Masatsugu**（*Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicaps）（**Shibukawakita Elementary School, Shibukawa-city, Gunma）
Abstract: Due to the increasing importance of cooperation between guardians and resource room teachers, this paper aims
to clearly deﬁne the details of that relationship. Two surveys were conducted. The subjects of the ﬁrst questionnaire wereresource room teachers and the subjects of the second survey were guardians associated with those resource rooms. In theﬁrst survey teachers were asked, "What words and actions do you believe discouraged the guardian? " and "What words andactions encouraged the guardian? " In the second questionnaire guardians were asked, "What words and actions of teachers
discouraged you?" and "What words and actions of the teacher encouraged you?" The results of two surveys were as follows.
The words and actions the teacher thought had discouraged the guardian, and the words and actions of the teacher the guardian
thought discouraging, and the words and actions the teacher thought had encouraged the guardian, and the words and actions
the guardian regarded as having been encouraged by the teacher, were produced in the same situations. They are, "how totell a child's developmental and actual condition" and "correspondence with a guardian." Although it is the same situation,
guardian and teacher feelings differ. We believe that it is important to prevent these differences arising in the relationship. We
propose that resource room teachers consider accepting the style of parenting of the guardian, the establishment of a common
understanding of guidance between guardian and teacher, developing an awareness of the family context of the child, andproviding guardians with greater access to relevant information.
Key Words: Resource room, Guardian, Teacher, Feelings, Family support

The Applied Use of ICF in Collaboration between Multi-professions:
A Perspective on its Applicability to"Individual Education Support Plan"TOKUNAGA Akio
（Department of Education for Children with Physical/Motor Disabilities）
Abstract: Nowadays, professionals in the ﬁeld of special education are increasingly required to collaborate with professionals
in other fields. This paper reports on an attempt to develop ICF as a practical tool in the collaboration between multiprofessions. The subjects of the study were ﬁve pupils attending a special school. It was found that (1) ICF was a useful toolof collaboration between multi-professions, (2) the ICF checklist and the model chart was effective in the efﬁcient executionof the discussion, (3) further research on the relationship between ICF and the Individual Teaching Plan is required, and (4) amanual system on how to use ICF should be produced.
Key Words: ICF, Multi profession, Collaboration, Individual education support plan, Checklist−96−Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 31

Support Systems in Remote Communities: A Case Study of theEstablishment of a Support Network in Amamioshima
TOUSHIMA Shigeto（Department of Education for Children with Physical/Motor Disabilities）
Abstract: Children with disabilities and their families need a variety of support services. This case study examines the natureof support available for children with disabilities and their families in a community with limited resources. Based on previous
research in this community over the past 10 years it has been found that a system and network of community support has
been established. This has been achieved through the cooperation of members and a coordinator with abundant knowledge
and experience. In particular, it has been found that the community support system now in place has helped children withdisabilities living in remote areas. Finally, it is suggested that this case study will contribute to the construction of support
systems for children with disabilities living in remote areas of Japan.
Key Words: Community support system, Network, Coordinator

Issues in Educational Support for Individuals with High-Functioning
Autism Using Information from Five Case Studies
OSHIBA Fumie, ATSUMI Yoshikata（Department of Education for Children with Emotional Disturbance）
Abstract: This paper reports on individuals with high-functioning autism who have been utilizing the services of the guidanceand counseling section of the National Institute of Special Education (NISE). The subjects were three adults aged in their latetwenties, and two were pupils attending upper secondary schools. Four individuals had FIQ`s of 85 or higher and one had an
FIQ of 82 measured by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Information was collected on each case using reports of thedevelopmental process in infancy, the use of medical and welfare services, educational placement, the practice and processof guidance and counseling at NISE, and the present status of the individual such as degree of social participation. Based onthese ﬁve case reports, empirical issues in educational support for the people with high-functioning autism were discussed.
Key Words: High-functioning autism, Guidance and counseling, Educational issues−97−Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 31

A Review of Working with Deaf Children under Three Years Old and Their Families
SATO D. S. Masayuki, KOBAYASHI Michiyo（Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicaps）
Abstract: In this review, issues of working with deaf children under three years old and their families are discussed. These
include the ﬁrst session after hearing impairment diagnosis through universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS), educational
support and the process of working in a multi-disciplinary team with deaf children.
The results suggest that in the first session after hearing diagnosis through UNHS, that we initially interpret the UNHS
results, then, obtain more information on deafness and review the comprehensive development of the child for families, orparents. This is because they are usually distressed about deafness due to the lack of available information given of the UNHS
results.
Concerning educational support, it is suggested that how we support children, parents, or families in their communicative
relationships is more important than auditory learning, language instruction, and so on. This is because children’s parents often
disregard attachment to their children and their dependence on children as human beings, which is the basis of communicationand the means whereby they can overcome the impairment. It is then suggested we advise parents to accept their child’s
handicap and participate in activities and opportunities to play with them, regardless of auditory-oral communication throughhearing aids.
Finally, on multi-disciplinary working for deaf children, it is suggested that a true multi-disciplinary team supporting deaf
children must include parents and named individuals from all services, and there is a need for an individual to coordinate thework from a variety of disciplines.
Key Words: Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening, Infant, Deafness, Support for families

Teaching Adventitiously Blinded Persons with Difﬁculty in Reading
Braille Letters by Touch: A Comparison of the Degree of Ease in
Reading by Touch between Two Sizes of Braille Letters
SAWADA Mayumi（Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments）
Abstract: Many of those who have visual impairments after acquiring normal letters can write Braille letters with comparative
ease, but have difﬁculty in reading Braille by touch. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effect of size of Braille on
learning in the ﬁrst training of reading by touch for adventitiously blinded persons. In the ﬁrst study the effect on reading of
the interval between letters was examined by comparing sighted persons not used to reading by touch with Braille users used
to reading by touch. Speed of reading, number of error and feeling of ease in reading was measured. In the second study theeffect of the size of letters on reading by touch in sighted persons was examined. The results showed that using large size
letters was effective in the ﬁrst training for adventitiously blinded persons who have difﬁculty in reading by touch.
Key Words: Adventitiously blinded persons, In the ﬁrst training of braille reading, Size of braille, Braille reading by touch−98−

Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 31

A Survey on Making and Using Tactile Educational Materials in Schools for the BlindOOUCHI Susuumu, SAWADA Mayumi, KANEKO Takeshi and CHIDA Koki
（Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments）
Abstract: It is required for future special school having the function as center of education of persons with disabled ofcommunity area. In the school for the Blind is have done on the basis of unique teaching methods. Because of that, service ofthe teaching materials for community area will be more important than ever. Even among those, development of the teachingmaterials which utilize the tactile perception for children who cannot utilize visual function is important.
In this research, in order to obtain the fundamental data for service to commmunity area, focusing especially of braille and thetactile graphics, actually condition of availability and development of that materials for in school for the visual impairments
were researched.
As a result, the school for the visual impairment recognized necessity of organizational correspondence. But, in regard to
the compilation and management of the tactual teaching materials, schools where it corresponds organizationally as a school
were in a minority. The school for the blind of 40 percents or less did not service the braille textbook as the school library. The
school which have teaching material room were few.
Personal computer application has become active, common use of personal computer quality was above the half. Teaching
aid compilation was requested to the volunteer in approximately half school. The school which offers the Braille teachingmaterials outside was 1/3. We inspected the situation concerning production and utilization of teaching materials for tactile
graphics with main subjects. In the elementary section in school for the blind it had utilized positively above the half. In the
junior and senior high section the utilization of that marerials for mathematics and science was higher relatively in comparison
with national language and social studies. The teaching materials mainly were produced by the teachers.
Microcapsule paper was utilized preponderantly as a format of tactile graphics. In addition, it became clear that theembossed tactile graphics has produced on a braille printer with personal computer and support from volunteers for productionof the tactile graphicis is low as compared to production of braille materials,a great number of schools didn’t set up tactile
graphics materials for outside .
Key Words: Tactile educational materials, Braille, Tactile graphics, Role of resource center

A Trial of the Construction of an In-Service Training Course on
Computer Literacy in Special Education
ONO Tatsunori, OOSUGI Nariki and NAKAMURA Hitoshi（Department of Educational and Information technology）
Abstract: The IT Strategic Headquarters of the Government of Japan has set a goal in its e-Japan Strategy that all school
teachers should have the capability to teach using information and communication technologies by 2005. According to thelatest statistics, 52.8% of all schoolteachers use computers to teach their children. It is crucial, therefore, to increase thenumber of opportunities and enrich the contents of in-service training courses in this ﬁeld. The Department of Educationaland Information Technology, the National Institute of Special Education, in collaboration with the Special Education Center,
Faculty of Special Education, Fukuoka University of Education, conducted a three-day in-service training course entitled ‘Inservice training course on Information and Assistive Technologies for Children with Disabilities 2003’. At the conclusionof the course, the opinions of participants were collected using a survey questionnaire followed by an information gathering
session dealing with better ways to organize such training courses as well as enriching the essential content of such courses.
Future issues regarding in-service training courses in the use of ICT in education were also discussed.
Key Words: Computer literacy, In-Service training course, Assistive Technologies−99−Abstract of Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education Vol. 31

A History and Perspective on Education for Children
with Speech and Language Disorder
MATSUMURA Kanyu, MAKINO Yasumi（Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicaps）
Abstract: Education for children with speech and language disorder in Japan started as remedial education for children withlearning difﬁculties in reading and the correction of dialect. The inﬂuence of the introduction of speech pathology in the U.S.A
improved this type of education and it has since become specialized to cater to the educational needs of children with speech
and language disorder. This kind of teaching originally began `after-hours`, that is, after the school day had ﬁnished. In a shorttime, it came to be integrated into the system of “special classes,” a teaching method that lasted for 40 years, or so. At present,
it is based on the system of “Tukyu-sidou” which is one of the systems of the resource room. The education of children withspeech and language disorder in Japan has expanded to develop its method, knowledge base and system. In recent years, thelicensing of speech therapists has been implemented and this raises the issue of the status of this education and the role of theteacher. This paper expands the debate about the education of children with speech and language disorder.
Key Words: Education for children with speech and language disorder, Special support classes and the resource rooms for thechildren with speech and language disorder, Speach clinic

−100−

NISE

ISSN 0389-9012

A－8

NISE BulletinVol. 8

CONTENTSARTICLESRESEARCH REPORTS

1

A Study of Legible Braille Patterns on＊
Capsule Paper: Diameters of Braille Dotsand Their Interspaces on Original lnk-printed
Paper

TOKUNAGA Akio

11

Special Education Program for students with ＊Physical Disabilities through a Community
Support Network: Case Study of Social
Resource Management at Special Schools

KUBOYAMA Shigeki, TOYOTA Hiromi

21＊
Lessons for Understanding Handicaps in
Ordinary Classrooms“Period of Integrated Study” by Collaborationof Teachers in Tsukyu and Teachers in
Ordinary Classrooms

KANEKO Takeshi

37

Educational Activities Using of Picture
Books for Blind Children: A Case Study＊WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki& NAKAMURA Hitoshi

59

Educational Practice of Information-Literacy
Education in Special Schools＊

79

Current Conditions and lssues on Education
for Children with Health lmpairments in JapanWATANABE Tetsuya, OOUCHI Susumu

CASE STUDIESRESEARCH REVIEWEDITORIALNISHIMAKI Kengo（＊ Translated from the “Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education”）

Abstracts of “Bulletin of The National Institute of Special Education”
Vol. 30

89Vol. 3196

September 2007