When you read and write braille, you never have to depend on sight to help you live your life after vision loss. According to Braille Works , American Printing House for the Blind conducts polls in each state to get data on children between the ages of 4 and Out of the estimated 60, students that are attending public schools or public-run programs, only 8. What would be your feelings? This is why braille is so vital to the blind and visually impaired.
I know that I will always be literate no matter what happens to my eyes! You will be able to write letters, read books and more with braille once you master it! I remember as soon as I learned braille, I was able to write to my friends who are blind and I would get feedback from my friends. Developing More Confidence in Yourself As I started learning braille, I noticed that my confidence was growing and I had a more positive attitude on things I can do without sight.
The blog covers topics of interest to those living with blindness and vision impairments. Being a blind journalist and blogger herself, Sandy shares her unique perspective about ways to live and cope with vision loss. You must be logged in to post a comment. Commentary: Is Braille Still Important? Previous Post. Next Post. Leave a comment Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Related Stories. Read More. See More Posts. Veterans Login Please use your VA.
In a line - Braille matters today for the same reasons any other language script does. Braille is essential, and essentially personal. With its worldwide presence and recognition, Braille has been, for many decades, the primary means for visually impaired persons to read and write - and even type. Researchers such as Dr. Ruby Ryles, a blindness researcher at Louisiana Tech University, have noted a strong correlation between the ability to read Braille and a higher educational level , a higher likelihood of employment, and a higher income, especially when learnt at a young age.
Within the home, being able to label clothing, food packaging, and domestic appliances around the home with Braille helps blind or visually impaired people live independently. Items such as washing machines can be made accessible to a blind person such as by having raised or clear print markings on the controls to indicate the different settings or uses of each knob or dial.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Braille, however, has been the personal and private autonomy that the script allows its users in expressing themselves, their needs and wants. Braille usage is also an indication to the visually impaired community that sighted society cares about their rights and needs. Presenting information and working on the widespread use of Braille helps the community feel that her values as a human are respected.
Braille is personal like all language is. Having information in Braille ensures more protection for private lives. It is personal in the simple act of reading a book. With the rapid development and spread of new communication technologies, the way we use language has changed quite a bit.
And with tools like autocorrect and predictive text, spelling and grammar can be managed by the devices we use. But sighted people still learn the alphabet, grammar, writing and other standard tools of language in school.
While it might be possible to use language scripts digitally, their analogue roots are still vital knowledge. Some blind people say that advances in assistive technology, such as audio books, voice-recognition software, and computer screen-readers, have rendered Braille redundant, and point to the cumbersome nature of many Braille books.
But the unique strengths of literacy have yet to be replicated by such technology. Technology can potentially supplement Braille - after all, it multiplies the modes of interaction with the world, and hence enables visually impaired people to parallel sighted people in communicating with each other.
Software tools, Braille displays, and embossers can, for example, translate any document into Braille quickly and accurately. Thousands of Braille books are available from Internet-based services. BrailleType, a single-touch text-entry system for touch screen devices allows the blind user to enter text as if they were writing Braille using the traditional 6-dot matrix code.
0コメント