The Contribution of Audio-tactile Maps to Spatial Knowledge of Individuals with Visual Impairments

This study aimed at examining the ability of individuals with blindness to create cognitive maps through the use of audio-tactile maps. Twenty adults with blindness (14 males and 6 females) took part in the research. The age ranged from 20 years to 61 years. The visual impairment was congenital for 12 participants and acquired for 8 participants. The procedure was started off by the participants reading the audio-tactile map of an unknown city area which was neither known nor walked down by them in the past and then the participants depicted their cognitive map. The findings of the present study reflect the positive effect of audio-tactile maps on the cognitive map creation and, thus, their effect on the spatial knowledge of people with blindness. More than half of the participants appeared cognitive maps in precision, while the rest performed well with reference to the