[Blindtlk] Braille

Sat Jan 20 18:52:46 UTC 2018

Good Morning,
My name is Marianne and I live in Northern CA.  I learned Braille early on
and several different languages.  I am retired from teaching students with
visual impairments.  I am definitely a proponent of braille.  

There is one thing I did not see in this discussion:
Teachers of students with visual impairments have huge case loads,
especially if they have to travel to different schools.  Therefore, they
leave the teaching of braille to Assistants or encourage the students not to
learn braille.  Parents need to be forceful in demanding that braille is
being taught.  I also found that students do not want to learn braille as
they do not want to be different.  I always let those students know, that
they can learn something exciting and they have something sighted students
do not have. For myself, I never got in trouble when I read at night when I
was supposed to be sleeping.  My Sister always was caught reading as her
lamp was hot, while mine was cold.

I started my own little business, tutoring especially students with special
needs and advocating for parents of students with special needs in my area.
I do a lot business with bartering services.  In fact, I hope I will get
more clients.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Judy Jones
via blindtlk
Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2018 10:29 AM
To: 'Annely Rose'; 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Cc: Judy Jones
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Braille

You are so right about everything you do with braille.  My husband and I do
the same,although we also use the audio.  Audio is secondary to braille, and
really not necessary.  We grew up in an age where we were adults before
large-scale audio was available, went to college, and held down professional
positions, all without relying heavily on audio, but braille.

We use braille for bookkeeping, and there is nothing like holding a little
on in your lap while you both read a print/braille book.

When in a new city or having moved to a new area, I make braille notes when
familiarizing myself to an area, so I can go back to them very conveniently.

AT the job working for the state from which I recently retired, I was the
office manager, plus had my own case load, ran my own budget, ran a small
supplies store, and assisted another colleague.  Braille helped me to get
all this done quickly and efficiently.

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Annely Rose
via blindtlk
Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2018 10:05 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Annely Rose
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Braille

Well said, Judy.  Thank you for your response.

Annely
--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 1/20/18, Judy Jones via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Braille
 To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
 Cc: "Judy Jones" <sonshines59 at gmail.com>
 Date: Saturday, January 20, 2018, 1:00 PM

 Hi,

 I would recommend you getting information from  the National Organization
Of  Parents Of  Blind Children www.nopbc.org.

 I would also encourage you to ask this question  on the NFB Blind Educators
list.

 My background is as school
 teacher, parent, and person who has had ten and a  half years' experience
in the blindness  field.

 First of all people
 need to understand that braille is "text" read  with the  fingers.  It is
not a language.  It need not be slower than reading print.
 It
 is a literacy tool, while audio is not.  Different parts of  the brain are
used when reading braille or  print, and if you use audio only, no matter
how  proficient you are at it, you are functionally  "illiterate."  This is
not a  slam  on any individual personally, just a given fact, since  braille
is a  literacy tool.

 Phrases like "learn
 braille," and "use braille," should be out  the door, and  exchanged for
the simple verb,  "read," because that is what it is, plain and
 simple:  reading.

 Blind adults and children learning to
 "read" need to work at it
 consistently, 20 minutes daily, just as their  sighted counterparts are
taught in school.  Print and braille are BOTH forms of reading, and if you
practice,  you will succeed.

 Question:  Would any sighted
 parent be satisfied if a school declared that  their children would be
relegated to audio  experience only?  I think not!

 Audio only learners are spotted early, because  of poor spelling,
punctuation, and document  layout.  Granted, screen readers have all the
tools for you to check these things, but a  person has no concept of a
realtime document  if they are audio learners only.

 I am acquainted personally with a child who has  very limited vision, but
because there is  some vision, braille was not encouraged.  This  elementary
school child, according to the  parents, has never seen a whole word or
sentence, does not have a concept of what that  looks like, as the child can
only see one  letter at a time with a magnifier.  After speaking with  my
husband and I, the parents are getting  serious about getting their child
some good  braille training.

 Also, I
 have seen figures that state in this country that out of the  blind
persons who are competitively  employed, approximately 90% read using
braille.  The earlier one is exposed to  braille, no matter how young or
level of  visual acuity, the better.

 "If you can read, you can lead."

 Can you tell, I am a proponent
 of braille.  :)

 Judy

 -----Original
 Message-----
 From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
 On Behalf Of adrijana
 prokopenko via
 blindtlk
 Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2018
 12:19 AM
 To: Blind Talk Mailing List
 Cc: adrijana prokopenko
 Subject: [Blindtlk] Braille

 What do you consider great when it comes to  introducing, promoting and
using  braille and  what would you use to encourage the future generations
to do  so  and for some special ed teachers and the  public to realize that
braille is  as  important as print and should be viewed as such.

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