My name is Katie Lee and I'm a graphic design student at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio; caffeine addict and lover of type. This blog documents the progress of my six-month long senior capstone project from concept to conclusion. Read my project statement here.
The coming of technology is not the sole cause for the lack of motivation by some visually impaired people to learn and use braille. It can be caused by a variety of factors, differing according to circumstances.
In Chapter 1, reference was made to attitudes towards visually impaired people. In spite of a change in attitude such people are still not always accepted, and by some are regarded in some way as being inferior. Fortunately this is not so common as in the past, but the individual blind person may also be lacking in confidence because a certain amount of dependence on sighted help is inevitable. Some do not wish to admit this, and the result may be a determination not to be labelled as blind. Learning braille may seem to underlie this attitude, similar to some blind individual’s dislike of using a white stick.
Another problem is the lack of resources for learning braille and even a determination by some sighted people to deny such rights because of effort required by themselves. It is not always the fault of the reluctant teacher. In Britain a social service used to be visits by Home Teachers of the Bind who were trained in braille teaching. When social workers became generic there was little time or inclination to learn and teach braille, especially if there were more urgent demands on time. The RNIB has recently compiled a list of braille users willing to teach others. There was a ready response but now the Institution must arrange for the would-be teachers to be adequately trained. Now that children are mostly integrated into sighted schools, both here and in America, less resources and teaching time are available for braille reading, which succeeds best if tuition can be ‘little and often’.
Unfortunately, braille is publicised as being difficult to learn, particularly by those unwilling to teach. It is more difficult than print reading, but many children take it in their stride as they progress through school, and many adults who have learned, wonder how they would have managed without. To end this work, it seems appropriate for some users of braille to give their own opinions. One extract is from a published journal and the other contributors have all given permission for their names to be included.
(Source: braille.org)
