[nabs-l] Can't believe this about braille

Sat Feb 2 01:32:27 UTC 2013

Hi,
Yes, learning raised print is helpful for things like elevators, room number 
signs, bathroom signs, and other things. I use this for reading the card 
numbers and expiration dates for my debit and credit cards also.
Misty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jedi Moerke" <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 7:59 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Can't believe this about braille

> Learning to read raised print is a helpful skill. You can use this skill 
> to read signs that are in tactile print but not braille.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 1, 2013, at 2:58 PM, Sophie Trist <sweetpeareader at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Ari, for one, I am so sorry I didn't know you don't live in the U.S. 
>> Also, I didn't know blind people could learn print. I mean, I can sign my 
>> name, but other than that, I do not know any print letters and have no 
>> desire or need to learn them. Don't feel bad because you don't know 
>> print. As long as you know braille you should be good.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Ari Damoulakis <aridamoulakis at gmail.com
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Fri, 1 Feb 2013 17:41:20 +0200
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Can't believe this about braille
>>
>> Hi Sophie and Carly
>> Its not a rant Sophie, its absolutely true. I have seen at uni for
>> example, there was a person who never learned braille. He does use
>> jaws at uni, but he can't spell properly because when you use audio
>> you obviously aren't learning individual lettres. It isn't just that,
>> but because I learned braille from young, what I love is that even now
>> when I'm writing, I don't know how to explain, but I visualise what
>> I'm typing in braille, which I really like. If a blind person doesn't
>> learn braille and just works on audio, how do they imagine what an
>> alphabet looks like. For them, when they type an l, do they then just
>> somehow think of it as this sound, that is obviously assuming they
>> haven't learned the shapes of the lettres in sighted or some other
>> way. For me unfortunately, I must confess that since I never use
>> sighted writing much I'm always forgetting what many lettres and
>> numbers look like. The only ones I obviously don't forget are for
>> example things I use in daily life like to sign my name, but the rest,
>> even though I've learned them and felt their shapes, I just do forget.
>> But I can't actually understand, if it is true that blind people in
>> the US from birth now aren't even learning braille, how does the
>> teacher even start teaching them how to read and write, how lettres
>> fit together to make words, or for those people are lettres just sort
>> of abstract sounds?
>> Ari
>>
>> On 2/1/13, Sophie Trist <sweetpeareader at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Ari, you know you can get braille books for free from your state
>> library for the blind (well, at least I know Louisiana has one)
>> or from the national library in Utah. That's where I got all my
>> braille books before I sarted using my braillenote. While I'll
>> say that electronic reading is a lot more convenient (braille
>> books are so heavy and clunky) I do appreciate braille. Because
>> electronics can break. I think that's what a lot of people don't
>> realize. And if electronics break and you don't know as a backup,
>> you're in deep trouble. Audio is no excuse for not learning
>> braille. My personal belief is that just as all sighted kids must
>> learn print, all of usmust learn braille. Sorry for the long
>> rant, but the bottom line is, I agree with you, Ari. If a print
>> book only costs $20-30, braille shouldn't cost that much more.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Ari Damoulakis <aridamoulakis at gmail.com
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Fri, 1 Feb 2013 09:47:47 +0200
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Can't believe this about braille
>>
>> Hi everyone
>> I've just seen something that makes me feel quite appalled and
>> sad. I
>> can't believe how much you guys have to pay simply to get or have
>> a
>> book in braille? I know that now many people use electronic and
>> audio,
>> and from what I hear many people don't even learn braille, but I
>> actually really love braille, I love reading actual braille, and
>> not
>> just electronic (one line at a time I just can't stand), but
>> paper. I
>> love to hold a propper braille book, page through it, feel it and
>> read
>> it, especially for example if it is a book for learning a
>> language or
>> even a textbook. I know you can listen to your work with jaws
>> etc, but
>> I often just love actually reading. For me braille is such a
>> lovely
>> thing!
>> Anyway why I am writing is because I find it terrible how much
>> you
>> guys are paying for braille books, its incredibly sad. I was
>> looking
>> on the internet for whether there are braille books available to
>> help
>> me learn some French, and I couldn't believe the prices you guys
>> have
>> to pay, I saw for example on APH web site a book for 300 or 400
>> dollars just for the book. I had actually heard of this before, a
>> friend of mine wanted to find some braille maths books and he
>> couldn't
>> believe it was nearly 700 dollars, but I put it down to the fact
>> that
>> maybe it was just because maths is more difficult to do in
>> braille.
>> But when I saw this I couldn't believe it, even for just normal
>> books
>> you guys have to actually pay such high prices? I know you have
>> to
>> maybe pay transcribers and things, but I can't understand why
>> these
>> organisations can't get electronic files or just scan and print
>> the
>> books? I'm not talking about complex things like maths that I
>> don't
>> know if you can scan things like that, but normal books? Here
>> even if
>> I give a book in to get transcribed, OK it sometimes takes about
>> 6
>> months or even a year, but I never have to pay such incredible
>> prices
>> like what you guys are, and if I'm lucky enough to find an
>> electronic
>> version it costs even less. Frankly, I find it really sad and
>> tragic
>> and I think I can now understand why many people there just
>> aren't
>> bothering to learn how to read braille, because what is the point
>> if
>> you are having to pay such high prices for books? I know you guys
>> have
>> a great library but what happens if there are books you really
>> want in
>> braille or would just like to have brailled? If these are the
>> prices
>> that you are having to pay just for the pleasure of being able to
>> read
>> 1 book in braille this is just so terrible!
>> Ari
>>
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>
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