[Perform-talk] Article on Braille in Cumberland, MD paper doesn't mention the coin or NFB

[Donna Hill]

Hi Friends,
Here's an article which at least has some information about Braille's 
usefullness, but no mention of the NFB. The writer's e-mail is at the 
bottom. I have sent her my comments.
Donna Hill

Life doesn’t stop because you lose your eyesight

http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_103233036.html

Learning Braille still encouraged, despite advances in technology

Kristin Harty

Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Daisy Hetz thought her life was over when she lost her 
sight on Jan. 1, 2008.

“I sat around the house and moped and felt sorry for myself until August 
11 of that year,” said Hetz, 58, who has glaucoma and diabetes. “I’ve 
been in

school ever since.”

On Monday, Hetz demonstrated for a small audience at the South 
Cumberland Library how to write Braille letters, punching indentations 
into paper using

a pointed tool called a ‘stylist.’

The event was to mark the 200th birthday of Louie Braille, a Frenchman 
who invented the alphabet of raised dots when he was just 16.

Hetz and several other clients from Blind Industries and Services of 
Maryland gave demonstrations at Monday’s event.

“You can learn Braille yourself if you’d like to,” said Roger 
Williamson, rehabilitation specialist, passing out cards with the 
Braille alphabet. “The

little indentations or holes in the cell, that represents a particular 
letter.”

Widely used around the world since the 1950s, Braille isn’t as popular 
as it used to be. A recent report by the National Federation of the 
Blind indicates

that just 10 percent of blind children are learning Braille.

“What happens is people have the talking computers,” said Williamson, 
who encourages anyone who loses their sight to learn at least some 
Braille. “People

can listen. There’s books on tape and digital books and all that stuff.”

Marlene Taccino is trying to learn everything she can on the computer 
before she loses her sight completely. A Cumberland resident, she has 
glaucoma.

“I’m nervous on the computer,” said Taccino, who is taking classes 
through Blind Industries and Services. “I love typing, but I get 
nervous. I’m writing

sentences. I did my phone number today.”

For some situations, though, audio technology simply isn’t sufficient, 
Williamson said.

“We want our older people, if they live alone, to be able to identify 
things,” he said. “Maybe their CDs or their medications or even create 
labels for

their canned foods, packaged foods.”

Hetz is forging ahead on both fronts, learning computer skills and 
practicing Braille.

“Life don’t stop because you lose your eyesight,” said Hetz, who has 
learned how to cook and walk with a cane through Blind Industries and 
Services. “It’s

not easy, but there’s always ways you can go around.”

Eleven-year-old Anna Mudge thought Braille looked pretty difficult to learn.

“I can do my name in sign language,” said Mudge, who came to Monday’s 
presentation with her mother and four siblings, all home schooled.

She signed her name.

“I learned it at church and at school because I think it was one of my 
brothers who had the sign language pictures in his book, so we kind of 
took his

book and tried to learn our names,” Anna said.

Nine-year-old Elizabeth Mudge watched as Hetz wrote her name in Braille.

“Elizabeth — that’s a long one,” said Hetz, explaining that she writes 
the letters backward so that they appear in the proper order when the 
indentations

are turned to face up.

“It’s hard,” Hetz said. “I’m still learning.”

Elizabeth, baffled, said she didn’t think she could master Braille.

“Huh uh,” she said. “I just don’t think so.”

Contact Kristin Harty at

kharty at times-news.com .

-- 
Read my articles on American Chronicle:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885

For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill

Apple I-Tunes

phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374

Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
www.padnfb.org








E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.0.0.386)
Database version: 5.12180
http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/