Exploring 3D miniatures with action simulations by finger gestures: Study of a new embodied design for blind and sighted children

Abstract

Tactile books for blind children generally contain tactile illustrations referring to a visual world that can be difficult to understand. This study investigates an innovative way to present content to be explored by touch. Following embodied approaches and evidence about the advantages of manipulations in tactile processing, we examined 3D miniatures that children explored using their middle and index fingers to simulate leg movements. This “Action simulations by finger gestures–ASFG” procedure has a symbolic relevance in the context of blindness. The aim of the present study was to show how the ASFG procedure facilitates the identification of objects by blind and sighted children. Experiment 1 examined the identification of 3D miniatures of action objects (e.g. the toboggan, trampoline) by 8 early blind and 15 sighted children, aged 7 to 12, who explored with the ASFG procedure. Results revealed that objects were very well identified by the two groups of children. Results confirmed hypotheses that ASFG procedures are relevant in the identification process regardless of the visual status of subjects. Experiment (control) 2 studied identification of tactile pictures of same action objects by 8 different early blind and 15 sighted children, aged 7 to 12. Results confirmed that almost all objects obtained lower recognition scores in tactile pictures than in 3D miniatures by both groups and showed surprisingly higher scores in blind children than in sighted children. Taken together, our study provides evidence of the contribution of sensorimotor simulation in the identification of objects by touch and brings innovative solutions in book design for blind people. Moreover, it means that only the ASFG procedure has a very inclusive potential to be relevant for a larger number of subjects, regardless of their visual skills.

Comprehension of a multimodal book by children with visual impairments

“…Concerning the first page that required an action simulating climbing stairs by finger gestures, the matching and expected manual exploration rates were lower. Nevertheless, given that recognizing a model of a stair and producing the finger gestures have been tested in previous studies (Valente et al, , 2021 and shown to be successful, we believe that the low rates reflect children's difficulties in familiarizing themselves with the book procedures. Indeed, we suppose that an introduction page to the procedures of the book would have allowed the children to project themselves more easily in the book from the first page (e.g., a page that introduces children to ASFG and asks them to simulate the legs of a character with their two fingers).…”

“…In youth literature, forms and styles of illustrations are highly varied, as their primary purpose is to awaken and maintain the interest of young readers and/or to support their understanding and memorization of the story (Valente & Gentaz, 2019). Recently, studies have shown that replacing visual content with relevant textures, three-dimensional (3D) elements or manipulations would improve recognition of illustrations and story processing in tactile books (Bara et al, 2018; Mascle et al, 2022; Valente et al, 2021). In an exploratory study, Bara et al(2018) showed that the processing of information in a story was enhanced through the manipulation of miniature objects, especially in congenitally blind children.…”

“…Three-dimensional illustrations could also be used to reactivate real motor components involved in interaction with objects. In this line, Valente et al (2019, 2021) developed and tested a new illustration technique that explores finger simulation of the body’s experiences in interaction with objects. The illustrations are 3D mini-scenarios that children explore with their two fingers simulating two legs representing actions (such as climbing the stairs or jumping on a trampoline).…”

“…Despite these differences in the appearance of the gesture, the results have shown that the procedure for simulating a real action by finger gestures has symbolic relevance for people regardless of their visual experience. In a later study, Valente et al (2021) examined the identification of 3D miniature action models in comparison with classical tactile illustrations of the same action objects. Results showed that action objects had higher recognition scores when they were illustrated with 3D miniature action models, both for blind and sighted children.…”