[stylist] Braille or audio, that is the question

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Vejas,

This is really up to the individual. If you can find most reading
material you need and want in a proper Braille format, and are
proficient enough, I say continue using Braille as much as possible.
Audio books and other reading materials are nice and at times
convenient, but it has its down side too as we all know. Just because I
don't read Braille quick enough to use it as my main medium for
accessing print material, does not mean I don't whole-heartedly support
it and the continual production of Braille material. I think you need to
do whatever is comfortable and available for you. Audio is nice because,
as many others have already stated, you can do other tasks while
listening such as cleaning or cooking or exercising, but audio is not
the same as actual reading either print visually or Braille. As I say,
listening is not literacy. If you have the ability and means to read
Braille, by no means give this up, but you can also include audio. And
as a student, I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding the
production of Braille material for students, but if audio formats are
immediately available, whether narrated or electronic, don't refuse
them. It's important society realize and accept Braille as a viable,
efficient form of written communication, but we also have to grow with
the world and accept that audio and electronic formats of the written
word are increasingly going to become the main way in which we all,
sighted and blind, access information, whether for good or for bad. We
just need to find a balance because I don't believe anyone should give
up reading, for lack of a better expression, hard-copy formats, both
print and Braille. And of course audio is great for those of us who
either haven't had the opportunity to learn Braille yet, or who don't
possess, for whatever reason, the ability to read Braille quickly enough
to use it as a main source for accessing print material. For someone
like me who just doesn't read quick enough, I still use it to take quick
notes or label items at home, etc. but audio has been a life saver so I
can access a lot independently. As always, there are pros and cons to
everything in life. So there's a long-winded, convoluted answer! Ha-ha!
What I could have said in a nutshell is that it's completely your choice
and what you're comfortable with, but make sure to find a balance, grin.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 11
Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:14:53 -0800
From: vejas <brlsurfer at gmail.com>
To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Speed reading audibly
Message-ID: <4f07aac8.49cee00a.5fbd.ffffdfc0 at mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed

Bridgit,
Since I read everything for the most part, with a few exceptions, 
using Braille, would you recommend audio?
Vejas