[Ct-nfb] use of Braille

[Justin Salisbury]

Hi Eileen,

What do you mean when you say that one needs to crawl before one can walk?

Take care,

Justin

Justin Salisbury, NOMC
Graduate Student
Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness
Louisiana Tech University
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
Twitter: @SalisburyJustin

"None can be free as long as any are enslaved"

Dr. Kenneth Jernigan

From: Ct-nfb [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of stanley torow via Ct-nfb
Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2015 11:29 AM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>
Cc: stanley torow <setorow at optonline.net>
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] use of Braille

I am legally blind{ have some sight}. lost it at a senior age, but I think one needs both Braille & audio. I agree with you totally. young kids needs to learn Braille. one needs to crawl before one can walk.
Eileen



On Sat, Nov 21, 2015 at 04:27 PM, Sandra Streeter via Ct-nfb wrote:


Interesting question—whether Braille reading figures into identity as a blind person... While I don’t espouse the idea that there is a “blind culture” similar to the abundantly-clear deaf culture, I would have to say, as a person who learned Braille young, I would be bereft without it—and am, when it isn’t available! Apparently, as I’ve read in several sources, the areas of the brain’s visual cortex usually earmarked for sight are transferred, in a blind person, to use of other senses that take over for sight—and I have become a highly-visual learner. Meaning, if you tell me something ten times, I finally get it; if you make me learn it by tactile reading, it may take 3-4 times. I’d guess, really, that my learning style is mixed—I have a highly visual structure, but because Braille involves hand and arm movement, I probably have some kinesthetic aspects (moving helps learning—the same reason that, when I’m hearing a lecture or sermon, I can retain details later if I’m working on a crochet piece, or taking notes on a slate, Brailler, notetaker or whatever). I am not sure what learning style I’d have developed if I hadn’t been trained in Braille—it might be one of those “chicken or egg” questions... I have gotten better at audio learning over the years, but anything that needs close attention: music, recipes, appliance manuals, poetry, devotional materials—absolutely must come in tactually, or it doesn’t stick!! I think another area where it does impact identity, for me, is in the fact that it contributes to my self-concept, and the conception in sighted hiring managers, that I am an able employee; I would not have had the many jobs I’ve had without Braille, and would not be nearly as capable without it.



Sandra
“To love another person is to see the face of God.”
(Les Miserables--the musical)
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