Learning Braille Later
January is National Braille Awareness Month in honor of Louis Braille’s birthday on January 4, 1809.
Neva Fairchild, former National Independent Living Associate for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), recounts her journey with braille, which started later in life. As a student with low vision, it is clear, in retrospect, how a student with low vision may be negatively impacted by relying solely on vision and audio books for developing literacy skills and interacting with words. Note too, her description of using braille in the workplace, as an employee with low vision, for greater efficiency.
It is often not a definitive assessment whether or not to use braille with a low vision student, but it seems clear the decision should not be made based solely on the perceived cost of braille training, and having braille as part of a student’s or employee’s toolkit is probably the best course for long-term efficiency.
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.