Braille and books combined help the blind have just as many literary adventures as anyone else.
What is Braille?
Braille is a system of communication first developed by Louis Braille in 1821. Though there had been other systems of communication in place, he decided that it would be impossible for a person to read the symbols of previous systems because they didn’t keep the user in mind. As a result, Braille created a system in which there was a 6 dot cell which could be manipulated to create a unique symbol for each letter of the alphabet, which could then be turned into words and then Braille could be used in books. The system also contains punctuation which will help a person identify sentences and lists.
How Can Braille Be Printed?
With the use of a specific printer, Braille can be easily printed onto thicker sheets of paper in order to create books for children and adults. Though these books have to be specially ordered, they allow students to continue to be at the same literacy levels as their peers. This is a very important step for blind children as it used to be that blind children were unable to read and many thought there was no need for them to read. But, realizing the world of literature would be shut away, the system of Braille became used to solve this problem. Now, Braille is used in classrooms, however, the number of classrooms which can afford to buy books printed in Braille is not that many. The additional costs of the printers make the books pricey and often out of reach for those schools with limited budgets.
The Future of Braille
While many people believe that Braille is the only way that blind children and adults read, this is far from the case. Braille readers are available as well as books, but many more people are using software programs which allow them to hear books read to them, as opposed to using Braille itself. The future for Braille doesn’t look bright because of these new technologies since they are cheaper to create, easier to use, and more readily available than Braille books.
Braille is a system for learning about how language works and to help those who are blind realize they are not cut off from the world, no matter how they might feel. Braille in books is a reminder that communication is possible, even when sight is not.
