3D Printing Could Help Make Sex-Ed More Accessible To Blind Students

3D Printing Could Help Make Sex-Ed More Accessible To Blind Students

With 3D printing, researchers are hoping sex-ed classes will become more inclusive.

A team of researchers led a project that developed over 18 3D figures that model sex organs. The hope is that while some may deem the models NSFW, they would be the most productive way to teach sex-education to blind students.

Currently those who are visually impaired rely on either verbal descriptions or raised 2D tactile pictures as a way to learn about sex ed. For many these methods open up a gap in information that has yet to be appropriately filled.

“That approach does a blind student no good whatsoever because they, of course, cannot see the pictures and videos.” said Dr. Gaylen Kapperman, a professor at Northern Illinois University who was involved with the project, to Mashable.

The researchers hope would be that school districts would begin investing in the 3d printing equipment that would ultimately make these models increasingly accessible to teachers crafting lesson plans for classrooms that include blind students.

This would be an especially noteworthy move toward inclusivity because as it stands many visually impaired students attend school with non-visually impaired and are at a disadvantage as a result.

According to Mashable, the prototypes of the sex organs will be tested by students by the end of 2017.

Cover image courtesy of Getty Images.