Heather Kadrich
Take a moment and imagine what it would be like if you couldnot read or write and there was no way for you to learn. 200 years ago this is what life waslike for persons who had little or no vision. But the world for blind children and adults was foreverchanged when a young boy named Louis Braille invented a system to give blindpersons the chance to experience learning and self-expression as sightedchildren and adults had always been able to do.
Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809, in a small townnear Paris, France. When Braillewas a young boy he injured himself with one of his father's tools. The accident left him with an infectionthat took his sight. When he wasten years old Louis received a scholarship to attend the only school for theblind in existence at that time. The school had a small library of books with raised letters which werevery difficult to use, thus Louis, who very much wanted to read, grewimpatient. When he was 12 yearsold Louis met a soldier who had developed for his men a system of writing thatconsisted of 12 raised dots. Hecalled it \night writing." Brailleused this system as a base, but he reduced the number of dots to 6 anddeveloped the system of reading and writing for the blind that we usetoday.
In a world where nearly everything is done via computer somemight ask if Braille is now obsolete. Al Puzzuoli, the RCPD's Information Technology specialist and a Brailleuser, explains, "It would be a mistake for people to consider Brailleobsolete." For Puzzuoli it is amatter of being literate. "Although I don't use it everyday knowing Braille gives me a betterunderstanding of the language and how it works." In addition Braille is used in music, math, and to labelthings in public, such as elevator buttons and ATM machines. Also the technology involving Braillecontinues to progress. Forinstance, the RCPD can scan a print book onto a computer and print the book outin Braille. If we did not have Braille's system these are all aspects of lifeto which persons who are blind would have very little or no access.
Unfortunately there are many who do not see the sameimportance in learning Braille. According to the National Federation of the Blind, the country's oldestand largest organization for blind individuals, only 10 percent of blindchildren are taught how to read Braille. However, 80 percent of blind personswho are employed are fluent Braille readers. Although not every person who isblind has the ability to read Braille (some have other disabilities that makeit very difficult), for those who have the capability, Braille remains animportant skill to possess when seeking employment. The Federation, which hasalways advocated for the use of Braille, is attempting to combat this problem bylaunching the Braille Readers are Leaders Campaign. As part of this initiativethe government has issued the National Federation of the Blind BrailleCommemorative Coin. The coin is onlyone aspect of the initiative. Thecampaign will include programs to increase awareness of the importance ofBraille, update Braille technology, and help double the number of Braillereaders by 2015.[i] The Braille Readers are Leaders campaignwill open up a world of freedom and expression much like Louis Braille did 200years ago.
This month we celebrate a man who created a system ofreading and writing for persons who are blind. More than that we celebrate this system that opened a worldof independence and learning for blind persons that would not otherwise beavailable. For more information on Braille or on the Braille Readers areLeaders initiative please see the list below of helpful links.
References
American Council of the Blind: Braille Forum
American Foundation for the Blind: Celebrating 200 Years
American Foundation for the Blind: Louis Braille Biography
National Federation of the Blind: Braille Readers are Leaders Campaign
[i] NationalFederation of the Blind: Braille Readers are Leaders Campaign http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Braille_coin.asp?SnID=848061067