Study on the Acquisition of the Concept of Spatial Representation by Visually Impaired People - Maps for the Future Children Education and Internet - page 291

pupils, who participated in our survey. Their drawings are representation systems,
not copies, they function as a means of socialization, as they are visible to the eyes
of those who see them and visible to the touch of those who feel them.
Considering that for a blind child to render graphical representations, it is
necessary to acquire the concept of symbolism—that something can represent
another object or the same object -, how does such a child develop this concept
and represent it through drawings? The question is relevant, because it questions the
association between seeing and knowing and refers to the questions made by Batista
( 2005 ): “ What is knowing? To see is to know? Sensory feeling is to know? One of
the responses current in psychology and in the educational environment relates to
the act of knowing to the acquisition of concepts.” This answer takes us back to the
question: how does a blind child develop the concept of symbolism and represent it
in drawings? Another question that crossed our minds was: could it be that when a
blind person learns to draw, that this facilitates the acquisition of concept mapping?
Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present findings and analyses of the research
developed, whose main objective was to investigate how blind people can learn to
draw and how important the acquisition of drawing concepts is for reading,
interpretation and analysis of tactile cartographic documents among the members
of this part of the public.
The data and analyses presented in this publication were collected from a Special
School, whose name is EMIEE Maria Aparecida Muniz Michelin - Jos´ Benedito
Carneiro : Deficiente Auditivo e Deficiente Visual located in Araras, a city in the
state of S˜o Paulo, from five pupils who participated, and from the Centro de
Reabilita¸˜o Infantil Princesa Vit ´ ria located in Rio Claro, state of S˜o Paulo, in
2009, involving a 15-year old ninth grade pupil, who has been blind since birth.
23.2 The Context Where Blind Pupils Learn to Draw
At the Special School, the material used for drawing consisted of a board covered
with thin fabric, crayons and A4 150 gsm paper. The fabric was attached to the back
of the board by small tacks. One of the edges of the paper was attached by a clip,
which was part of the board. When scribbling on the paper with the crayons, the thin
fabric produced a high relief that could be felt by touch.
After drawing the first lines, these blind pupils found a lot of pleasure in using
this material and being able to feel by touch what they were scribbling. There were
other variables that allowed these pupils to continue with their drawings, as
discussed throughout this document, but the satisfaction of the pupils upon feeling
the effect of the movement of the crayons on the paper was evident.
The same was not observed at the Centro de Reabilita¸˜o Infantil during the
collection of the data. The drawing activities were not included in the blind pupil's
daily routine. The facility also lacked suitable material for this purpose. For the
drawing activities a sheet of aluminum and a pen were used. After scratching a
mark in the aluminum, the line produced a low relief on the side where the drawing