Braille

It doesn't matter if you're sighted or blind, one of the most important skills you can have is literacy. I'm lucky, I learned Braille and print in elementary school. If I lose the rest of my vission I'll still be able to read. Most blind children are NOT so fortunate. Learning print and Braille at the same time doesn't ruin the lives or confuse the minds of blind children, though many teachers of the blind and administration personel would have you think it does. I learned IN SCHOOL, a public school, where I went with sighted students. I had a resource room with a good teacher, Mrs. Heshaw, who taught me Braille, my mother learned Braille too.

You don't need a "special" school just to learn Braille, it can be taught to blind students in public schools just as easily as it can be taught to blind students in a residentail school. It can and, in my oppinion, should be taught to ALL blind students. This doesn't mean that resource rooms and residential schools are unneeded, they can and do serve a very useful purpose. My point here is, if a blind student is being mainstreamed there is no good, intelegent reason not to teach reading and writing Braille.

Here are some articles and discussions of interest dealing with Braille.

Send your questions or comments