Learning Through Touch: The Story of the BrailleDoodle with Dawn Campbell

Accessibility doesn't have to come with a complicated price tag or a steep learning curve. Sometimes the most powerful tools are the simplest ones.

In this episode, Dawn Campbell, Chief Operating Officer of the TouchPad Pro Foundation, shares the story behind the BrailleDoodle — a tactile learning device that helps blind and low vision children and adults explore braille and independent learning through touch. And here's a bonus: it doesn't require batteries or an internet connection.

Dawn shares how the BrailleDoodle came to life out of a teacher's determination to reach his students during the pandemic, and what happens emotionally when someone picks up a device that lets them create something entirely on their own.

This is for parents who have wondered when to introduce tactile learning, educators looking for tools that actually work in a classroom, and families who want to give their child a foundation for independence.

To learn more about BrailleDoodle, explore their resources, or get one into your child's hands, visit brailledoodle.org.

Want to be a guest on the podcast? If you or someone you know has a story to share — whether you've experienced a pediatric retinal condition yourself or are raising a child who has — we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to us at throughoureyes@prrf.org.

You can find more episodes and ways to get involved with the Pediatric Retinal Research Foundation here: https://linktr.ee/throughoureyespodcast