Did you ever wonder how the blind learn to read and write?

 

            By David McClelland

 

            We all know that blind people may learn to read using the Braille alphabet. But, did you know that Louis Braille, a blind 15 year-old boy, invented this type of printing in 1829. He devised a form of language using raised dots on paper. The dots were arranged in domino-like combinations to form characters to correspond to the letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks and short common words.

 

            Braille uses a "touch-read" alphabet that one reads by running the tips of one or two fingers over embossed text. More than 100 years after this language was first published, it was adopted as the standard language for the blind in 1932 in the English speaking world. It has since been improved upon by adding frequently used short words or letter combinations such as "ing", "ment" and "ow", making it easier to read and write.

 

            You may ask how the Braille paper is produced such that a blind person can use it to write too. An excellant question. It can be hand written using a stylus to press out the dot characters onto a sheet of paper clamped into a metal frame. The writer works on the back of the sheet going from right to left so that when the paper is turned over, the dots are raised and read from left to right in the normal way.

 

            Today, computers are commonly used to print out Braille on special printers on special paper such that the dots on each side do not conflict. Braille, it appears, is more easily learned by those who are born blind or who become blind at an early age. It may be more difficult for those who become blind as adults to learn Braille. Many who become blind as Adults rely more upon recorded books.

 

I can identify with that as I have tried just to distinguish between one Braille letter or number and another on the wall beside the elevators of hospitals (when I already know what they say) and find that my fingers are just not sensitive enough for me to do so. Have you tried to read Braille? If not, you should make the attempt just to learn how difficult it is to accomplish.

 

Music can also be transcribed into Braille by the use of computers.            Not being musically talented, I can't even imagine the difficulty for a blind person to learn to read and play music transcribed into Braille. We should thank God every day for our sight, remember that we are down to our last pair of eyes and always strive to protect them.

I am now even more likely to be supportive of organizations that assist the blind.