Comments on: The Decline of Braille: Doomsday For The Dots?

By: Sheila Armstrong

Sheila Armstrong — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:51:42 +0000

I read the E-Access bulletin translated article on braille and the comments on this site with great interest and agree with most of the points raised. One thing about the article, though. Braille is not a language – it’s a form of print. I believe this is important since denying blind people the opportunity to learn and use braille is the same as denying sighted people a good education, which wouldn’t be tollerated in many parts of the world. Whilst it is true that many yung people do not read so much now and tend to reach for the headphones, they do in many cases also have the choice actively to read. I use both audio and braille, myself, but I assure you that I remember much more of what I actively read in braille than I do when listening. It’s so easy just to drift off! The statistics quoted in the article were interesting too. Italy’s doing really well if 25 % of its blind people can use braille. The % in the US is, I believe about the same as in the UK, but it includes people registered blind in older age – not the same as a percentage of blind children, which should be higher – but if it isn’t, we have a great deal of work to do!

By: Doug Sprei

Doug Sprei — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:01:04 +0000

As a leading provider of assistive audio materials for the blind and print disabled communities, RFB&D is in complete agreement with Tommaso Daniele’s assertion that Braille and the new technologies are complementary, not competitive. Many thousands of our members read Braille extensively, listen to audio books, and enjoy the best of what these media have to offer toward access, learning and independence.

Doug Sprei
Recording for the Blind & Dyselexic
Washington, DC
http://www.rfbd.org

By: Jerry Weichbrodt

Jerry Weichbrodt — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:07:28 +0000

As a person who is totally blind, I feel that Braille is a treasure we cannot permit to fall out of use. Braille has practical and emotional value that is hugely important in the lives of people who learn to use it well. Braille is certainly not for everybody, but I firmly believe it needs to continue to be available for those who can make use of it.

Braille continues to have practical value. It is a true reading and writing system. Braille readers are continually exposed to the mechanics of spelling, punctuation, paragraph structure, and other elements of syntax. It is a truism that there is no better way to learn to write than to read extensively. I find that this holds true throughout life. It never hurts to reinforce one’s reading and writing skills by ongoing exposure to high quality writing.

Braille has great practical value as a means of labeling everything from postal correspondence to the front panels of electronic equipment. Page scanners may permit reading printed books and correspondence, but Braille labeling can do so much to ease finding those books and letters more quickly. Then, too, compact discs and other media suddenly become distinguishable when they bear labels a blind person can discern in seconds.

I would never have succeeded in engineering without a means of reading and writing mathematics. Braille gave me that ability. Admittedly, most of my college textbooks were recorded on audio tape, but I am firmly convinced that I would have had greater understanding, especially of the mathematical aspects of my classes, if I had had more access to Braille texts. I would have benefitted tremendously from more availability of raised line drawings with Braille markings to communicate key elements as well. Statistics exist that show a strong correlation between success in technical areas and a strong working knowledge of Braille among those with severe vision impairment. Braille codes exist for music, mathematics, and computer-oriented material, and these codes have enabled many blind people to pursue their varied interests.

As well as the practical aspects I have mentioned, Braille offers the intimacy with the written word that many sighted readers cite. A Braille reader is permitted to hear the words of characters in a book speak in his/her head rather than having some narrator interpret dialogue according to that narrator’s conceptions. A Braille reader also has the ability to use footnotes and other specialized information in the same fashion that a print reader does. There is an intangible intimacy to feeling words pass under the fingers that is very difficult to express in words but that Braille readers know well.

Braille still has great value in this digital age. To some extent, the drop in the percentage of young blind people using Braille may be explained by the increasing number of blind people with multiple disabilities who survive beyond childhood with improvements in medical technology and care. Not everyone can make effective use of Braille, but I firmly believe Braille must continue to be an available tool to help those who can use it to pursue their dreams and goals in life.