For the first time ever in South Africa a tactile book has been honoured with an European award. The Typhlo & Tactus Award for tactile illustrated books has recognised local tactile book designer, Lynette Rudman, for her dedication in creating educational material for visually impaired children.
For the first time ever in South Africa a tactile book has been honoured with an European award. The Typhlo & Tactus Award for tactile illustrated books has recognised local tactile book designer, Lynette Rudman, for her dedication in creating educational material for visually impaired children.
Typhlo & Tactus is a European non-profit organisation which aims to provide blind and partially sighted children to get involved in interacting with tactile illustrated books.
The tactile book which placed Rudman in the international spotlight is The Spider’s Web, which was named as the best international Typhlo and Tactus tactile illustrated book at an award ceremony in France earlier this month.
The book includes raised letters, plastic shapes, sounds and scents and tells the story of a spider which has lost its web.
T The book also makes use of large bold print and contracted Braille. Since 2004 Rudman used to run a pre-school at her home when she noticed that there was a blind three-year-old who sat in a corner and made her own stories as she paged through a book.
After realising that there is a child with a special need in her class, Rudman created her first tactile book called the First Circle.
She closed her school at the end of last year and decided to make these special books full time. After employing two assistants, Margaret Mabindisa and Mavis Booi, she taught them how to sew various textiles into books.
Rudman says that she is proud of her achievement especially "being the only South African" to have received an European award. She also says that she receices orders internationally and that Europe is one of the continents she receives orders from.
In addition to her achievements she also got an opportunity to write articles for the Typhlo & Tactus Guide for Children’s Books including tactile illustrations.
In this book she and other international practitioners have shared everything they know about tactile books and how to use them.
