Transferência de funções discriminativas com estímulos táteis sobre a leitura em cegos

Abstract

Recombinative generalized reading is the ability to respond to different combinations of letters and syllables that form new words without an explicit training. The stimulus equivalence paradigm has been the instrument used to explain the repertoires emergence of generalized reading without having been taught all these conditional discriminations. In this case, the linguistic units will be now under control of new relationships. The aim of this study was to establish the transfer of stimulus control of words spelled with Braille symbols for three-syllable words spelled with the symbols of the Roman alphabet printed in relief. Participants were two teenage girls with elementary and medium level of schooling and an adult at a university level of education. They all had congenital blindness and were literate on Braille and they all knew the symbols of the Roman alphabet. Three modes of presentation of tactile stimuli were planned: words, syllables and letters. To install the baseline a teaching procedure was organized with words, syllables and letters, which were echoed before the participants touch them. The AB relationship was taught and it configured the recognition of representing images that corresponded to the words. The BA relationship was taught to confirm that the participant was able to name the figures printed in relief. The AC relationship was referring to the field of reading Braille characters and it was a prerequisite for the participant inclusion in the study. The AD relationship corresponded to the presentation of the word, syllable or letter in the auditory modality for the participant to grope a stimulus as compared to the corresponding word, syllable or letter written with Roman characters printed in relief. The CD relationship evaluated the transfer of discriminative functions for the presentation of three-syllable words spelled in Braille as a model for the participant to choose the correct stimulus as compared to the words spelled with the Roman alphabet printed in relief. Finally, the DB relationship stated that in presence of three-syllable words spelled in Roman letters embossed, each participant chose the corresponding figure. The results showed the transfer of discriminative functions in Braille characters for the symbols of the Roman alphabet printed in relief on transitivity tests, with 100% of accuracy for the performance of the three participants. For these results it can be stated that once having acquired mastery of reading the Braille System it is possible to extend this control stimuli to the domain of reading the symbols of the Roman alphabet in relief, and question the use of the Braille System as a unique method to literate visually impaired people.