Effects of Orientation on Braille Reading by People who are Visually Impaired: The Role of Context

Abstract

Research by Heller suggested that speed and accuracy of reading may be seriously compromised by the inclusion of noncanonical (tilted) braille text. The study presented here extended that research by including characters other than those used by Heller and whole words. Similar results were found for Heller's original character set ( B–J), but the effect of orientation was reduced with other letters and whole words. The authors conclude that braille readers, especially experienced ones, have more facility with noncanonical braille than would be inferred from Heller's results.