Celebrating World Braille Day? Know These Interesting Facts
3rd January 2023
Did you know not all blind and visually impaired individuals use the braille system?
UNESCO acknowledged 4th January as World Braille Day to raise awareness about the importance of braille. LOUIS BRAILLE is the father of braille. Braille is considered a tool for enclosure in education. It helps visual impairments people by giving them a sense of inclusion.
Braille education allows blind and partially sighted individuals to learn spelling, grammar as well as punctuation by gaining an understanding of how text is planned on the page. In fact, braille is the most popular tactile reading and writing system in the world.
For example, if somebody is losing his/her vision but still has some sight enduring, that person can start reading Braille. It is not a language rather it is an alphabet. There are several braille varieties i.e. Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and numerous other languages. Braille follows the same rubrics of grammar, punctuation, and semantics used in the print alphabet of each language.
What is Braille?
Basically, braille is a code designed to be read by the touch of the fingers. These codes consist of upstretched dots and these dots are organized in two columns. The various ways of placing these dots characterize letters along with numbers. Braille started as a martial code known as “night writing.” It was developed in 1819 by the French army.
There are 2 grades of braille –
- Uncontracted braille. It is also known as Grade 1, is braille written by using specific letters, numbers, and punctuation marks.
- Contracted braille. It is also known as Grade 2, uses contractions for combinations of letters or common words such as ‘ing’, ‘the’, and ‘for’. This cuts the length of documents and upsurges the speed at which braille users read.
Needless to say, being able to use braille boosts the chance of a blind or visually impaired person being employed. Literacy is a crucial factor for employment. The unemployment rate within the group of non-braille users is about 77% while is it 44% for braille users.
Significance of Braille Education
Braille is personal like all languages. It comes with a lot more independence for blind and visually impaired individuals. Nowadays, a lot of public spaces like elevators use braille. In recent times, certain products like medicine also can be read by braille users. Braille is also on the keypad buttons of drive-through ATMs. Braille playing cards are also available. In fact, a lot of banks and government organizations deliver their documents in braille.
Apart from these, using braille in daily life also delivers privacy. You don’t require sighted individuals to aid you to read and write. Needless to say, digital assistive technology has additionally empowered braille users to become an effective part of day-to-day life for people. Electronic braille notetakers like BrailleNote can be used to take down notes. People can use it in a lecture at college or university or in a meeting in the workplace.
Inclusive education promotes bringing deprived children, such as those with visual impairments - into classrooms in which usually only sighted kids learn. The major idea with this is to implement a sense of equality amongst the kids, and an all-inclusive view of the child’s growth.
Inclusive educators work for the social development of every child. When they usually work with visually impaired kids, they could simplify curriculum delivery via non-visual means together with a visually-based presentation that can be made available. Technology that empowers inclusivity should be planned to be both accessible and approachable. Along with that, a deep understanding of the visually weakened students’ social as well as emotional requirements is essential.
To End With
Learning Braille can differ from person to person. Also, there is a shortage of teachers and educators who are skilled to teach Braille. Moreover, there is a lack of tools that make learning Braille available. If you also want to become a special ed teacher then special education courses will formulate you for that.
Please note, we are not a braille training institute. If you are looking for earning a special education teaching certificate then contact us at +6621055721 or send an email to act@asiancollegeofteachers.com. Happy Teaching!
Written By : Laura Taylor
