Tactile Framework

A framework for learners developing bodily-tactile communication and tactile sign language skills

Supporting children with deafblindness, I kept hitting the same problem: nothing existed to track their progress and help set goals for bodily-tactile communication and tactile sign language. So I built this framework, and it's free to download.

What the framework does

The framework supports practitioners to assess and develop bodily-tactile communication and tactile sign language, stage by stage. It's a pilot: released for testing and trial, not yet a finished, fully validated tool. Every download, and every piece of feedback, shapes what it becomes.

Who it's for

Deafblind consultants and practitioners with a working understanding of tactile language and language development, such as speech and language therapists, and qualified/specialist sensory teachers.

You'll get the most from the framework if you have tactile sign language skills yourself. Without them, work as a team, a consultant, an intervenor, an interpreter, whoever the observation needs. Training in bodily-tactile communication and tactile sign language before you start is recommended.

Training

I run occasional webinars on using the framework as an observational tool. Email me if you'd like to hear about the next one.

Feedback keeps this moving

Download the framework and you'll be asked to join the community of practice mailing list. I use it sparingly, mostly to share updates on the framework itself.

Complete the feedback survey takes about five minutes. What you tell me shapes what happens next, both fixes to this version and the fuller revision now under way.

Problems downloading, questions about using the framework, or ideas for what's missing: steve@steverosetherapy.com.

Last update: August 2026