Interactive Reading Materials for Learners Who Are Deafblind

Authors: Christopher Brum, Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, San Diego State University. Editor: Hillary Keys, Early Childhood Deafblind Consultant, Texas Deafblind Project, Outreach Programs, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI)

Interactive reading effectively supports the development of literacy and communication skills for learners who are deafblind (Bruce & Brum, 2025). Literacy is critical to human experience. It serves as a vehicle for social engagement and interaction. For learners who are deafblind, limited access to the environment, challenges with concept development, and limited symbolic communication abilities create barriers to traditional literacy and reading interactions that center around decoding printed text. Communication and literacy are closely related and significantly affected by the combined vision and hearing differences experienced by individuals who are deafblind (Bruce et al., 2016a).

Expanding beyond conventional thinking about reading and writing can make literacy more accessible to individuals with diverse support needs (Copeland et al., 2018). When considering literacy engagement for complex learners, such as those who are deafblind, the goal is to: 

• Accept that all learners are readers and writers, regardless of their ability to decode text or level of fluency
• Establish and maintain high expectations for learning and engagement throughout the literacy interaction
• Provide individualized instruction and support that meaningfully incorporates the learner’s skills and interests.   

For learners who are deafblind, literacy is a complex, interactive communicative exchange that combines information from the immediate environment, objects, reading materials, and the reading partners involved in the interaction (Bruce & Brum, 2025). Engaging in literacy experiences improves the overall quality of life and allows individuals to share and participate in experiences beyond their immediate environment (Browder et al., 2009). For learners who are deafblind, literacy activities must be individualized to their needs and systematically implemented, taking into consideration their level of communication and symbolic understanding (Bruce et al., 2016a).  

Interactive reading is an opportunity for two or more individuals to share a text, taking turns reading, discussing pictures, and commenting on the events in the story (Brum, 2025). When included as part of a comprehensive literacy program, interactive reading can integrate the five areas of effective reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; NRP, 2000) with the principles of direct instruction. 

The materials used during interactive reading can vary widely depending on topics of interest, available items, and the classroom curriculum requirements. Choosing appropriate materials can be challenging for families and teachers, as they may struggle to identify and implement effective supports for their learners. Texts that engage learners who are deafblind in interactive reading include materials beyond commercially produced books, such as magazines, online articles, reference materials, pre-adapted literature, and homemade texts (Brum & Bruce, 2023).   

Deconstructing Commercially Purchased Books

Purchasing a popular book creates an opportunity for learners to access the same reading materials as grade-level peers. This shared experience makes it easier to join in peer conversations about preferred and relevant content. Buying used books at thrift stores or library sales is a cost-effective way to create group sets. It is also easier to deconstruct a text to increase its accessibility for a learner. By taking the book apart, you can easily simplify the images, reinforce the pages to increase durability, and easily change the content to simplify the language or add braille or textures. Having two (or more) copies of the book enables the removal of elements from both sides of the page and the creation of multiple adapted copies of the material.

Individualizing or personalizing a commercial book using a bookbox with tactile elements supports shared attention and concept development.

Pre-Adapted Materials

It is rare that commercially available materials, including books and curricular materials adapted for diverse learning needs, are ready to use for all learners. Most books and curricular materials will require some degree of individualization for learners who are deafblind. These changes may range from minor adjustments in presentation, such as using a slant board, to significant modifications to the physical book and its content. Adding supplementary materials enhances engagement and understanding. For example, teachers or publishers often produce tactile books by placing transparent plastic overlays on each page. These typically include braille on or above the printed text and raised textures on the images and graphics. While these materials serve as a great starting point, individual learners may require additional modifications. Teachers may need to reduce glare on the page from overhead lighting, enhance textures for easier discrimination, or incorporate specific movements, actions, or objects into the reading interaction to increase understanding. 

Some adapted curricular kits offer different formats of grade-level texts, including simplified versions, shortened editions, and books with picture supports and hands-on objects. Teachers can modify these kits by adding braille labels to items or replacing included supplementary objects, such as plush animals, with more tactilely distinct alternatives. Visual representations such as pictures, drawings, or line drawings vary in their level of abstraction or symbolism. Using concrete gestures, objects, or images is often more effective for engaging students and ensuring comprehension. Before selecting interactive reading materials, teachers must fully understand the learner’s visual abilities, necessary modifications, and comfort level with symbolic representation.

Reading with tactile support for comprehension of “Pete the Cat”

Individualized Versus Personalized Materials

For learners who are deafblind, effective and well-developed interactive literacy materials include both individualized and personalized components (Bruce et al., 2016b). Individualized materials provide the accommodations students need to access content, such as adaptive equipment and assistive technologies that take into consideration the learner’s functional levels in vision, hearing, tactile abilities, communication, and cognition. Multidisciplinary team members often develop these materials based on formal and informal assessment results. Personalized materials are co-constructed with the learner, focus on their lived experiences, and incorporate personal interests (Bruce et al., 2016a). When developed in collaboration with the family member or caregiver who shared the original experience with the student, the materials become more engaging for the learner and reduce cognitive demands while supporting meaning-making. In addition to interactive literacy activities, instructional team members commonly personalize lessons to include schedules, calendar systems, and experience books for learners who are deafblind. 

Summary

With appropriate materials, interactive reading activities can be a fun and engaging way to connect with learners who are deafblind while developing literacy and communication skills. Depending on available resources and instructional goals, teachers can deconstruct commercial texts or further modify pre-adapted materials to support access to grade-level, age-appropriate texts. Individualizing all materials for the learner who is deafblind is critical to the intervention’s success. Personalized literacy materials transform meaningful lived experiences into materials that the learner can engage with repeatedly. Regardless of the materials utilized, the core component of interactive literacy is the engagement between the learner and their reading partner.

Please enjoy this video of an instructor and student using a bucket of materials to talk about a Circle Time activity. Enjoyable reading interactions with a trusted partner instill a love of reading!