Perkins & APH Partner on New Phys Ed. E-Book in Spanish for Latin America

Lavelle Fund for the Blind Grant Establishes New Collaboration between American Printing House for the Blind and the Perkins School for the Blind

Thanks to a generous grant from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, Inc., the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and the Perkins School for the Blind (Perkins) have partnered to provide teachers and coaches of K-12 students in Latin America with a Spanish-language e-book on teaching physical education to children who are blind, low vision, and deafblind. The translation from the English version of the APH Press book, Physical Education and Sports for People with Visual Impairments and Deafblindness: Foundations of Instruction, to a downloadable e-book in Spanish, will engage educators in Latin America and the Caribbean to become a fundamental text among physical education teachers and TVIs in Spanish-speaking countries throughout the region.

“APH is honored to partner with Perkins School for the Blind on this endeavor, and incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Lavelle Fund for the Blind,” said Kate Herndon, Senior Director of Product Operations and Analytics at APH. “It is imperative that we communicate with a diverse audience, and our publications, products, and online presence should be accessible to as many as people possible.”

Perkins School for the Blind is a leader in blindness education for children and young adults who are deaf, blind, or visually impaired. Perkins’ mission is to prepare students with the education, confidence, and skills they need to realize their potential. Perkins International extends the Perkins mission and expertise beyond the United States and has reached 500,000 children across the globe.

Gloria Rodriguez-Gil, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Perkins, will oversee Perkins’ dissemination of the e-book. “We need more resources like this book in Spanish in order to help all children who are blind and visually impaired learn.” said Rodriguez-Gil. “Today, many children feel isolated and sedentary due to quarantines. We hope this book will help Spanish-speaking teachers develop innovative physical activities, to help children with visual impairments and deafblindness restore a sense of normalcy, learning and fun, wherever they are learning.”

“We are pleased to support this important collaborative effort between these two highly respected organizations,” said Natalie Hilzen, Program Officer at the Lavelle Fund for the Blind. “Youngsters who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind are often not given full opportunities to participate in physical education and sports along with their peers, so critical to their overall fitness and well-being. Authored by Dr. Lauren Lieberman and Drs. Susan and Paul Ponchillia, foremost experts on physical education for students with visual impairments, this essential e-book will be a tremendous resource to Spanish-speaking educators.”

APH will make the e-book downloadable and free of charge to Latin American and Caribbean educators. APH and Perkins are hopeful that this partnership will lay the groundwork for additional translation projects in the future.