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Investigating Potential Tactile Strategies of Students with Deafblindness: An Exploratory Study

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Title: Investigating Potential Tactile Strategies of Students with Deafblindness: An Exploratory Study
Language: English
Authors: Maria Papazafiri, Vassilios Argyropoulos (ORCID 0000-0002-5105-4514)
Source: Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. 2025 25(3):590-602.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Students with Disabilities, Deaf Blind, Tactile Adaptation, Tactual Perception, Manipulative Materials, Inquiry, Foreign Countries, Special Schools, Preadolescents
Geographic Terms: Greece
DOI: 10.1111/1471-3802.12746
ISSN: 1471-3802
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies applied by students with deafblindness when they actively explore objects by touch in terms of their texture and weight. For the needs of the present study, a Delphi consultation methodology was applied by the authors and special education teachers. The students were invited to participate in matching activities with familiar objects focusing on texture and weight, respectively. The analysis revealed that the students adopted a combination of tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies in order to identify an object's texture and weight. It seemed that the tactile exploratory strategy 'Pressure' in combination with a variety of tactile behaviours such as banging, shaking or/and rotating was in common. The results may contribute to the formation of more sophisticated individualized educational plans giving emphasis on active touch. Tactile exploratory strategies procedures are considered to be of high importance for students with deafblindness since they constitute 'roadmaps' for them to build-up their knowledge following a 'kinesthetic reasoning'.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1476546
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0186527087;0lc01jul.25;2025Jul12.02:53;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0186527087-1">Investigating potential tactile strategies of students with deafblindness: An exploratory study </title> <p>The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies applied by students with deafblindness when they actively explore objects by touch in terms of their texture and weight. For the needs of the present study, a Delphi consultation methodology was applied by the authors and special education teachers. The students were invited to participate in matching activities with familiar objects focusing on texture and weight, respectively. The analysis revealed that the students adopted a combination of tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies in order to identify an object's texture and weight. It seemed that the tactile exploratory strategy 'Pressure' in combination with a variety of tactile behaviours such as banging, shaking or/and rotating was in common. The results may contribute to the formation of more sophisticated individualized educational plans giving emphasis on active touch. Tactile exploratory strategies procedures are considered to be of high importance for students with deafblindness since they constitute 'roadmaps' for them to build‐up their knowledge following a 'kinesthetic reasoning'.</p> <p>Keywords: Alstrom syndrome; deafblindness; tactile exploratory behaviours; tactile strategies; Zellweger syndrome</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Deafblindness is a unique disability. It combines vision impairment and deafness or hard of hearing. This combination restricts a person's activities and full participation in society to such an extent that society is required to facilitate with specific services, environmental changes and/or technology.</item> <p></p> <item> The sense of touch has been considered as an important means for individuals with deafblindness to obtain information about their environment and develop cognitively.</item> <p></p> <item> The present study focused on tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies (TES) of two students with deafblindness when they interacted with objects trying to figure out their texture and weight.</item> <p></p> <item> The information that can be obtained by observing children with deafblindness during their interaction with objects with different textures and weight may provide useful information regarding exploratory behaviours that these children can perform or adopt to interpret the 'outside world' following a 'kinesthetic reasoning'.</item> </ulist> <p>Key Points</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-2">INTRODUCTION</hd> <p>Deafblindness is not just a combination of two disabilities namely deafness plus blindness. It is a unique disability with specific characteristics which has a high impact on perception and communication and as a result, individuals with deafblindness constitute a very heterogeneous population. This specific heterogeneity is due to a set of several causes such as: (a) the various causes of deafblindness, (b) the age at which deafblindness occurs, (c) the time that deafblindness is established (before or after the development of language), (d) the impact of the vision and hearing loss on the individual, (e) the levels of functional vision or hearing, (f) the comorbidity with other disabilities and (g) the impact of the comorbidity on the individual's development (Larsen & Damen, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref1">29</reflink>]; Minhas et al., [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref2">40</reflink>]). Because of the great heterogeneity of deafblindness, there are various definitions as the researchers are trying to combine the characteristics of this population in order to develop appropriate educational and therapeutic programs (Larsen & Damen, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref3">29</reflink>]). One of the most known definitions is that of the World Health Organization:</p> <p>'Deafblindness is a unique disability. It combines vision impairment and deafness or hard of hearing. This combination restricts a person's activities and full participation in society to such an extent that society is required to facilitate with specific services, environmental changes and/or technology'. WHO., [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref4">55</reflink>] (p.13)</p> <p>Another definition which highlights the severity and the complexity of deafblindness is the following: 'deafblindness is a combination of vision and hearing impairment of such severity that it is hard for the impaired senses to compensate for each other' (Nordic Welfare Center, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref5">44</reflink>]).</p> <p>In a nutshell, deafblindness is an umbrella term that describes the distinctly different level of impact of visual impairment and deafness/hard of hearing on key areas of life, such as communication, access to information and participation in social life as well as other aspects of life such as orientation and mobility, independence during everyday life activities (Janssen, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref6">22</reflink>]). It can be argued that a significant feature of children with deafblindness is their dependency on other individuals to structure their learning experiences, including their interactions with people, objects and different types of sensory experiences (McLinden & McCall, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref7">38</reflink>]; Papazafiri & Argyropoulos, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref8">46</reflink>]).</p> <p>Because of the combination of loss of distance senses such as vision and hearing, as well as the combination with other disabilities, the sense of touch has been considered as a vital factor for the individuals with deafblindness to obtain information about their environment, to interact with it and develop cognitively (Argyropoulos & Papazafiri, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref9">5</reflink>]; Caruso, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref10">12</reflink>]; Gibson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref11">16</reflink>]). Touch is the first sense to develop in individuals' lives (Lejeune et al., [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref12">31</reflink>]), because the first sensations children experienced are tactile, and it evolves over time through interactions with the environment (Papagno et al., [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref13">45</reflink>]). As a result, haptic perception plays a very important role to the child's development (Bremner & Spence, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref14">9</reflink>]).</p> <p>Haptic perception has been defined as a perception that relates to the sense of touch (Argyropoulos, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref15">4</reflink>]; McLinden, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref16">35</reflink>]); it is considered as a multifactor process that encompasses interdependent factors such as touch, movement, posture, reference frame of interpretation, language issues and prior knowledge (Argyropoulos, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref17">4</reflink>]). Active touch is defined by voluntary and purposive movements which aim to obtain information about surfaces and materials of the external environment (Heller, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref18">19</reflink>]). Touch stimulation is very motivational at all ages—especially during infancy and early childhood—because it affects significantly all areas of development (Ardiel & Rankin, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref19">3</reflink>]; Field, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref20">15</reflink>]; Hewett, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref21">20</reflink>]). In children with deafblindness because of the limited vision and hearing, there are fewer opportunities for tactile interaction with their environment. Hence, there is a great need to study the effective ways of creating an appropriate for them environment, investigate the ways that they interact through touch and implement methods to enhance their tactile abilities. However, despite the fact that touch is vital for individuals with deafblindness, there is limited number of studies which investigate aspects of tactile acuity or tactile exploratory behaviours and tactile strategies probably because of the frequent coexistence of other disabilities or health problems (Papagno et al., [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref22">45</reflink>]).</p> <p>Children with DB are often classified under what is considered as their primary disability such as vision disability or hearing disability. The functional vision of children with DB is often not evaluated because professionals do not have the expertise to evaluate a child with such complex needs (Kyriacou et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref23">28</reflink>]). In essence, the main feature of deafblindness is the combination of disabilities and their impact on child's development (Argyropoulos & Papazafiri, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref24">5</reflink>]; Simcock, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref25">51</reflink>]).</p> <p>It is recorded from previous studies that children exhibit tactile behaviours very early in life trying to interact with their environment and perceive its features (Marcus et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref26">33</reflink>]; Molina et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref27">41</reflink>]). These tactile behaviours of individuals with and without sensory disabilities have been observed and recorded extensively. Examples of tactile behaviours may be mouthing, using face area, pushing, shaking, squeezing, hands on contact, rotating, fingering, banging, transferring from one hand to the other hand, pulling apart, dropping, throwing or pushing away, etc. (Bradley‐Johnson et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref28">7</reflink>]; Bushnell & Boudreau, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref29">11</reflink>]; Caruso, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref30">12</reflink>]).</p> <p>On the contrary, tactile exploratory strategies (TES) are considered to be more sophisticated because they aim to discriminate and recognize objects and other tactile features from 'actively' handling them as opposed to just 'looking at them' (Bushnell & Boudreau, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref31">11</reflink>]; McLinden, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref32">36</reflink>]; McLinden & McCall, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref33">38</reflink>]). Many years ago, Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref34">26</reflink>]) have conducted a significant study proposed that individuals with blindness apply specific tactile exploratory strategies (they also referred to them as 'tactile exploratory procedures') when they actively explore objects from their environment trying to identify specific properties of them (i.e., texture, temperature, weight, hardness, etc.) (see Table 1).</p> <p>1 TABLE Tactile exploratory strategy (Klatzky et al., 1987).</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th align="left">Tactile exploration strategy</th><th align="left">Describe</th><th align="left">Aim</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">Lateral motion</td><td align="left">Rubbing the surface of an object with fingers</td><td align="left">Texture</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Pressure</td><td align="left">Squeezing, or poking an object</td><td align="left">Hardness</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Static contact</td><td align="left">Holding the fingers static on the surface of an object</td><td align="left">Temperature</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Enclosure</td><td align="left">Holding or grasping an object with the hand</td><td align="left">Volume‐global shape</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Unsupported holding</td><td align="left">Holding an object unsupported in the hand</td><td align="left">Weight</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Contour following</td><td align="left">Tracing along the contours of an object with the fingers</td><td align="left">Global shape‐exact shape</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>McLinden ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref35">36</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref36">37</reflink>]) investigated types of tactile exploratory behaviours in children with vision impairment and intellectual disability related to tactile exploratory strategies and came up with a specific set of these behaviours (Table 2). The author in his studies tried to link the observed behaviours functionally with the tactile exploratory strategies proposed by Lederman and Klatzky ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref37">30</reflink>]) (Table 2).</p> <p>2 TABLE Examples of observed tactile behaviours (McLinden, 2004 , 2012) related to TES (Lederman & Klatzky, 1987).</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th align="left">Tactile exploratory behaviours (McLinden, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr36">2004</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr37">2012</xref>)</th><th align="left">Tactile exploratory strategies (Lederman & Klatzky, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr30">1987</xref>)</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">Rubbing using fingertips, scratching, mouthing: internal, external tongue movements</td><td align="left">Lateral motion</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Squeezing, tapping, biting or gnawing an object, rhythmical patting, teeth or mouth, tapping on stomach</td><td align="left">Pressure</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Holding an object against face</td><td align="left">Static contact</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Insert an object into mouth</td><td align="left">Enclosure</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Balancing an object on head or neck</td><td align="left">Unsupported holding</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Exploring contours of an object with fingers or with face or with body</td><td align="left">Contour following</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Haptic behaviours are defined as haptic movements in order to perceive objects and forms (Klatzky et al., [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref38">26</reflink>]). In relevant literature review, there are differences between behaviours and strategies. Tactile exploratory strategies are tactile behaviours which are repeated and aim at the perception of a specific property of the object (Lederman & Klatzky, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref39">30</reflink>]).</p> <p>The information received through the haptic modality assumes particular significance for these children (McLinden & McCall, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref40">39</reflink>]), with the limited information available through their visual and hearing sense, often in combination with additional impairments. This situation results in difficulty to actively interact with objects and people in their environment, thereby restricting the child's exploration and therefore his or her understanding of the world.</p> <p>Understanding how children with DB receive and process information through haptic perception has particular relevance to practitioners involved in assessment and planning intervention approaches in special education. In the present study, the authors focused on children's' interaction with objects in terms of their texture and weight. This is because previous studies argued that newborns during the manual exploration of objects gather information mainly regarding texture and weight (Jouen & Molina, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref41">23</reflink>]; Molina et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref42">41</reflink>]; Molina & Jouen, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref43">42</reflink>]). Moreover, most studies regarding the tactile exploratory behaviours in blind children focus also on texture and weight (Karim et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref44">25</reflink>]; Lobo & Galloway, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref45">32</reflink>]; Morange‐Majoux et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref46">43</reflink>]; Schellingerhout et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref47">49</reflink>]; Withagen et al., [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref48">54</reflink>]).</p> <p>For this, the aim of the present paper is not only to investigate and describe tactile exploratory behaviours but also attempts to trace and describe potential tactile exploratory strategies (TES) performed by students who had deafblindness, when the latter tried to explore and compare manipulative objects in terms of their texture and weight. Another secondary aim of the present study is to underline the significance of tactile behaviours and potential tactile patterns in educational practice empowering the autonomy of children with DB and enhancing their quality of life.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-3">METHODOLOGY</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0186527087-4">Participants</hd> <p>The sample of the present study consisted of one student with Zellweger syndrome and two students with ALMS. All students were registered in special schools for the Blind and were identified from the official list of pupils with deafblindness (DB) of the Special Education Directorate, Greek Ministry of Education, and Religious Affairs. The authorization to conduct this research has been approved by the Institute of Educational Policy, Greek Ministry of Education, and Religious Affairs. In addition, the present research was also approved by The Research Ethics Committee of the University of Thessaly. Furthermore, the authors granted a special permission for video recordings with the agreement to record exclusively the hands of the students to protect their personal data. In addition, parental consent has been also granted and many preliminary procedures took place in order to prepare the 'ground' for the main research (i.e., meetings with the head, with the professionals, etc.).</p> <p>The first student (1BZ) was a 10‐year‐old boy who had Zellweger syndrome. Zellweger Spectrum Disorder (ZSD) constitutes a group of conditions which affect severely both vision and hearing causing deafblindness (DB). Symptoms of ZSD usually occur during the first few hours or days of life. Affected newborns often have poor muscle tone (hypotonia); seizures; feeding difficulties; liver cysts with liver dysfunction; and distinctive facial characteristics (Braveman et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref49">8</reflink>]). Furthermore, individuals with ZSD have some degree of hearing loss. Auditory functions should, therefore, be evaluated and hearing aids should be used (Broomfield et al., [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref50">10</reflink>]). He had blindness and severe hearing loss, motor disability of lower limbs, intellectual disability and other severe health problems. He communicated through touch cues and pictograms.</p> <p>The second student (2GA) was a 9‐year‐old girl who had Alström syndrome. Alström syndrome (AS) also induces deafblindness. AS is a rare genetic disorder (Joy et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref51">24</reflink>]; Marshall et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref52">34</reflink>]). It is characterized by a progressive loss of vision and hearing, a form of heart disease that enlarges and weakens the heart muscle (dilated cardiomyopathy), obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (the most common form of diabetes) and short stature (Joy et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref53">24</reflink>]). Children with AS often need cochlear implant and they have visual loss also early at their age (Marshall et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref54">34</reflink>]). She had low vision and severe hearing loss, intellectual disability and other severe health problems. She communicated verbally.</p> <p>The third student (3BA) was a boy, 11 years old. He had also Alström syndrome. He had low vision and hearing loss, intellectual disability as well as severe health problems. He also communicated verbally.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-5">Research design</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0186527087-6">Phase 1</hd> <p>During the process of selecting, adapting and composing the tactile activities of the present study, there were issues that concerned the authors, such as the appropriateness of the activities in conjunction with the properties of the objects that would be used in the activities. In the process of modifying and composing new tactile activities, the authors took into account: (a) the heterogeneity of the specific student population and (b) the impact of deafblindness on the development of tactile exploratory behaviours or strategies in accordance with children's development on this matter. In order to ensure that the research procedure was reliable and before the authors finalized the number and the nature of the tactile identification tasks of the present study, they systematically observed the special education teachers who were interacting with the students in question in various tactile activities using familiar items. The authors put great emphasis during their observation specifically on the following: (a) the suitability of the objects and design of the activities, (b) linguistic frameworks that were used during the interactions between special education teachers and the students, (c) the common time taken to finish an activity. This observation phase lasted approximately 2 months (one visit per week) and after this the authors based on their observation notes designed the tactile tasks.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-7">Phase 2</hd> <p>In order to finalize and validate the content as well as the research process of the activities, the authors invited the professionals to be part of a consultation group. By using a Delphi consultation methodology (Stone & Busby, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref55">52</reflink>]), four meetings were organized between the special education teachers who were responsible for the students of the present study and the authors (all experts in the field of visual impairment and multiple disabilities; the Delphi Consultation Group—DCG). All members of the DCG discussed what was considered essential in the designed tactile activities and after 1 month they reached a consensus regarding the tactile activities of the present study. The aim of these meetings was pertinent to questions such as: (a) if the objects are familiar to the specific children, (b) if the stages of the process could be easily apprehended by the students, (c) if the angle of filming was appropriate and finally, (d) if all elements that the authors needed could be collected. The results shaped the following activities (see Figures 1,2).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0001.jpg" title="1 The odd one out in terms of texture through touch (Activity 1)." /> </p> <p></p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0002.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0002.jpg" title="2 Searching through touch for the odd one out in terms of weight (Activity 2)." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0186527087-10">Phase 3</hd> <p>The above actions contributed to the creation of activities with a clearly formulated linguistic framework, understood by the students, commensurate with their age, their language and communicative level. The tactile activities were designed in such a way that they could be administered easily and quickly. In addition, the attractiveness of the appearance of the materials was sought, using materials with colour contrasts, various textures, vibrations and sounds, but mainly they were familiar to the students. It is important to mention that the objects of the activities were three‐dimensional and their size was as much as the palm of the students' hands. The finalization of the activities was a product of systematic feedback rounds through the members of the DCG (see Phase 2).</p> <p>All three students took part—one by one—in tactile identification activities in terms of texture and weight. The aim was to record the students' use of hands and responses during their tactile exploration with objects in terms of texture and weight. The members of the DCG agreed to work out the properties <emph>texture</emph> and <emph>weight</emph> because many studies which involve children with visual impairment and/or additional disabilities consider these specific properties extremely useful to extract domain specific information from objects through a variety of tactile exploratory procedures (Klatzky et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref56">27</reflink>]).</p> <p>Observing students' hand movements during tactile exploration of materials and objects is a challenging task (e.g., different textures such as wool, silk, scrap paper of various textures, etc. and objects such as sound toys, small manipulative three‐dimensional shapes, vibrating toys, pieces of clay, Play‐Doh, etc.). For this reason, the authors used video recording as an important tool for collecting data for the present study. The use of video recording offers significant advantages for evaluating such complex behaviours. It offers opportunities for repetition and better control of the observed data and allows researchers to achieve observation and analysis levels that cannot be achieved with real‐time observations (Haidet et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref57">17</reflink>]).</p> <p>Each student was video recorded for approximately 20 min for two tactile activities. The time length and the procedure of the tactile activities was decided by the DCG. In addition, it was decided that the special education teachers will conduct the activities with the students and the researchers will be in charge of the video recording and taking notes during the process. It is worth noting that video recording is quite a complex and difficult process, especially when it comes to children, especially when it concerns children with multiple disabilities. For this reason, the authors considered many unpredictable factors for the video recording process (such as illnesses, hospitalizations, refusals or reactions during the video recording). All students were informed that there was no right, or wrong answer and they would not be given feedback. Additionally, the participants were informed that the whole process would be video recorded, and that the camera shot would focus only on their hands. The camera was positioned on a tripod behind the students' shoulders and as mentioned above, a special permission was granted from the Greek Ministry of Education, and Religious Affairs as well as from the students' parents to record exclusively the students' hands.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-11">Data analysis</hd> <p>Data analysis was based on video recording sessions. For the analysis of the data, the authors used the Sony VegasPro 13.0, a video editing software, and the qualitative data analysis was conducted through the software Atlas.ti.</p> <p>The analysis of the tactile exploratory behaviours and potential tactile exploratory strategies was based on a protocol which has been used by Lederman and Klatzky ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref58">30</reflink>]) as well as by McLinden ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref59">36</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref60">37</reflink>]) (see Tables 1 and 2 respectively). The elaboration of the data obtained from the video recordings regarding the categorization of the students' tactile exploratory behaviours was conducted by the members of the DCG (students' special education teachers and the authors). In most cases there was an agreement. When there was any type of disagreement (i.e., value of interrater agreement less than 90%), then the members of the DCG met to reassess the video shootings and discuss to reach a consensus.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-12">Research procedure</hd> <p>The first student (1BZ) was invited to seat with his wheelchair in front of a table. The special education teacher moved behind the student using the hand‐on‐hand strategy (Hathazi, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref61">18</reflink>]) in order to help him to manipulate a variety of objects (all objects were small manipulative 3‐D items) which were on the table (e.g., pick up objects that might be for some reason out of grasp). Also, the special education teacher used physical guidance to introduce objects to the student such as elbow prompt (e.g., gentle tap on the elbow). The students 2GA and 3BA were invited to seat in front of the table independently. The special education teacher used verbal communication to let the students know about the purpose of the activities and assisted them to actively manipulate the objects which were on the table. The researchers observed the students' haptic behaviours, took notes and video recorded all processes of interaction. Each student explored four objects at a time. All four objects were quite similar apart from one which differed in texture or in weight. The students were invited to participate in two activities. The aim for the first activity was to identify texture and it consisted of three tasks, described as follows: (a) each student was instructed to grasp each object which was placed in front of them (the special education teacher placed four balls, see Figure 1), (b) in turn, each student was asked to describe the features of each object, and (c) each student was asked to identify which is the odd one out in terms of texture. Only one ball had different texture compared to the other objects (see Figure 1).</p> <p>The aim of the second activity was to identify the different weight. The special education teacher placed four objects (small bags) in front of the student. All the objects had the same properties except one which had different weight. Similarly to Activity 1, Activity 2 constituted of three small tasks: (a) each student was instructed to grasp the objects presented to them, (b) then they were asked to describe the characteristics of each object, and (c) finally, each participant was asked to identify the odd one out in terms of their weight (see Figure 2).</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-13">RESULTS</hd> <p>As mentioned above, the aim of the present study was to observe tactile exploratory behaviours and trace potential strategies (TES) of students with DB when they interacted with objects giving emphasis on their texture or on their weight. The findings of this study are presented first in terms of students' tactile exploratory behaviours including TES when they were focusing on texture and secondly when they were focusing on weight.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-14">Texture</hd> <p>All students were successfully responded to the sensory tactile activities with either physical or verbal guidance or prompting from the special education teacher (see also Research Procedure).</p> <p>Student 1BZ, demonstrated a combination of tactile behaviours and TES to identify texture. Figure 1 constitutes output of Atlas.ti which includes the observed haptic movements which composed corresponding TES that the student applied in order to identify the texture of the objects and make the corresponding matchings. Behaviours are highlighted in yellow, while TES are highlighted in red. Some of the behaviours are related to TESs. More specifically, student 1BZ used to hold in his hands the first object which was administered to him. That is, he used the TES 'Enclosure'. Then he explored it using his fingers (fingering) which is a behaviour functionally related to the TES 'Contour Following'. Afterwards, he grabbed it with both hands (Enclosure). Then he held the object with his left hand and later on with the right hand and it was like he wanted to remove a part of the object (pulling apart). In turn, with his right hand grasped the other objects one by one and tapped them on the table (banging) following a kind of rhythmical pattern. After this motion, he squeezed each object using both hands (see Figure 3). Both banging and squeezing are tactile behaviours functionally related to the TES 'Pressure'.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0003.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0003.jpg" title="3 Graphic extract from Atlas.ti regarding interrelations between observed tactile exploratory behaviours and TES when focusing on texture (Student: 1BZ)." /> </p> <p></p> <p>Student 2GA demonstrated a combination of TESs when focusing on texture. She preferred to start the exploratory process for each object by holding it with both hands (Enclosure), and then she applied some kind of pressure on the object using also both hands (Pressure). In the end, student 2GA held steadily the object with her left hand and she explored the properties of the object using the fingers of her right hand (Lateral motion). She usually held the object(s) very close to her eyes (see Figure 4).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0004.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0004.jpg" title="4 Graphic extract from Atlas.ti regarding interrelations between observed tactile exploratory behaviours and TES when focusing on texture (Student: 2GA)." /> </p> <p></p> <p>Student 3BA commenced the exploratory process using both hands; first he grabbed the object(s) and applied pressure to them (Pressure). In turn, student 3BA used to rotate the objects shaking them at the same time. The last two tactile behaviours were repeated by student 3BA in almost every single object when texture was asked to be explored and are referred to be related to the tactile strategies 'Contour Following' and 'Unsupported Holding', respectively (see Figure 5). However, in relevant literature, these tactile behaviours usually are not used to find out texture (McLinden & McCall, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref62">39</reflink>]; Papazafiri & Argyropoulos, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref63">47</reflink>]).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0005.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0005.jpg" title="5 Graphic extract from Atlas.ti regarding interrelations between observed tactile exploratory behaviours and TES when focusing on texture (Student: 3B)." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0186527087-18">Weight</hd> <p>Student 1BZ, regarding the tasks which had to do with weight, demonstrated the following tactile roadmap. He used to grab the object and held it with both hands (Enclosure). In turn, he was passing the object to his left hand and with his left hand he was bringing the object close to his ear and kept it like this tracing the outline of the object with his ear (using face area). This behaviour is referred as related to the TES 'Contour following' and 'Lateral motion'. At some point, he was pressurizing the object with his right hand (Pressure). After these movements, he started shaking the object on his hand. This behaviour is referred as relevant to the TES 'Unsupported holding' (Figure 6). However, in relevant research the tactile strategies 'Contour following' and 'Lateral motion' have not been traced when subjects try to find out information about the weight of the objects.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0006.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0006.jpg" title="6 Graphic extract from Atlas.ti regarding interrelations between observed tactile exploratory behaviours and TES when focusing on weight (Student: 1BZ)." /> </p> <p></p> <p>Student 2GA applied the following series of tactile behaviours in order to identify weight. Usually, she was holding the object with both hands using her palms (Enclosure), and then she applied press on it with her fingertips (Pressure). In the end, she started rotating the object bringing it very close to her eyes. The rotation was associated with the tactile strategy 'Contour following' (see Figure 7).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0007.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0007.jpg" title="7 Graphic extract from Atlas.ti regarding interrelations between observed tactile exploratory behaviours and TES when focusing on weight (Student: 2 GA)." /> </p> <p></p> <p>Student 3BA, when trying to figure out the weight of the objects, usually he was grabbing the objects in his one hand and exerted a kind of pressure on it (Pressure). Then he was shaking the object on his hand. This behaviour was associated with the TES 'Unsupported holding'. In the end, he was placing the object on the desk pushing it again (Pressure) (Figure 8).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/0LC/01jul25/jrs312746-fig-0008.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrs312746-fig-0008.jpg" title="8 Graphic extract from Atlas.ti regarding interrelations between observed tactile exploratory behaviours and TES when focusing on weight (Student: 3 BA)." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0186527087-22">DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS</hd> <p>Students with deafblindness (DB) heavily depend on haptic information to interact with their surroundings, acquire knowledge and develop essential daily life skills. Through touch they build‐up concepts, and develop communication and social skills (Alsop, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref64">1</reflink>]; Bara, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref65">6</reflink>]). Knowledge about functioning of touch of students with DB is of great importance for researchers and professionals (Anderzen‐Carlsson, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref66">2</reflink>]; Argyropoulos & Papazafiri, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref67">5</reflink>]). Tactile exploratory movements are considered as important means to deafblind students' development and interaction with the world. Piaget's theory of intelligence posits that the development of representational thinking is facilitated through interactions with objects during infancy. Additionally, he underlined that the emergence of specific motor abilities during early stages of development may have an influence on various aspects of perceptual and cognitive growth later in life (Bushnell & Boudreau, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref68">11</reflink>]; McLinden, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref69">36</reflink>]). However, there is limited understanding regarding how students with DB utilize their sense of touch, as the majority of relevant studies focus on their visual loss and not on the dual impairment (Vinter et al., [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref70">53</reflink>]). The understanding of the functioning of touch and behaviours and tactical investigation strategies determines to a large extent the context through which the particular student population can be supported through early intervention and teaching programs (Argyropoulos & Papazafiri, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref71">5</reflink>]; Chen & Downing, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref72">13</reflink>]; Horn & Kang, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref73">21</reflink>]).</p> <p>The purpose of the present study was to observe tactile exploratory behaviours including tactile exploratory strategies (TES) that students with DB use to interact with objects trying to figure out their texture and weight. More specifically, the first student (1BZ), who was blind used more tactile behaviours than TESs in order to identify texture. Some of these behaviours are associated functionally with specific TESs. The behaviours 'banging the object on the surface' and 'squeezing the object' are associated with the TES 'Pressure'. The behaviour 'fingering the object' is associated with the TES 'Contour following' (McLinden, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref74">37</reflink>]). It is interesting to underline though that the haptic behaviours which student 1BZ applied to identify texture are not in accordance with the protocol of Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref75">26</reflink>]). However, the student 1BZ, successfully completed the corresponding activity of the present study. Regarding the exploration of weight, the student 1BZ used various tactile behaviours as well TESs. More specifically, he used to enclose the object in his hands (Enclosure), and place it near his ear, which is related to the TESs 'Contour following' and 'Lateral motion', and in turn he was applying pressure on the object (TES: 'Pressure'). Then the student was shaking the object, which is related to the TES 'Unsupported holding'. The tactile pattern that student 1BZ applied to investigate weight is a synthetic one and incorporated more than one TES, whereas the protocol of Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref76">26</reflink>]) referred to one TES ('Unsupported holding').</p> <p>The second student (2GA) used 'Pressure' and 'Lateral motion' for the identification of texture and regarding weight she used 'Enclosure' and 'Pressure'. Both tactile patterns were synthetic and differed from the protocol proposed by Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref77">26</reflink>]). However, the student 2GA successfully completed the activity.</p> <p>The third student 3BA used one TES and two tactile behaviours for the identification of texture. More specifically, he used 'Pressure' and then he rotated the objects which seemed to be related to the TES 'Contour Following' and in turn he was lifting them up using his hand ('Unsupported Holding'). None of the above behaviours or TESs are related to the identification of texture regarding Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref78">26</reflink>]) or McLinden ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref79">36</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref80">37</reflink>]); nevertheless, the student successfully completed the activity. Finally, the student 3BA used the TES 'Pressure' and then he was shaking the object using his hand to identify the weight of the objects. This type of tactile behaviour is related to the TES 'Unsupported holding'.</p> <p>It is worth mentioning, that all students in the present study followed a pattern when trying to recognize the texture and the weight of objects. They all used the TES 'Pressure' in combination with a variety of tactile behaviours such as banging, shaking, rotating, etc.</p> <p>The TESs that the authors observed were similar to the description of specific exploratory strategies that Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref81">26</reflink>]) found out in their research, for example Enclosure, Pressure, Unsupported holding, etc. The tactile behaviours that the authors observed such as squeezing or poking an object, waving an object, rhythmical tapping an object and using face area are in the same line with the studies conducted by McLinden ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref82">36</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref83">37</reflink>]). However, what was observed is that the participants used the specific behaviours and strategies not only for the objectives described by Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref84">26</reflink>]). It may be argued that there is a preliminary basic tactile pattern that children with deafblindness apply when interacting with their environment, and after this familiarization phase, they proceed to more sophisticated tactile behaviours. Hence, it may be suggested to enrich Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref85">26</reflink>]) tactile behaviour protocol or propose another framework of strategies for people with deafblindness. In addition, it is important to highlight that students with deafblindness often demonstrate a type of tactile defensiveness (Costain, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref86">14</reflink>]). This means that they may often avoid tactile interaction with their environment or do not exhibit the expected tactile behaviours. This tactile defensiveness has a negative impact on various aspects of life of individuals with deafblindness. The tactile defensiveness may be another factor for the manifestation of tactile behaviours or for the use of strategies with a different functional goal than that described in previous studies.</p> <p>The results of the present study may be the cause to reconsider our views regarding tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies when the population in question are persons with deafblindness. The framework set by Klatzky et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref87">26</reflink>]) seems to be a generic framework which needs more detailed and analytical enrichment when it comes to children with deafblindness.</p> <p>The associations made by McLinden ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref88">36</reflink>]) between observed haptic movements and exploratory procedures (or exploratory strategies), offer a useful conceptual framework to researchers and practitioners to observe and analyse a child's tactile movements aiming at a more comprehensive and person‐centered educational programme. The analysis of tactile behaviours and TESs of children with deafblindness will shed light on how children with deafblindness interpret by touch the 'outside world' following a 'kinesthetic reasoning' (Argyropoulos & Papazafiri, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref89">5</reflink>]).</p> <p>The practical implementation of the above may influence significantly individualized educational plans, particularly in consideration of active touch, shaping responsive educational environment for the development of the specific student population. All this literature which deals with aspects of active touch constitutes an emerging area in literature‐based discovery (Sebastian & Smalheiser, [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref90">50</reflink>]), although it is investigated many years now from many researchers especially from those who are involved in low‐incidence disabilities. Professionals need to trace and study in detail the complicated spectrum of all these haptic behaviours of children with DB to get familiarized with them and find out potential characteristics and patterns. For example, the cause of the participants' deafblindness in the present study was due to the existence of two specific syndromes (i.e. Zellweger Spectrum Disorder and Alström syndrome), which means that the outcomes may be different if the cause of deafblindness was different. The limitations of the present study are pertinent to the small sample size and to the extremely high heterogeneity of the participants. However, it should be emphasized that the entire population of people with blindness is characterized by high heterogeneity. Nevertheless, it is not only the haptic behaviours or haptic skills significant per se, but it is also the great issue that 'tactile behaviours' in general for people with blindness or DB constitute channels of communication and interaction with the environment. It is vital to ensure that each student of this population would have the opportunities to interact with objects and environment exploiting the best of his or her unique tactile abilities, dealing with parental overprotection and empowering targeted educational interventions related to tactile exploratory strategies (Chen & Downing, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref91">13</reflink>]; Horn & Kang, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref92">21</reflink>]; Rönnasen et al., [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref93">48</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-23">FUNDING INFORMATION</hd> <p>This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not‐for‐profit sectors.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-24">CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT</hd> <p>The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.</p> <hd id="AN0186527087-25">DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT</hd> <p>The data that support the findings of this study are available from the ethics committee of the University of Thessaly, but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under written consent from the participants for the current study are not publicly available. 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  Data: Investigating Potential Tactile Strategies of Students with Deafblindness: An Exploratory Study
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  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maria+Papazafiri%22">Maria Papazafiri</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vassilios+Argyropoulos%22">Vassilios Argyropoulos</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5105-4514">0000-0002-5105-4514</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Research+in+Special+Educational+Needs%22"><i>Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs</i></searchLink>. 2025 25(3):590-602.
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
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  Data: 13
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  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
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  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Students+with+Disabilities%22">Students with Disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Deaf+Blind%22">Deaf Blind</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tactile+Adaptation%22">Tactile Adaptation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tactual+Perception%22">Tactual Perception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Manipulative+Materials%22">Manipulative Materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inquiry%22">Inquiry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+Schools%22">Special Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preadolescents%22">Preadolescents</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Greece%22">Greece</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1111/1471-3802.12746
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  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1471-3802
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  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies applied by students with deafblindness when they actively explore objects by touch in terms of their texture and weight. For the needs of the present study, a Delphi consultation methodology was applied by the authors and special education teachers. The students were invited to participate in matching activities with familiar objects focusing on texture and weight, respectively. The analysis revealed that the students adopted a combination of tactile exploratory behaviours and strategies in order to identify an object's texture and weight. It seemed that the tactile exploratory strategy 'Pressure' in combination with a variety of tactile behaviours such as banging, shaking or/and rotating was in common. The results may contribute to the formation of more sophisticated individualized educational plans giving emphasis on active touch. Tactile exploratory strategies procedures are considered to be of high importance for students with deafblindness since they constitute 'roadmaps' for them to build-up their knowledge following a 'kinesthetic reasoning'.
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: EJ1476546
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 590
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Students with Disabilities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Deaf Blind
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tactile Adaptation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tactual Perception
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Manipulative Materials
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Preadolescents
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      – TitleFull: Investigating Potential Tactile Strategies of Students with Deafblindness: An Exploratory Study
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            NameFull: Maria Papazafiri
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