[stylist] reading braille

Tue Nov 17 23:39:40 UTC 2009

When I feel for a letter I have a mental image of how the letter looks in 
hard copy.  I'll never lose that association.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] reading braille


> Helene,
> You bring up an interesting aspect of this. I used to strain so hard to 
> read print, that when I started learning Braille, even if I closed my 
> eyes, I found that the eye strain was still going on. I had a hard time 
> dissociating my eyes from the process. Nowadays, I don't feel the muscle 
> strain as much, but I have vivid visuals that go along with my reading 
> Braille. The dots show up somehow in my visual consciousness as bright 
> colored lights. It's neat, but I think it probably slows me down.
> Donna
>
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> helene ryles wrote:
>> I guess it's just a matter of practice. I found it really embarrassing
>> when my braille speed rapidly deminished.  I didn't realise I was
>> looking at the dots so much until that was no longer possible.
>>
>> Helene
>>
>> On 17/11/2009, Barbara Hammel <poetlori8 at msn.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Now if you can get your hands on grade 1 text of something you know 
>>> well,
>>> mix up those letters and try figuring them out.
>>> Do you know by heart the dot positions in all the letters?  If you don't
>>> know them, commit them to memory.  The tactile picture of a j is going 
>>> to be
>>> hard to keep in your head because you'll be scrambling to try to 
>>> remember
>>> what letter it is.  But if you know that 2-4-5 is a j, everytime you see
>>> that dot combination you'll remember.
>>> Kids learn Braille a whole lot different than grownups.  Some of the 
>>> letters
>>> do sort of look like their print counterparts.  L looks like a small l 
>>> and p
>>> looks similar to p.
>>> I know two sets of the hardest to remember are e and I, and d, f, h, and 
>>> j.
>>> Remember that k to t are just a to j with a dot 3 added to them.  U to z 
>>> are
>>> a to e with dots 3 and 6 added.  W is a wildcard because there is no
>>> equivalent in French so it was just thrown in for good measure.
>>> You may already know these tricks but if not, store them away.
>>> If you lived near me I would surely help you.
>>> Feel free to write offline if I can be of any more virtual help.
>>> Barbara
>>>
>>> Snow is God's way of reminding us that beauty can be found even in the
>>> coldest hearts.
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> From: "Judith Bron" <jbron at optonline.net>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 12:05 PM
>>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] reading braille
>>>
>>>
>>>> I've been learning braille from a card of braille letters put out by 
>>>> NFB.
>>>> I'll try the lotion thing.  Thanks, Judith
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Barbara Hammel" <poetlori8 at msn.com>
>>>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:51 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] reading braille
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> If this is for an adult, I'd find something in Braille that you 
>>>>> already
>>>>> know the words to and try figuring out the words.  It's a tedious job 
>>>>> at
>>>>> first. Maybe make an alphabet and just keep looking at it to see if 
>>>>> you
>>>>> can feel that the letters are different dots.
>>>>> Put lotion on your hands to soften them up.  If you have no 
>>>>> neuropathy,
>>>>> it should come to you fairly quickly.
>>>>> As long as you know what you're feeling for, it helps.
>>>>> Barbara
>>>>> Snow is God's way of reminding us that beauty can be found even in the
>>>>> coldest hearts.
>>>>>
>>>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>>>> From: "Judith Bron" <jbron at optonline.net>
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:07 AM
>>>>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] reading braille
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Did you learn as a child?
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: "Aziza C" <daydreamingncolor at gmail.com>
>>>>>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 4:57 PM
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] reading braille
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm curious to know if people learned the way I did.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I was given tactile images, raised lines to follow to get used to 
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> sensation of dots beneath my fingers. I also used larger models of 
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> braille cell until I got used to the placement. A lot of exercises 
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> repetition took place for me to finally figure out the cell enough 
>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>> to make as many mistakes.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Aziza
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 11/16/09, Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> You might think I'm nuts, but How do braille readers sensitize 
>>>>>>>> their
>>>>>>>> fingers
>>>>>>>> to the placement of the dots?  Thanks, Judith
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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