[Blindtlk] braille

[Annely Rose]

 gosh!  Braille is so important.  Electronics are great, but they are not necessarily convenient or available.  What happens if they break down?  What happens if the batteries die?

What if print was not available to the sighted?  What if they had only electronics with speech available to them?  They couldn't identify food packages.  They wouldn't know what floor they were on or going to in an elevator.  They couldn't find an address or room number or office name.

They wouldn't know how to compose a document.  Their spelling would be horrid.  They couldn't play different card games or other games requiring reading materials such as Scrabble or Monopoly or other games.

If someone has some vision loss, no matter what the cause,  they should learn braille as an alternative to print.  Vision levels can change.

Speaking for myself, I have Congenital Glaucoma.  Before my vision started deteriorating, my elementary school teacher had the wisdom to have me learn braille.  By the time my vision was at the pointwhere I couldn't read even large print anymore, about 1 1/2 years after I started learning braille, I was needing it.  I did not lose any time in school.  I regret not reading more when I was younger.  I might have increased my reading speed more.  I have also enjoyed playing card games, Scrabble, and Monopoly using braille.  I identify all my mail with braille.  I label my CDs with braille so I canfind what I am looking for.  I can put food package directions in braille one time and attach them to subsequent packages when purchased.  I don't have to wait for someone to identify them or tell me the directions.  

I know someone now who is totally blind and doesn't use braille.  He learned braille, but is rusty with it.  He has no way of making notes except for on his stream.  He doesn't play any games.  The only numbers he has are in his phone and if he gets a new number from a friend, he'll ask them to text it to him.  He has no address book or phone number list.  His spelling is poor. 

I also use digital recorders.  They work great in a pinch.  But braille is my main tool in my tool kit.

Hope this helps.  Let us know what happens.  Take care and God bless.

Annely

--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 1/20/18, Jude DaShiell via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Subject: [Blindtlk] braille
 To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
 Cc: "Jude DaShiell" <jdashiel at panix.com>
 Date: Saturday, January 20, 2018, 4:19 AM
 
 Those that did not learn braille studied with
 tapes and their inability to 
 spell becomes immediately apparent when
 it comes time to apply for a job. 
 Aside from that, stem jobs are off
 limits to those that have never used 
 print and cannot read and write
 braille.  Cooking is at best more 
 difficult since following a recipe in
 the kitchen requires extra hardware 
 which may be damaged by activities in
 the kitchen food getting into tape 
 or cartridge players messing up the
 controls and cooking isn't forgiving 
 in terms of time or temperature
 requirements for certain recipes.  Law 
 school is off limits for those who will
 not use braille since you have to 
 be able to make your own notes and be
 able to read them quickly especially 
 in litigation settings.  Braille
 can help with passwords management and is 
 a pretty secure system for those that
 don't read braille too in that 
 application.  Higher math is off
 limits without braille since solving 
 complex equasions and inequalities
 often requires several lines of writing 
 and depending on the instructor may
 also require explanation for why each 
 step was done.  Braille can help
 with labeling of computer disks making 
 them easier to locate in the future
 too.
 If you don't read braille and don't
 read print, you can't play cards with 
 anyone.
 
 
 
 -- 
 
 
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