Braille is for Students With Sight Too
January is Braille Awareness Month in honor of Louis Braille’s birthday on January 4, 1809.
It might be easy to assume that a student with low vision, that is, a student who can see text in some way, is not a candidate for braille. A student who can see text using a video magnifier (CCTV), or by putting the page within an inch of their eyes, or using a strong handheld magnifier, can technically read print, right? If they can see printed text, in some way, why would they need to learn braille? A student with low vision, while capable of seeing print with the right accommodation, may not be able to read print efficiently, or may tire easily reading print. How will they keep up with their peers? Learning braille may be just one of the tools in this student’s reading toolbox!
Yes, audio books and text-to-speech are also wonderful tools to have in the toolbox, but ask yourself and the professionals around this student, will text-to-speech and audio bokkenable this student to learn the grammar, spelling, and punctuation that her peers are learning when they read print? Or understand the charts and tables in math and science class without tactile representation?
One of the questions addressed in this article on dual reading, is the question of cost to the school district, and to what degree this is the decision-making factor in whether or not a low vision student is exposed to braille. A resource page from the Perkins School may help parents and professionals make an informed decision about teaching a low vision student braille.
Learn braille yourself: Hadley has several ways to learn braille—the Braille by Touch workshop series, and the Braille by Sight series. Registration is free. Call Hadley Help Desk at 800-323-4238 for more info.
#31DaysofBraille. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions about #31DaysofBraille? Send an email to lowvisiontech at gmail.com, tweet to @lowvisiontech, or leave a comment on the LowVisionTech Facebook Page.