Since young students are using very basic materials, and have only a slight reading load, this strategy is usually sufficient. However, as the reading load and complexity increases with the student's progress through school, this approach begins to lose effectiveness. Additionally, dependence on a reader adversely affects a student's ability to independently discover and utilize books that have not been assigned by teachers, but that are needed to satisfy the natural craving for knowledge. Finally, the average reader may not have the technical expertise to effectively read higher level math and science texts. Brailled materials are a common approach for students who have little or no usable sight, but have reasonable dexterity.
Braille is also a perfect match for a student who is both deaf and blind.
Although Brailled materials work very well for the lower grades, some textbook materials do not lend themselves well to Brailling, such as higher level math and physics. Also, large textbooks are very expensive to produce in Braille, which compounds availability problems. Mainstreamed students who do not attend specialized schools, however, will sometimes find little school support for Brailling services. Audio recordings on four-track cassette tapes are presently the most common form of accessible texts used in the higher grades. 4- 12, in addition to supplying textbooks at the undergraduate and graduate levels.