APH Guidelines for Print Document Design

http://www.aph.org/edresearch/lpguide.htm

These are some great guidelines to remember for the classroom as well. I'm printing a few here and the rest can be found at the link provided above. For some of my babies with learning disabilities who are in resource or special classes I suggest using Comic Sans font as it's like the teacher's handwriting. ~K

J. Elaine Kitchel
Low Vision Project Leader
American Printing House for the Blind
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) believes guidelines for print documents should be brought to a standard of optimal usability for persons with low vision. The standards should be based on fundamental principles gleaned from research that originated from the study of the impact of print characteristics on readers of print products. This research also includes existing industry standards, where they apply.
With the advent of word processing, document design has become an intrinsic part of writing. Writers for APH encounter a wide array of new printing options. The knowledgeable use of these options helps the writer gain an advantage because readers of APH materials have become accustomed to very well-designed documents. For the writer of documents at APH, it has become an imperative to be knowledgeable about typography and design.
It is impossible to teach the writer everything he/she should know in a brief primer, but here are the essentials:

A. Use a Readable Typeface/Font

For text, a readable typeface means a sans-serif (/san-ser-if/) typeface (or font) made up of mainly straight lines. A serif is a short stroke that projects from the ends of the main strokes that make up a character. These are not desirable for use in a book to be read by persons of all ages and/or persons with visual impairments.
Although serif typefaces often work well in headings and personal stationery, they can be difficult to read in continuous text. Among the better san-serifed typefaces are APHont, Antique Olive, Tahoma, Verdana, and Helvetica.
The minimum size of any typeface to be used on APH documents is 12 points. Most large
print is 18 points.

• 12 pt. = regular print
• 14-16 pt. = "enlarged" print (not considered large print)
• 18 and larger = large print
• 18 and larger, with other formatting changes = enhanced print
• Note: Students who need print 28 points or larger should probably be considered as candidates for Braille education.

Here are the primary things to think about when selecting a font for use by persons with low vision:

1. The upper case "I" and Roman Numeral I, the numeral 1, and the lower case l, should all look different from one another.
2. The font should be wide-bodied with space between each letter. Letters which have a bubble inside them, such as o, d, g, and others should have plenty of space inside the bubble.
3. Punctuation should be rounded, large and very visible.
4. For these reasons APHont was developed and is suggested as a font that meets all necessary guidelines.
5. Font strokes should be solid and without gaps in them.

B. Use White Space

Ample white space makes a page more readable and useful because it provides contrast to the print and creates luminance around the text. The primary ways to create white space on the page are to use generous margins, e.g., margins of at least one inch for letters and other business documents. Another way to provide white space is to provide ample spacing, leading and kerning to text.
APH encourages its writers to:

• Indent 1 inch at margins
• Justify left margin, unjustify right margin
• Use a wide, san-serif font for ample kerning
• Space 1.25 between lines, especially on forms where underscores and boxes are used to provide space for writing
• Double space (30-34 pt) between paragraphs or other bodies of text
• Use block paragraph style, no indents

Other ways include white space are, supply headings and sub-headings, enumerate items in separate paragraphs, subparagraphs, or bulleted lists.
White space is especially important on forms. Lots of horizontal lines, or grids with horizontal and vertical lines can be very difficult for some people with visual impairments to follow across the page. These difficulties can be minimized through the use of pastel, colored background for every alternate line. Example below:

State	Year	Auto Sales	Home Sales	Boat Sales
Alabama	2010	309,436	99,307	27,397
Delaware	2010	214,556	78,477	39,765
Virginia	2010	349, 887	125,095	33,482
Washington	2009	272,299	69,433	30,442

Crowded text detracts from readability and usability because contrast is limited by too much black text. In studies, persons with normal vision who filled-out crowded forms often lost focus before they reached the end of the task. Persons with vision impairments struggled more than their typically-sighted peers with forms and text.

See more guidelines at http://www.aph.org/edresearch/lpguide.htm

 

Big Bills--Dollar Store Purchase

Great BIG MONEY purchase from the Dollar Store for students with low vision. Found in the toy section.

large print cell phone

For my kids, past and present who have wanted a larger print cell phone, check this link:

http://www.independentliving.com/prodinfo.asp?number=813201

Visual Impairments Specialist
W E S
http://lee.ebrschools.org/kathynicholslee
http://www.kathyskids.org
http://mskathy.proboards30.com
http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com

Article: Student's idea led to large print bill

Comment:
Always tell my young writers to write & find out. That's how we got yellow markings at Lee High. One of my kids wrote the admin about it. The student in the article below is not my student but my kind of kid! What are you encouraging your students to do? Just worksheets?
~K

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Story:
Student's idea led to large print bill

For those who have a hard time seeing the small print on those monthly bills, you can thank a former Forest Hills High School student for suggesting an optional larger type size so you can stop straining your eyes when paying your bills.

In the auditorium of Forest Hills High School, Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi and State Senator Joseph Addabbo awarded a Pen Certificate to the principal, Saul Goodnick and the students, on Thursday, December 17 – signifying that the large print bill had been signed into law by Governor David A. Paterson.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2009/12/29/news/top_stories/doc4b3a73855a09c785683105.txt

Cheap Finds to Use with Children with V.I.

LASER TOP: This toy was at Walgreen's drug store in the sale bin It requires batteries. I thought of it as visual stimulation for low vision multi-disabled kids as it can be spun for them on their wheel chair trays. It lights up, spins and makes a sound. It has a hazardous choke warning so for children who can grab and handle it themselves I'd be certain they have an MA of 5 years and over, as it says on the package, so they will not be tempted to put any parts of it in their little mouths.



VIBRATING BALL: I've had this one for a few years, also with multi disabled children in mind. I had a child with cortical visual impairment and deafness. Pull the string and this one vibrates. Use much supervision as the string may detach. For the kids I used it with, I would pull the string for them. Some were able to let me know they wanted the action repeated by either grabbing my hand or in the case of a nonverbal child with modified signs, she would sign "again." It doesn't make a sound, though. This one is hand sized. There is a larger version of this one that runs by batteries and makes a sound as it vibrates.



TEACHING COINS: I saw these in another teacher's class and thought, Wow! I have needed something like that for my low vision kids when I was teaching money!

She was going to let me borrow hers to make copies. But in my travels I saw these at Dollar Tree in the school supplies section. I have found coin worksheets on line AND placed real coins under the CCTV for students with low vision. When you don't have access to a CCTV or can't carry several in your back pocket, these are a cool alternative. They are printed on front and back. The adult size scissors didn't show up too clearly, but I placed them in the picture to give a size reference.

I've had these laminated and I will have them brailled for low vision students who read braille

Words of the Day Part 5

One day Terrance said, "I would like for opera to be the Word of the Day. I heard that word and I always wanted to know what it means." So we looked up the word and for music and movement I played Andrea Bocelli's CD for them. Terrance thought it was funny that the song was all in Italian. Of course that also meant that I had to hear children speaking and singing to each other half the morning in dramatic opera style.

The other two WODs were schoolwide from the morning announcements.

Opera: (Noun) A drama with music and all singing instead of spoken dialogue. Christy's sentence: "She went to the opera and listened to the songs."

Retain: (Verb) To keep in mind or remember. This was probably Christy's sentence before I was writing the sentence authors' names. "If you retain your math facts then you will do well in math."

Helmet: (Noun) A covering that protects the head. Terrance's sentence: "If you ride a bike you should wear a helmet."