Mullen, Edward A. "Decreased Braille literacy: A symptom of a system in need of reassessment." Re:View 22.3 (1990): 164. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. One reason for a decrease in Braille reading is the improvement of medical technology. There are more children today that are become visually impaired due to an accident and these children more than likely have multiple disabilities. These children's primary handicap is not listed as a visual one therefore it seems that children with visual impairments may be declining, and with that goes funding for Braille programs. Another reason is technology. It is easier today to convince Americans that technology is a better means for a visually impaired person to communicate than Braille. Also, there is discussion over many people turning to technology to communicate because learning Braille is difficult and time consuming. Finally, this article gives hope that these issues will be more widely recognized in the future.

Craig, C.J. "Family support of the emergent literacy of children with visual impairments." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 90.3 (1996): 194. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. Family involvement is important when discussing children who are visually impaired. A certain home environment is needed when it comes to teaching visually impaired children. This article tells of how reading out loud, having family outings, and encouraging independent readings can help develop blind children's literacy skills. These help the children to build and better understand stories; as well as learning to "paint pictures in their heads". Finally this article provides some suggestions to parents of children who are visually impaired. Some suggestions include: Encouraging "pretend reading and writing", designating a certain spot in the home just for reading, and learn Braille alongside their children.

Stratton, J.M. "Emergent literacy: A new perspective." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 90.3 (1996): 177. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Nov. 2010. This article explains how children learn the concepts of symbols and print through interaction with adults. It then continues to apply this to that of visually impaired children. The article states that children grow in their understanding of the environment through hands on experiences. It is necessary for a visually impaired child to develop hand skills. This is because it is their hands that are used to do the majority of their reading. It is through home and school environment as well as motor developments can help a visually impaired child become more literate.

Hartz, Deborah. "Literacy Leaps as Blind Students Embrace Technology." The English Journal 90.2 (2000): 52-59. JSTOR. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. Deborah Hartz is a teacher, who has taught high school English at The Arizona School for the Blind in Tuscan. Hartz uses a variety of technologies to help teach her students how to read. She gives detailed descriptions on the various types of machines and tells the usefulness of each machine. Some of the technology used in the class room include Braille n' Speak, Zoom Text Extra enlargement and speaking dictionaries. Hartz gives suggestions as to classroom design, and having a library in the classroom that also aid in teaching students who are visually impaired. Hartz explains how important technology is when teaching blind students because it motivates them to want to learn to read, edit and write. She says that the invention of more technology has made it easier for people with visual impairments to access Braille books and has made Braille even more popular among students.

Steinman, Bernard A., B. J. LeJeune, and B. T. Kimbrough. "Developmental Stages of Reading Processes in Children Who Are Blind and Sighted." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 100.1 (2006): 36-46. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. This article puts in contrast the development of blind or sighted children learning print and Braille in relation to Chall's stage model of reading development. Chall's stage model is a model of how one should go about learning Braille. His model is broken up into three stages. The stages are: the pre-reading stage, the middle stage, and the later stage. Then these stages are broken down into six different stages. In stages one and two children can focus on the sounds of the words themselves and stages three- five Braille readers state reading texts that have different difficulty level. This article provides detailed descriptions of all six stages and how these stages relate to a child's development when it comes to print and Braille reading.

Emerson, Robert Wall, M. Cay Holbrook, and Frances Mary D'Andrea. "Acquisition of Literacy Skills by Young Children Who Are Blind: Results from the ABC Braille Study." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 103.10 (2009): 610-624. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. The Alphabetic Braille and Contracted Braille Study looked at the reading a writing skills of children studying Braille. Their main objective was to learn about the reading experiences of blind children who learned how to read using alphabetic Braille, or in other words had learned the alphabet first, instead of learning the different symbols for words. It was proven, however, in the study that the earlier a student starting studying Braille the better they were at knowing vocabulary, reading the Braille, and comprehending it. They found no link to whether a student was better in reading due to the fact that they learned the Braille alphabet first or if they learned Braille symbols.

Johnson, L. "The braille literacy crisis for children." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 90.3 (1996): 276. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. Johnson makes clear that in the United States there needs to me more emphasis on teaching Braille to young students. It shows the concerns that parents, teachers, and students have about visually impaired children are no longer learning to read and write Braille. Due to the advances in technology Braille has become obsolete. This article gives the different perspectives of both teachers and parents when it comes to their children learning Braille. Finally Johnson says that he believes that there should be more of an integration of visually impaired children into regular classrooms. He also knows that this will not be easy. Although the students will benefit from being in an integrated class room, they need daily contact with a teacher who specializes in working with visually impaired student.

Brennan, Susan A., Gayle J. Luze, and Carla Peterson. "Parents' Perceptions of Professional Support for the Emergent Literacy of Young Children with Visual Impairments." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 103.10 (2009): 694-704. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. A survey was taken of parents who are raising a visually impaired child. The survey concentrated on what types of activities parents engaged with their child. The survey found that it was important for parents to read out loud to the children because it helped them understand "book related" concepts. Concepts such as turning the page, reading left to right, and understanding that books relay a message. This article also states that a parents cannot offer the support their child needs without professional help. Often times parents want to read to their child, but find that they don't know how to go about it, or even what books they should read to them. The article lastly states that parents should also learn Braille. This will open up more opportunities and experiences that a child can have. An experience such as having time as a family to learn Braille and make it a more fun and enjoyable experience for the child.

Ingraham L. Cynthia, Jean F. Andrews. "The hands and reading: What deafblind adult readers tell us." The British Journal of the Visually Impairment 28.2 (2010) : 103-138. Electronic Journal Center. Web. 3 November 2010. This article tells the story of three adults who are deaf blind and their approach to reading different types of texts. It provides analysis and interviews with each individual as they reflect on how they learned language and how to read as young children. Many deaf blind people tend to isolate themselves and remain illiterate in their home for most of their lives. However the story of these three individual is different. For them they are readers who enjoy reading for pleasure and have achieved higher levels of education because of their reading skills. These three people all used computer technology, scanners, print enlargers, and JAWS software. These people stress the importance that technology played along their journey to literacy.

Kliewer, Christopher, Douglas Biklen and Christi Kasa-Hendrickson. "American Educational Research Journal: Who May Be Literate? Disability and Resistance to the Cultural Denialof Competence." American Educational Research Journal 43.2 (2006): 163-192. JSTOR. Web. 13 Oct. 2010. This article is about how society is in denial about people with disabilities being literate. It tells the story's of multiple people who have disabilities that are still able to be literate, one story in particular is about Helen Keller. It goes on to tell how certain special needs educational institutions do not teach their students to read. One teacher was quoted saying "I don't have to worry about it [teaching reading]. My student's aren't readers and never will. This article provides a defense to why people with disabilities should not be deprived of the right to be literate.