[nagdu] Group Fights To Reinvigorate Braille Use from the Tampa Tribune

[Lora and Myrtle]

Good article.

On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 9:22 AM, Sherrill O'Brien <
sherrill.obrien at verizon.net> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> This article, featuring none other than our NAGDU president, appeared in
> the
> first section of our Tampa Tribune this morning!  As many of you know, NFB
> is encouraging individuals and chapters to celebrate Louis Braille's
> birthday by reaching out to educate people about the current crisis in
> Braille literacy.  (Note the silly comments at the end, however.)  Anyway,
> cudos to Marion for sparking interest in the reporter who wrote this story!
>
> Sherrill
>
> Group Fights To Reinvigorate Braille Use
> By LAURA FRAZIER
>
> lfrazier at tampatrib.com
>
> Published: December 30, 2008
>
> PALM RIVER - Audio books and software that converts speech to text and
> vice-versa bring the written word to light for visually impaired people.
> But
> those who never learn to read and write using Braille might be missing
> something.
>
> To illustrate the relevance of the time-honored, raised-dot system, the
> National Federation of the Blind will launch a yearlong Braille Literacy
> campaign Sunday, the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth.
>
> The group announced its upcoming crusade Dec. 23 in New York with the debut
> of a video that will air on a big screen in Times Square once an hour
> through Friday.
>
> Palm River resident Marion Gwizdala, president of the federation's East
> Hillsborough chapter, said "it's a crisis" that fewer than 10 percent of
> blind children today are taught to read with the system Braille developed
> in
> the 1820s.
>
> "There is a misconception that technology is going to make Braille
> obsolete," Gwizdala said. "But the spoken word does not provide you with
> all
> the information printed words do."
>
> When a person reads Braille, he said, "You see the words and the spelling
> and punctuation with your fingers. How can you learn to spell a word that
> you've only heard and never seen?"
>
> Gwizdala and other advocates think Braille is the key to education,
> employment and success for the blind.
>
> He said in these tough economic times, the significance of Braille literacy
> is magnified.
>
> "More than 74 percent of blind people today are either unemployed or
> under-employed," he said. "Braille readers face far less unemployment."
>
> For information about the campaign, visit www.braille.org.
>
> Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.
>
> Voice your opinion by posting a comment.
> 1
> Posted by ( TylerDurden ) on 12/30/2008 at 07:50 am.
>
> Here a TylerCo, we aggressively hire the blind for our security guard
> needs.
> Studies show they are every bit as attentive as sighted guards, tend to
> sleep less and their dogs are very popular with kids visiting our
> world-wide
> HQ. We did get some bad press just before Thanksgiving, however. PETA
> claims
> they caught one of our guards swinging his seeing eye dog around by the
> tail. Local police did get invloved but later dropped charges when it was
> determined the guard was "just making his rounds."
>
> Report Inappropriate Comments
>
> Posted by ( Old_Crusty ) on 12/30/2008 at 08:01 am.
>
> TylerD, I should beat ya with a red tipped cane; when I quit laughing! ;-}
>
> Report Inappropriate Comments
>
>
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-- 
Lora and Leader Dog Myrtle