Mum creates “a braille rich environment” for Millie

Camilla,  Millie as she is know, has been a member of the Living Paintings Library for nearly two years now. Millie’s mum Kate, got in touch to let us know how valuable the Library Service has been for her two and a half year old daughter.

“Millie was born blind with lebers congenital amaurosis. We realised in the first few weeks that she wasn’t fixing or tracking, or looking at light sources. This led us to testing at a specialist  hospital and ultimately a diagnosis shortly before her first birthday. Millie is now two years old, nearly 3, and tactile books have been a part of our daily family life since her birth.

As a primary school teacher, I have always been aware of the importance of a writing rich environment for early readers and so I have been very keen to create a braille rich environment for Millie. We have loved using the Living Paintings books in particular because of my personal wish to normalise braille in Millie’s home life alongside print books with her older sister Ava who is 4. The girls now enjoy their bedtime stories together, as Ava is starting to learn to sound out written words while Millie feels the braille. The foundation skills of feeling the 3D pictures should also prepare Millie for later using diagrams and maps when she starts school. Millie’s biggest area for development is personal and social skills – using popular books means that she has a shared experience with her peers at nursery and so is able to get more involved with discussions and play based learning.

Thank you Living Paintings for all that you do, we genuinely really appreciate it and feel very lucky to have found such a brilliant resource.”