Braille | Braille and the Blind

Best Gifts for the Blind or Low Visual

Your best friend is having a birthday, or perhaps you are wondering what to get him or her for Christmas or Valentine’s Day. Your friend is also blind and you want to get your friend something he or she will not only cherish but be able to use to make his or her life easier. Below is a best gift list to get you started:

The Braille and not so Braille

Books on CD are important to the blind or low visual, especially if the book in mind can’t be found in Braille. Just think about the last time you slipped a book related CD into your car and the fun you had listening as you drove. Music is also a fabulous gift.
Large print books for the low visual can be found at most bookstores or can be ordered if not in stock.
Slate and stylus sets are fairly inexpensive and help in the reading and writing for the blind. 100# weight paper is used with the above slate and stylus set.
Printed Braille calendars and daily planners can be located at Braille institutions and online stores and range in price from $7.50 to $20.
Braille fiction, non-fiction and children’s books can be obtained online or through a local blind institution or bookstore.
Screen reading software, Braille keyboard, or Braille appliance control panel overlays will help in the office and kitchen.
A Braille raised cordless telephone is always a hit; about $60.
Tactile board game; $10-$70.
Speaking clocks are all the rage. Between $10 and $40.
Sweet smelling bath supplies, cologne, or perfume. Or try something soft and cuddly.

Whatever you decide to do, keep your friend’s interests in mind, and be aware that he or she has distinguishing tastes just like your other friends you know and love. Keep the gift you choose focused on your friend and their individual talents.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Quality of life, Visual impairment

Learn Braille as a seeing Adult

Why learn Braille as a seeing adult? The answers are as endless as they are important. Suppose your child is born blind or you lose your sight unexpectedly? Maybe you are a teacher and one of your students has low vision and is having a difficult time keeping up with the class. Perhaps the idea fascinates you; learning is important to you and you want to experience all that you can from everyone. Why not glean a greater understanding of your blind community and get a taste of how they see the world?

Though Braille is a difficult skill to learn, with perseverance and a daily emotional shot in the arm, adults can not only learn the skill of Braille but know it enough to teach others and connect with someone through letters that they may have never been able to connect with before.

Options for learning Braille are as versatile as you are.

1. Learn from a tutor.
2. Learn from a blind friend. He or she cares for your welfare and will probably be ecstatic that you want to be a part of his or her world in this way.
3. Try an online tutorial, and get the information on your own.
4. If classes are available in your area, take one; they’re usually not too expensive and will give you a chance to work with others who are learning as you are. Your local library will have the information you need to get started or try your local college or university.
5. Check out some books at the library or purchase a few at your favorite book store.

When all is said and done you will be happy that you not only tried something new, but that you didn’t give up, but prepared yourself for the unanswered future whether your own future or someone else’s.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Health, Learning, Low vision

Where to find Braille books for children

Get the scoop on the latest and greatest Braille books for children. Whether the books are coming from an institute, a non-profit organization, or your local library, Braille books for your child or loved one are almost as important to their growth and livelihood as the air that they breathe. And because of the need and interest, what once proved limited in access, has grown in numbers and intensity.

More and more Braille books are being distributed with pictures. Raised plastic illustrations are all the rage and books like these can be purchased through various online libraries and publishers. But that’s not all.

Many books don’t have to be purchased at all they come free to you and you, in turn, receive all of the positive results that the reading brings whether fiction, nonfiction, or commentary.

Braille books can also be purchased or ordered:

At half of manufacturer cost.
From random drawings sponsored by those who distribute Braille books for children.
Through special projects such as Seedlings that provide reading materials for elementary to high school students.
Through various programs such as the American Action Fund.
Through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
From various societies for the blind such as the Xavier Society that provide products for the blind and low seeing.
From various publishers who specialize in the product.
Through downloading.
During an online course.
Through various Braille magazines.
From your local library. Search out Braille books here that you can borrow and return as well as CDs and music.
At talking book libraries. Information is recorded and the machine and tapes are loaned to you via snail mail.

Braille books for children are given special care, and for most books, the customer pays less than the manufacturers cost for printing. For all the rewards when it comes to reading and learning, you can’t beat it.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Book, Braille, Child

What is Braille?

Braille is a form of written communication for those that are blind or have visionary problems. It is a coded form of alphabet that allows the user to touch each letter and spell out the words for which the item is.

Braille uses a dot system that is made up of a cell of six dots. Of those dots several are raised based off of which type of letter is intended to be conveyed the the reader.

Braille is used as a form of coded communication and the way that it works is a bit complicated. There are six dots that form a cell. Each character requires that certain dots be raised and others are flat. There are cells and characters for every letter of the English alphabet and even for certain punctuation marks such as the question mark, period, comma and even symbols for common words such as and, but and or. There is also a commonly used eight dot system that adds extra dots to the bottom of the cell and allows people to be able to read more words then the six dot system.

The form of Braille as a form of communication for those that are blind has widely been used throughout the world. There are over six different languages that have adapted some form of the braille system for children and adults to learn.

In the United States a study showed that over 50% of the children in United States schools knew some form of braille and were able to use it in their studies. Braille has widely been praised for helping students in their studies by allowing them to have reading materials and other books that students in the class would normally have. This has allowed many legally blind children to succeed in areas such as math, science and english when normally they would have fallen behind due to the lack of reading material that was available to them.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, United States

Where Is All the Braille In Public Schools?

In 1960 over 50% of children who were listed as legally blind were able to read and understand the Braille system. In 2006 that number dropped drastically to only 10-20% of legally blind children could understand and read Braille. Why is there such a huge difference between the number of years?

Braille is a universally understood communication system for those that are legally blind. It allows those that are legally blind to be able to read and communicate just as well as their sighted peers. So if this is the case why is Braille disappearing from our school systems?

Braille seems to be disappearing from public schools systems for one reason and one reason only. Budget reasons. School systems no longer have the budget to be able to hire and allow Braille certified teachers into their school system. This means that they turn to over more advanced means to have the children who are legally blind read and write. This can include voice activated books and other more advanced technologies.

In the 1970s a bill was passed mandating that every student who is legally blind be able to have access to the Braille system and learning if they or their family so chooses. Although this is a bill and what public school systems should follow, many school systems still encourage students who are legally blind to try other systems of writing and reading that are a bit more budget friendly.

With these budgetary cuts the only way for a legally blind student to learn Braille is to invest their own money in a private school or tutor that allows them to learn the various cells and letters in the Braille system.

With the state of public school systems in the United States it is a possibility that the Braille system could be completely phased out of them in favor of cheaper, more modern technologies.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, United States

The Importance of Learning Braille

: Image via Wikipedia

Braille is the main form of written communication for those that are legally blind. It is a way that they can read what others have written, see what is on a menu and even be able to learn in schools the way that those that are sighted are allowed to.

A study conducted by the state of Washington looked at the impact that learning Braille had on those that were legally blind. The study’s findings were amazing.

The study showed that legally blind students who were exposed to and learned Braille at an early age did amazingly well in all areas of study. In fact, they did just as well if not better than their sighted peers and were able to compete in the work force against them when it came to jobs.

Another area of the study looked at legally blind people and unemployment rates. Those that were unemployed and legally blind who had learned to read Braille made up 44% of the unemployed workforce. While those that learned to read print such as books, magazines and such made up a much larger number of 77% of the unemployed work force.

This study concluded that learning Braille at an early age is critical for legally blind students to develop mentally and physically as well as be able to keep up with students who were sighted. It also cited that by learning Braille these students have a better chance of learning crucial adult skills that will help them in their future careers and be able to let them be employed by many companies.

With such a finding it is amazing that schools and areas are starting to phase out the Braille system in favor of other means of reading and writing for those that are legally blind. To give those that are legally blind a fair chance it is important that school systems teach the Braille system to those that are legally blind.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Health

The Braille Bug Site

Who says that learning Braille is only for those that are legally blind? While the vast majority of those that learn to read from Braille are those that are legally blind, this written form of communication is not limited only to those that are legally blind.

The American Foundation for the Blind has recently set up a site on the Internet that allows children to explore the possibilities of learning Braille. This site is set up for grades 3 through 6, however it can be for older or younger students, who are looking for more information on the Braille system and might show some interest in wanting to learn how to read from it.

The site consists of background information on the Braille system, what is is, who uses it, what is stands for and other information that children might want to learn. It then goes on to further explain the way that Braille is set up, how other children learn to read it and prepares them to see if they are ready to learn about Braille.

The site is also intended for parents of those sighted children who might want to learn about Braille also. It shows historical content on the learning of those that are legally blind as well as various museums and places where their child can go to learn about Braille and possibly learn how to read from it.

This step to bridging the gap between those who are legally blind and know Braille and those that are sighted and learning braille is amazing. There is very little interest in learning how to read braille if there is no need to. This site is taking a step in the right direction and getting children of all ages geared up for the idea of learning how to read Braille even if they don’t need it.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: American Foundation for the Blind, Blindness, Braille

The History of Braille

Braille is a widely known form of communication for those that are legally blind or have vision problems. It allows them to be able to read and communicate in ways that weren’t possible before. By using an advanced system of dots and codes a legally blind person is able to follow the lettering and read the various words as if they were reading off of a printed sheet or book.

So where did this form of communication come from and who invented it?

Braille originally started in response to the French army’s need for a communication system. Napoleon wanted a way for his troops to be able to communicate with each other without having to speak. By having a form of communication without speaking it lessened the chances of enemies knowing what the next move was to be and then they would be able to attack before it happened.

Charles Barbeir came up with a system that involved the use of 12 dots that could stand for various commands and codes that the army needed. This system was deemed too confusing for troops and never used by the army.

In 1821, Charles Barbeir went to the Institute for the Blind and was able to meet with one of the students there. Louis Braille was able to sit down with Charles Barbeir and talk about the system that was being used. Louis Braille found that the problem with Charles Barbeir’s system was not that it had a bad idea but that it was too large for a human’s finger to travel over the code and would therefore confuse the person. He developed a six dot code system and it quickly became known as the Braille code which has been proven very successful in today’s world.

Who would have thought that a communication system for the legally blind would have its roots with the French army and Napoleon!

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Health

The Braille Institute of America

Almost every cause and helpful item in the world has some form of non-profit program backing up their program. The Braille writing system is no different. The Braille Institute of America is a non-profit group that promotes the use of Braille in public places, through services and other forms of community out reach.

Braille is the widely known and used system of communication for those that are visually impaired. This is a complex system of raised dots either 6 dots or 8 dots that allow a legally blind person to read many different texts when they wouldn’t normally be able to read the texts.

The Braille Institute of America was founded in 1919 after a J. Robert Atkinson successful published and created text for his family when he was visually impaired. After hearing his story the family of the Longyear’s donated over $25,000 dollars so that he could go on and start up a publishing company that was dedicated to writing and distributing braille text throughout America.

With the successful funding of the Longyears along with a long fought for grant through the Library of Congress services for the Blind, Atkinson was able to print his first ever magazine for those who read via braille. The Braille Magazine was first published in 1926 by the publishing firm that Atkinson started. Shortly following the publishing of the magazine and various texts came the first ever Braille version of the Webster’s dictionary in 1938.

Since then the Braille Institute has funded many community events that include a track and field race held for those that are legally blind as well as the annual Braille challenge that provides students with the form of a competition to encourage them to develop their braille skills and use them outside of school.

Currently there are over 5 national centers all over the United States and over 120 community groups that host and serve the Braille Institute of America.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Braille Institute of America

The Braille Challenge

It’s the equivalency to what sighted children call a spelling bee. It’s the braille challenge that is made up for those that are legally blind or have severe vision problems. So how does the Braille challenge work?

The Braille challenge is a competition that tests students in their ability to read, comprehend and transcribe various codes in braille. The students will transcribe what they are given onto a machine that is known as a Perkins Brailler. They are given scores for accuracy, spelling, time and other elements of the test.

The Braille challenge started as a way for legally blind students to be encouraged to keep up with their studies of braille. Many schools are cutting back on funding and discouraging students to stop learning the system of Braille. With this challenge it can renew excitement for the form of communication and allow students to have a form of competition that is all their own.

There are three levels of Braille competition that one can compete in. Grades 1 and 2 are what people compete in while Grade 3 is a personal Braille system.

Grade 1 is the basic Braille system that anyone who wants to learn Braille learns. There are just 26 symbols and punctuation marks in this system.

Grade 2 is a bit more advanced from grade 1. This involves the use of 26 coded letters, punctuation marks and various contractions that are thrown into the Braille mix. Grade 2 is the standard for all Braille in public places and for more books and other items of print.

Grade 3 is the most advanced form of Braille and is a bit of a short hand. This will vary depending upon the person and so is used mostly for personal items such as diaries, letters and notes.

At the moment there are over 200 different regional, state and national Braille competitions being held all over the United States and Canada.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Perkins Brailler