After the initial research, investigations and discussions with the team in Jnana Prabodhini organization, the problem space we discovered (as mentioned in the previous process paper and crit response) was that it was difficult to communicate the topics related to sex education with children who have blindness. It is not possible to use diagrams and illustrations the same way they could for children with full sight.

During the pilot round at the school for blind children, the organization faced difficulties finding resources that would be friendly enough for the students as well as the teachers to communicate the course content. They couldn’t find models that would be child friendly to explain things like the anatomy of the reproductive system. There were only pathological models available to them which include a lot more details and information about other health issues that are not required for students who are just entering adolescence.

The students at the school are a mix of partially and completely visually impaired. The school is a specific for children who are blind and they are taught their regular curriculums using braille text as well. The curriculum of sex education is for students between the age 11-13. The sessions for students are mainly conducted by members of Jnana Prabodhini’s Institute of Psychology who are trained to teach these children.

I spent time exploring different ways technology and physical objects used as education tools. I found references that have used embossed or 3D surfaces to create diagrams to explain other biological things like life cycles of larvae.

This gave me an idea to explore different 2D elements that children with full eyesight would use to learn about these things and convert them into more tactile and functional tools. The topic of anatomy is one that requires the most visual support when teaching and hence I chose that focus on. This is a sample of the regular curriculum -

At the moment a separate curriculum does not exist for teaching this material to the visually impaired students. It is difficult to use this material the same way for them. This is why I want to explore the use of textured or embossed surfaces and physical materials and objects that can be used to teach sex education to the visually impaired.

To start with I explored laser cutting as a way to work with converting 2D diagrams into tactile material. I tried engraving and cutting on plywood and played around with negative and positive spaces of the text and diagrams. I also used a greater power for engraving to get a more prominent depth. I also used braille text instead of the English alphabet to understand the size and how it would look.

I was happy with this first experiment because I got the effect I wanted. It was the most effective to engrave on the negative space. Although, for this test I had size limitations and the dots came out much smaller than I hoped for. I would require some further research into minimum required sizes for braille text or if there are any guidelines for the same. I would also want to explore with more materials.

These experiments made me think about how this can be used and I had a few ideas like creating puzzles, “match the columns” type of activities, assembling the different pieces into a model or card based activities. I would need to ideate more around the implementations as well. I would also be communicating with the organization throughout the process to gain more insights or feedback on my ideas.