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Lighthouse: Using Braille and Life Without Sight
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| As We See It! Using Braille Life Without Sight
By Lynda Jones (with Fred Sanguiliano) | 
| | To most people braille is the bumps they see next to numbers on an elevator. But not many people know anything about the system and how it works.
Did you know that it is named after the Frenchman, Louis Braille, who invented the code in 1828 so he and other blind students at the School for the Blind in France could read? His code was not readily accepted by educational institutions until after Braille's death and after competing with several other codes to become the official reading and writing medium for people who are blind. | | People often speak of braille as a language. Actually, it's a code that can be used in any language. All letters, numbers, punctuation, and symbols of braille are created out of a six dot cell—two vertical rows of three dots each. Each letter, number, or symbol is identified by its location within the six dot configuration. For example, the letter A is a single dot located at the top of the first row. The letter P is all three dots in the first row plusthe the top dot in the second row. As the blind persons fingers glide over the dots, she is able to read the braille based on the shape and location of each symbol. | 
| | There is more than one braille code (LITERARY, math, computer, AND music) all made from the same six dots. Books, magazines, journals, etc. are written in combinations of 189 symbols known as the literary braille code. For example, each word in the sentence do you have the knowledge for this? Is just one braille symbol. A few braille symbols have different meanings depending on their location within a word.
If your head is spinning, just remember what it was like when you first learned to read print. Braille is no different for a blind child. Some adults, who grew up reading braille, can read more than two hundred words a minute. Some adults who learn braille after losing their vision later in life will learn to read 100 words per minute.
The next time you are on an elevator look at the braille symbols next to the printed number. There will be at least two braille symbols for every print number. The first symbol that looks like a backward capital PRINT L is the number sign. It will be followed by one or two more symbols—one for single digits and two for double digits. HAVE FUN! | Life Without Sight A friend once asked, “If you were offered $10,000,000 or your sight back, what would you take?” She was surprised when, without hesitation, I said, “The $10,000,000, of course!” |  | | People who are blind are frequently asked , if they would like to have their vision back. Of course, the answer varies from individual to individual, but for a lot of people with little or no vision, the answer would be no. Many people, who were born blind, are content living without sight. The same holds true for many others who lost their vision as teens or adults but have lived for a long time with little or no vision. This may seem strange, or difficult to believe, but, for most individuals who live active, productive, and perfectly happy lives without vision, the lack of vision isn't a horrible thing. Through special training at agencies like the Lighthouse of the Big Bend, these contented individuals have learned to use their other ten senses and adaptive devices to perform every day activities, to travel wherever they want to go, to successfully work in their chosen careers, and to enjoy their recreational and leisure pursuits. They realize that whether blind or sighted everyone faces challenges that he or she must conquer. They recognize that blindness is only one attribute among many that defines who they are.
The Lighthouse wants residents of the Big Bend who may be dealing with vision impairment to know that there is life after vision loss--exciting, meaningful, independent life--just a phone call away! | 
Lynda Jones
Public Awareness Specialist
Lighthouse of the Big Bend | The Lighthouse wants residents of the Big Bend who may be dealing with vision impairment to know that there is life after vision loss--exciting, meaningful, independent life--just a phone call away! For more information contact the Lighthouse of the Big Bend (850) 942-3658 or check-out the website www.lighthousebigbend.org. |
Tags: Lighthouse Using Braille And Life Without Sight
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