Tactile Exploratory Procedures of Individuals with Blindness in Identifying Two-Dimensional Geometric Shapes

The objective of this pilot study was to clarify the tactile exploratory procedures (TEPs) used by adults with congenital and early-onset blindness when exploring two-dimensional cut-out geometric shapes, with particular attention to patterns of TEP use and how these varied with shape size and complexity. A total of five adults with blindness participated in the study. Each participant was presented with small and large two-dimensional geometric shapes ranging from simple to complex. Eight types of TEPs were observed in total, with some variation in their use across participants, shape sizes, and levels of shape complexity. Despite this variation, a clear overall pattern emerged, with the findings suggesting that contour following, global enclosure, and partial enclosure constitute the core TEPs for exploring two-dimensional geometric shapes.