As mentioned in the above illustration, a visual idea can be converted into a non-
visual experience in a number of ways. Appropriate teaching learning materials which
are tactile in nature, will transform the visual ideas to non-visual experiences which
enable the child with visual impairment to understand the concepts effectively. Use of
appropriate language in teaching of the concept enables the child with visual impairment
to use his auditory sense to learn the concepts. Different approaches in teaching of
the mathematical concepts such as part to whole, simple to complex etc., also contribute
in the learning process of the child. Further, modification of the content after making
necessary adaptations without changing the learning outcomes is a vital factor in
changing the visual idea into a non-visual experience thus enabling the child to
understand the ideas better. And finally, creation of situational approaches which either
exist already or emerged as an outcome of the creativity of the teacher is also a major
contributing factor in the learning process of the child.
The approaches mentioned here are not exhaustive. These approaches can be followed
separately or they can be clubbed together in any combination to form a different
approach to suit the learning needs of children with visual impairment. In the following
pages, mathematical ideas that appear in secondary level mathematics have been listed.