Changes in the Use of Braille in Educational System Braille as a marker of self-identity The View of Braille from another System
When we start thinking about the social aspects of Braille literacy it helps
to take the culture in which the person is reading and writing Braille into
account. A definition of culture includes a common language. The use of braille
by people with visual impairments is the single most unifying identifier of
blind culture. The interesting part of the controversy about Braille is whether
or not it is a separate language or simply another representation of English as
well as the other written languages it is used to convey.
Feelings run
very hot on this issue. Many people are adamant that braille is not a separate
language. It is put into the category of English language representations much
in the same way that computer generated English is a representation of printed
text. Some others do regard it to be another language. To stir this pot some
more I have noticed that sighted people learn braille more easily if they
approach it as another language.
Personally I do regard it to be a
separate language from written or spoken English. Braille uses different parts
of the brain (my own conclusion) and I find that I work with braille very
differently than when listening to digitized or recorded English. I am only
fluent in English, but I learn languages very easily and speak other languages
when I travel.
I went to Montreal the last time I traveled outside the
country. I speak some French and I have found in my travels that learning to say
a few key phrases shows great respect for the people of the country in which I
am traveling. It helps to open up communication even when I explain that I don't
speak their language fluently. I learn how to say, "I don't speak your language"
in the dialect of the country I am in.
Since it is unusual for sighted
people to learn a few words of written braille does this suggest that braille is
not another language since it is not spoken? When I was in seminary I learned
ancient Greek as a spoken language even though it is no longer spoken anymore.
It is only visually read and written. I could probably make myself understood in
Greece, but it wouldn't be easy. Since ancient Greek is no longer spoken, but
still written and read then why is it regarded to be a dead language?
I
remember one Christmas when I sent out all my holiday cards with braille
messages typed in them. Several of the people who received my card asked me why
I had sent them a card with a braille note in it when I knew they didn't read
braille. I was struck by this since I received over thirty holiday cards with
printed text messages in them from these same people. It never seemed to have
occurred to them that I would have to have someone read all their season's
greetings to me. None of them even asked me what the braille message said. Maybe
next year I should be more daring with my message and see if anyone notices
it.
Please don't be put off by my comments on receiving cards. I love
cards and spend a lot of time choosing the perfect ones for the people I care
about. [Excuse me while I stop and play with my cat, Jacob. He seems to think
this lecture is interfering with his play time. While I am at it I think I will
water my rubber plant as well.]
Now that I am back from my play break I want to let you know that there have
been a lot of changes in how braille is handled in the educational system. It
used to be that all children were taught braille even low vision students. The
onset of technology, however, altered the view of braille's value for a while.
Using screen readers and other low vision aides made learning braille
only one option and it became a less rigorous discipline. Also there was a
change in the way decisions were made on when to teach Braille to children.
Children who could read print were encouraged to read visually for as long as
they could before learning braille. Also finding ways to teach reading became
more complicated when we started to incorporate children who are blind and have
other disabilities into our case loads. A child who is blind and mentally
retarded may never learn to read any form of print. They may read with audio
cassettes.
Then there was a period when the children were asked if they
wanted to learn braille. This did not go over well since children being what
they are they declined to learn anything they didn't absolutely have to
know.
Now there is a lot of careful discussion about when to begin
teaching children braille. The child's reading skills and level of vision are
taken into consideration. Many children begin learning Braille before they lose
their visual reading abilities. Some people have a hard time getting the
children not to look at the braille and read it with their fingers. Other
professionals feel that it is all right to let the children learn it visually
while using their fingers because that is natural for them and they are getting
used to braille even if they are not totally reading it with their
fingers.
One of the nice changes I witnessed in my lifetime in our
profession is more incorporation of whatever sensory experiences are natural to
people with vision loss. It used to be that low vision people were encouraged
(or forced) to shut down their residual vision and learn things totally
tactilely. Now if someone has some vision their level of sight is assessed and
if there is a way to support their use of vision with other tools then this is
done. This makes more sense to me.
On my way home on Friday I was singing
along with my Ride driver to the radio. We were harmonizing to a tune by Billy
Joel. It was one he recorded about ten years ago. I remember his music from when
I was in college and began thinking about how his voice has matured and changed
over the years.
It struck me that billy Joel changed the kinds of music
he sings to match the changes in his vocal range. He doesn't have quite the
tambre he did, but the music he sings now compliments the way he can vocalize. I
got all weepy when I realized that. It showed me that we can use our changing
skills all the time in ever-flowering ways.
In terms of self-identity braille is often the final frontier in a person's
adjustment to blindness. This is much more an issue for those who become
adventitiously blind. Children growing up with braille do not go through
this.
People who have partial sight or who are losing their sight slowly
over time tend to hold on to their identity as sighted people. It is more like
they don't see well rather than they are somewhat blind. We have explored the
varied and complicated reasons why people do this throughout the semester. When
someone who has been sighted takes the first step towards learning braille they
can go through a lot emotionally. When you start to read braille it means that
you really don't see anymore.
One way I like to work with adults who are
losing vision and learning braille is by making up a kit of resources and fun
things they can use to help themselves become more accustomed to braille. Using
raised letters to make signs to help someone get used to using their fingers and
finding some colorful poster paper to make high contrast signs and labels for
around the house can be nice as well. I also like having the candy dots on the
sticky paper for a fun treat. You can form your words and then eat
them!
Remember that people who learned to read print before they became
blind will miss looking at the letters and they will have to work harder to
learn braille than the children do. Making braille pretty and interesting to
look at as well as feel is a great way to assist in the emotional
adjustment.
Braille is also not something people share with sighted
friends and family. I only ever hear of parents learning braille so they can
communicate with their children. Using braille can feel isolating to adults
until they get used to it since no one around them is likely to use it. This can
feel isolating to the adult trying to learn braille and the individual may
resist learning it.
Using computers fitted with screen reader programs
and other types of technology does help both children and adults feel more
connected to the people around them. Even if the people in their lives don't
understand how the technology works there is usually less of a feeling of
isolation when communicating through technology.
There is a strong movement now to have everyone learn braille because there
is concern the blind children and adults are not learning the essentials of
punctuation, grammar, and spelling effectively just by hearing it. I can't speak
to this since I learned all that stuff before I lost a lot of
vision.
Another issue which comes up socially is how to conduct yourself
in a meeting if printed information is being passed out for discussion. Even if
you are a braille reader a lot of the time materials are not provided in this
format. It is easier to put the agenda and other information on a computer disk
or send it before or after the meeting as an email attachment. Sometimes the
materials are read aloud in the meeting.
All of these methods fall under
the ADA requirements for reasonable accommodations, but they all change the way
a person participates in the group experience. If I get the information in
advance of the meeting I have more time than everyone else to go through the
materials. If I get a computer disk I have to be sure I have my lap top with me
or the disk will be useless. If the agenda and other materials are being read to
me in the meeting I have to try to remember the sequence of the materials or
interrupt to ask that something be read again.
Having a Braille copy of
the materials works the best if the person is a braille reader. It allows the
person to stay in the same social experience of the meeting or other activity
the easiest.
Finally, just to give you something new to think about, I want to show you
what braille can look like in another medical system. Sometimes we can get a
great deal of information by evaluating it through another system's viewpoint.
In the system of Chinese medicine there are heart meridians running all through
the hands. When reading with your fingers you are stimulating the heart. This
happens while typing, but running the fingertips over the braille paper triggers
the heart meridians very effectively.
The heart meridians run up the arms
as well. When going sighted guide a blind person is touching the heart meridians
the entire time he or she is holding on to the other person's arm. We have a
"reading with the heart" metaphor going on here. I find it very cool to play
with when I think about braille.