Health Education for Students with Visual Impairments: Utilizing 3D Models

Students with visual impairments are often shut out of sex education. This accessibility gap exists because sex education is almost always taught visually. Typically, students are given worksheets with diagrams of human anatomy and sex organs, and they watch videos about the reproductive process. However, none of that helps blind students much at all.

The Impact of Educational Exclusion

Stacy Kelly, a visual disabilities professor, says they conducted research asking visually-impaired adults to reflect on their sex education experiences. The findings highlight a significant deficiency in traditional methods. Kelly notes that "It does show that they did not have meaningful health education experiences," and added that "They had to figure things out on their own, or they were misinformed or they misunderstood."

Gaylen Kapperman, a professor emeritus at Northern Illinois University who is also blind, emphasizes the importance of inclusion. He stated: “It is extraordinarily unfair to have only blind youngsters totally ignorant about this, one of the major aspects of being a human being, that is, having sexual relationships.”

Effective Teaching Methods and 3D Models

There are ways to teach sex education to visually-impaired students. In 2019, Kapperman and Kelly helped author a guidebook for teachers called “Health Education For Students With Visual Impairments.” Their research and other educators say it works when proper tools are utilized.

These methods include using anatomically-correct 3D models to bridge the gap. Useful tools mentioned in the draft include:

• Tangible models of genitals
• Models of other health processes like pregnancy
• Special kits to explain birth control and vasectomies

The following table summarizes the key resources available for educators:

Addressing Administrative Resistance

Despite the effectiveness of these tools, Kapperman says, that’s where they start getting pushback. This resistance often comes from those in leadership positions. According to Kapperman, “Their supervisors who don't know anything about teaching blind youngsters forbid them to use these realistic models."

The draft suggests that this pushback is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the educational intent. Kapperman explains: "because — we don't know for sure, but we think — these uninitiated, untrained individuals view this as pornography for the blind." Regardless of these hurdles, Kapperman says the models are necessary to ensure students with visual impairments receive a comprehensive education.