Diane P. Wormsley, Ph. D. has worked with all ages of children and adults with visual impairment including children with additional multiple disabilities. Her work has spanned 40 years in several countries including the US, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Out of these varied experiences she gradually developed the I-M-ABLE. Dr. Wormsley is currently retired from her position as Endowed Professor at North Carolina Central University and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Department of Instruction and Learning.
The title of the keynote presentation: "The Bumpy Road to Literacy"
For all people who are not able to read print, the road to learning to read is a bumpy one – an obvious reference to the tactile medium of braille dots (bumps on the page) which those readers will be using. But for some special populations of people for whom braille is their main or only option for reading independently, the road to becoming a reader is paved with additional bumps. Some of these lie within the individual. Some children have additional multiple disabilities which make it more difficult for them to learn. Some individuals lose vision later in life and reading print is no longer viable, and they encounter difficulties learning to read again in a tactile medium. Some of these bumps are created by our expectations as teachers. This keynote presentation will outline the various populations for whom braille literacy acquisition is challenging, the bumps that they face in becoming literate, and what we currently know about how to try to smooth out those bumps along the road for these groups of people for whom braille is their key to literacy and independence.