The right to learn braille: January 2007

Saturday, 27 January 2007

The right to learn Braille

RE: Campaign for the right to learn Braille

I have got 2 children registered blind with a degenerative condition.

My children are denied the right to learn Braille because they still have sight left.
· We have been told that as long as they can read large prints they will not need to learn Braille. I am happy with them reading and writing prints, but feel the need for them to also start learning Braille . As I am sure you are aware that the studies in America show that early Braille education is Vital.
Most blind people I have spoken to wished they could have had access to Braille from an early age.
Print is only a limited option, when their eyes are tired or the light condition not good, they are then left to struggle.

· I believe, blind people should be offered the chance to learn Braille as it is an essential skill to their independence.

· In America, there is no such a problem as they are aware of the need for children to be introduced to Braille as early as possible

· I was appalled when I called my local society for the blind to ask for help, for my children to learn Braille, to be told that they no longer encourage people to learn Braille, but instead advice them to use new electronic reading devices, and voice recorders, or voice activated computer software, and audio books and newspapers.

So I asked if I could get the details of any Braille teachers in my area, to find out that there is only 1 , living more than 30 miles away from us.
I have spoken to several blind people who told me that Braille is essential to their life, it enables them to read books to their children, label their possessions, work, write lists, play cards or other games…

· The RNIB are fighting their own battle to get more books in Braille which is a very good idea, but if people can not read Braille what is the point in having more Braille books.

· I have been talking to a lot of parents and blind people who believe they are being denied the right to learn Braille because of the shortage of Braille teacher, as well as lack of funding from local authorities.

· I think that you are aware of the importance of Braille and would like your help to allow more blind people to learn Braille.

You can contact me directly emmanuele.higgins@tiscali.co.uk or join our web group for parents of VI and blind children or blind adults: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PVIC/

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Learning Braille:Notes from the Trenches

by Heidi Lasher Oakes From the Editor: For twenty years Heidi Lasher Oakes was a sculptor. Because of progressive vision loss she decided to return to college to earn a degree in biology. Heidi called the NFB of Maryland early in 2002 to seek assistance in obtaining rehabilitation services from the state agency serving the blind. As a result Heidi attended the Colorado Center for the Blind and Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) for adjustment-to-blindness training. Since completing her training, Heidi has continued to make good progress with Braille. She says that she has placed Braille labels on about sixty spice jars and on appliances in her kitchen as well as on her music and computer CD cases. As a new Braille reader Heidi's insights and experiences, as recounted in the following article, will be a source of encouragement to anyone interested in Braille. This story first appeared in the spring 2003 issue of the Braille Spectator, the publication of the NFB of Maryland. This is what she says: My interest in Braille dates back to my sighted childhood. I have always loved patterns and tactile surfaces. I was originally trained in sculpture, and I taught art at the college level for six years. Now I'm a second career graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying biology and math. Even when I was fully sighted, saying "let me see that" meant that I wanted to hold or touch the object in question to determine its weight or texture. The base six structure of the Braille alphabet appeals to my left brain, while its attractive tactile quality appeals to my right brain—so both sides of my brain are happy when I am reading Braille. Twelve years ago I began to lose my vision to what is now thought to be a rare form of X linked retinitis pigmentosa. In July 2002 I began to receive training in skills for the blind at the Colorado Center for the Blind. Even before the start of my training, I was very excited to learn Braille. I knew acquiring skills in reading Braille would help me to resolve the greatest fear caused by my vision loss—that I would become unable to read print before I had learned a viable alternative. I have listened to and enjoyed books on tape for many years while working in my studio, but I have never considered them a replacement for paper books, and I do not equate listening with reading. There are two reasons that I feel this way. First, I relate to paper books as physical objects. My experience of reading a paper book is very different from reading the same words with a magnifier or listening to them on tape. While in both cases the words are abstract constructs, the book has its own individual weight, smell, and texture. Different books are made with different kinds of paper and different bindings. They can age, be damaged and repaired, and be written in or dog eared by others. Notes can be left sandwiched between their pages. These marks of use help to reinforce their identity as unique physical objects. Second, when I am reading a paper book, I hear the voice of the narrator in my head. The narrator is often the main character, but even if no narrator is identified, I find that I imagine a different narrator for each book I read, often for different sections of the same book. This is a phenomenon I haven't read or heard much about but which has been confirmed by friends who are avid readers. This ability to create my own voice for the narrator of each book is for me a valuable part of reading. It is almost like the auditory counterpart of illustrations—the color and texture of the narrator's voice influences my perception of the words just as much. For all of these reasons I eagerly anticipated learning Braille. However, my initial experience with Braille, which I have nicknamed the "Numb Fingers" stage, was unexpectedly frustrating. I could feel just enough to know that dots were on the page, but not enough to know which dots they were. I attributed this lack of fine tactile sensation to my twenty years of experience as a sculptor, which had left me with some peripheral nerve damage in my fingers. I tried to have a sense of humor about it, but within a few days I was feeling frustrated, depressed, and fearful that my tactile ability would never improve. One night, after about three weeks, I remembered two techniques I used to teach my drawing students to observe more carefully—using their nondominant hand and drawing with their eyes closed. I decided to see if the same techniques might be helpful to me in learning Braille. To my surprise the experiment was an immediate and dramatic success. I had already been working under sleep shades, but somehow using my nondominant hand made a lightbulb go on inside my brain. Suddenly, without a doubt, I could recognize the first nine letters of the alphabet. My experience of learning Braille was never as frustrating again. As I learned the rest of the alphabet and then moved on to learn the Grade II [contracted Braille] contractions, I was able to make some observations about my learning process. I was particularly interested to notice that, as I learned the letters, the tactile knowledge transferred from my nondominant to my dominant hand. Over the next few days my dominant hand gradually took over again so that now I rely on it as my primary Braille reading hand, with my nondominant hand filling in as backup. Also it was essential for me to learn Braille initially under sleep shades although, once I mastered the alphabet, I found it useful also to practice using visual and tactile methods together. Finally, I have been amused to observe that my mild dyslexia—a tendency to invert or reverse print tail letters when I write, turning print b's into d's or p's and so on—transferred itself to Braille as I got more comfortable with the characters, just as it did to the keyboard when I learned how to touch type. In the case of Braille I have to be careful with m and ing, y and and, e and i, and most of all with that nefarious quartet, d, f, h, and j. Learning Braille as part of a group of students was an invaluable element in my education. The group provided a sense of community, and it was helpful to be able to learn by observation and by conversations with others. For example, I was reassured to find that most of the people losing their vision as adults had at least initial difficulty feeling the dots. I have since learned that such loss of sensation is common for many people who work with their hands a lot and also for many diabetics. The daily classes and dedicated instruction were also essential. As every accomplished Braille reader I have spoken to has told me, even two hours a day is not nearly enough, but it is definitely better than meeting with an instructor once a week. I worked regularly on my own and continue to do so now that I am back in Maryland. After three months of Braille study I am now smoking along at the snail like rate of between twelve and sixteen words a minute. However, I feel optimistic. Even though it is a slow process right now, it is very exciting to be able once again to read on my own, without the assistance of a computer, tape player, or other assistive device. I am counting on this excitement, along with my love of Braille, to keep me motivated in what I know will be a long process of improving my reading speed. In closing, I offer special thanks to Tom Anderson, my Braille instructor at the Colorado Center for the Blind, for his unfailing patience, generosity, and sense of humor.

The CCTV: A Personal Perspective

by Nathanael Wales EDITOR’S NOTE: Nathanael Wales is the President of the California Association of Blind Students. There came a night during the third grade when I couldn't wait to fall asleep. The sooner I fell asleep, the sooner I would wake up and the sooner I would be able to go to school. Then I could use this new machine that would make print "really big." The machine had been brought by a woman named Bobbie and I remember that someone had called her a vision teacher. From time to time, Bobbie visited my school and called me out of class—that was really special. Bobbie would help me with class work and occasionally show me some magnifiers. On that big day in third grade, she brought a large machine that was known as a CCTV (closed-circuit television). It was about the size of a television and made whatever papers or books that you put under it look really big. There was a knob to adjust the size, a knob to focus the image on the screen, a switch to make black print on white paper look like white print on black paper, and a switch to make the image look really weird and upside-down so you could use the machine with a typewriter. I thought the CCTV was a really cool machine. It made it easier for me to read things in school. It was so helpful to me that my grandparents bought one for me to use at home. My vision decreased through the rest of third grade and into fourth grade. Little by little, the smallest size of the print that I was able to read needed to be magnified larger and larger. I began to use and depend upon the CCTV more and more. It became the way that I got things done for school. On many occasions, I would spend several hours a night using the CCTV to do my homework. I developed many ways to make using the CCTV faster. For example, when I did math homework I had the book, a piece of glass to flatten out the pages of the book to make them easier to focus on, and the piece of paper that I was doing the homework on. I would put the piece of paper that I was doing the homework on under the CCTV, put the book and piece of glass over it, read the problem, remove the book and put it next to me on my desk, re-focus the CCTV, write out the problem, put the book back under the CCTV, re-focus the CCTV, and then read the next problem. Sometimes it was slow but I got the work done. In the spring of my fourth grade year, I had a surgery that improved my vision enough so that I wasn't completely dependent on the CCTV. I began to use it in combination with high-powered magnifiers and enlarged photocopies of pages of my schoolbooks. For example, I now could put my math book next to me on my desk and read the math problem using a high-powered magnifier and write out the problem under the CCTV. I called the system the "Fast Glance System" because it was faster than moving the book back and forth and re-focusing the CCTV. As I entered junior high, my vision began to decrease again. At that point, my vision teacher brought me a portable CCTV. This portable machine was always slower, and I could never write under it, but it was better than nothing. I still had a full-sized CCTV in my English class and in the library. In fact, the CCTV in the library was in color instead of just black and white. My vision teacher got a few more full-sized CCTVs later that year, and I got two more of them: one in my math class and one for my social studies/science class. In high school, I ended up having CCTVs in four of my six classrooms, a large color CCTV in the library that I shared with a couple of other visually impaired students, and a portable CCTV for the two classrooms where I did not have a full-sized CCTV. Outside of class, I was on my school's mock trial team all four years of high school, and I used the portable CCTV during competitions at the counsel table in courtrooms. In my sophomore year, my vision teacher brought me a new portable CCTV that I could not only read under but also write under. That was the ultimate. Sure, it fit in a case that was the size of a suitcase, but now I could read and write anywhere there was a table and a few minutes to set it up when I began reading and a few minutes to pack it up when I was finished. My parents and I were always interested in the latest adaptive technology, especially CCTVs, screen-enlarging software for computers, and scanners. We regularly went to vendors' exhibits. During my sophomore year of high school we went to such an exhibit at the state convention of the National Federation of the Blind. There were a number of vendors there, and the exhibit was one of the best I have been to. However, there was much more at that convention of the National Federation of the Blind than a technology exhibit. I attended a meeting of blind students, and they were talking about a number of things. They talked about Braille, which I thought was reserved for only the most poorly off blind people. They also discussed something called a Disabled Student Services Office as well as the administration of the S.A.T. It didn't seem to matter too much to me since I was only a sophomore in high school, but I noted the experience in my mind anyway. After the NFB state convention, I began receiving tapes from the NFB. It was a magazine called The Braille Monitor, and I read it because in between doing homework and mock trial I had little else to do. There was an article by a blind man who had been a vision teacher. He talked about teaching all of his blind, and even partially sighted, students Braille and how to get around the playground with their fellow sighted students. He even taught them how to play tag. The Braille Monitor also published testimony on Braille literacy bills. Blind college students and professionals talked about how fast and useful Braille was in their lives. I came to the conclusion that Braille might just be something I ought to learn. I realized that sometimes a CCTV isn't as versatile in all situations. During my senior year of high school, I asked my vision teacher to teach me Braille, and she was happy to do it. I had lessons once or twice a week, and by the end of the year I had learned most of Grade II. As I learned Braille, I began to put what I was learning to use, particularly in mock trial. I still used the portable CCTV, but I also had notes in Braille that I used. It was great to use the Braille notes at a podium or when moving around the courtroom making arguments to the court and questioning witnesses. One of the coaches remarked that she really noticed that my performance improved with the Braille because I was now able to read as fast as I could think. During my senior year of high school, I realized that I could probably use some improvement in my skills as a blind person before heading off to college. Nine days after I graduated from high school, I enrolled at an NFB training center. In two weeks I finished the Grade II Braille code, and I began learning how to be proficient in using a slate and stylus. I learned how to take notes in Braille in meetings and in classes. I read novels and magazines in Braille, and I began learning the Braille code for mathematics and science. I also worked on my skills of traveling with a cane, using a computer with a speech synthesizer, and living independently as a blind person. I not only developed competence in Braille and other skills, but I developed the confidence to make them my primary alternative techniques. Today, Braille is the principle way that I read and write. I take notes in Braille, read as many texts as are available in Braille, and read my Bible in Braille. When I am home visiting my parents I use the old CCTV from elementary school and high school days for personal reading, but I haven't taken it with me to college. There is a CCTV at my university, and I've used it four or five times in the past two years when it's not been convenient for a reader or roommate to read something such as mail or an article from my university's student newspaper. I have found Braille to be useful in classrooms, meetings, and church functions. It may, depending on the situation, mean using a Braillewriter, using a BrailleLite, or using a simple slate and stylus. Braille is lighter to carry, more versatile in its uses, and can be faster than a CCTV. Although I didn't realize it on that long ago night as a third grader, Braille and the NFB, not a CCTV, would end up having a major impact on my future.

Should a child with low vision be taught braille?

by Maria T. Garcia, President of POBCNY I would like to speak briefly about partially sighted children and literacy. My personal experience as the parent of a legally blind child involves the question of Braille versus large print. From my daughter Elora’s earliest experience in formal education a great emphasis was placed on visual learning. Even her IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) goals stressed the importance of visual learning. Throughout her early education I was told by well meaning professionals that she would not need Braille. I was told repeatedly that she could be a successful large print reader. This was wonderful news to me. It meant my daughter was not “really” blind. This was easy for me to accept because Elora had always been very good at “looking” sighted. Children learn quite early what pleases those around them and they learn to fake it to make us happy. Her visual acuity was placed between 20/400 and 20/600. These numbers never had a concrete meaning to me. It was all in the abstract. The professionals said my daughter could see well enough to read large print and that was good enough for me. In the summer of 2002 I met Carl Jacobson the president of the National Federation of the Blind of NYS. Carl was the first blind adult I had met since my daughter was born. He invited me to attend a parent workshop at the NFB state convention where I met numerous other blind adults. Through the NFB, my education in blindness and what my daughter would need to be a successful independent woman began. What Elora needs to be successful and independent is the same as what any other child needs. She needs to be literate. She needs to learn to READ!! Not just a few words at a time but to truly read. I learned that those abstract numbers that qualify her as legally blind really mean that she has at least a 90% vision loss. My wonderful little girl had been struggling to learn to read and write with 10% of what I can see. Through my interaction with blind adults I learned that she must learn Braille. Her visual acuity means that without Braille she will never be a proficient reader. Without Braille she will be denied higher education. In fact as the reading load increases in the higher elementary school grades she will be unable to excel. If she doesn’t learn Braille she will never enjoy reading. She will be denied reading for simple pleasure, an absolutely incalculable loss. I learned that large print may serve Elora in certain parts of her life. She may be able to write checks to pay her bills. Enlarging technology may enable her to read large print in very specific circumstances. But it will not provide her the skills to succeed in life. Let me share with you the statistics that I find most disturbing from my own research into Braille and the education of Blind children. In 1968 44% of the Blind in the USA were Braille literate. In 1993 less than 9% of the Blind in the America were Braille literate and 40% could read neither print nor Braille. In what other community would a 40% illiteracy rate go essentially unnoticed? This suggests a significant shift in philosophy at a fundamental level, I believe in education. The trend of thinking in the educational community has been that visual learning is superior to non-visual learning. Many educators of blind children have been taught that if a child has some sight that sight should be developed as the primary learning medium. I have as my daughter’s advocate had to fight to have Braille added to her IEP. This has been a battle on a number of fronts. The most significant has been was convincing educators that they can’t “teach” my daughter to see, but they can teach her to read. The other statistic I would like you to consider is this. Of the adult Blind population in America today 70% are unemployed. Of the remaining 30% that are employed 90% know Braille. These are staggering numbers. I have learned as the parent of a blind child, the most valuable resource I can tap into is that of blind adults. The most frequent piece of advice I receive from the blind adults I have met is to fight for Braille for my daughter now. Not to relegate her to an inferior education where she will be forced to learn Braille as an adult and spend precious years playing catch up. I encourage you to reach out to the organized blind community and learn from their experience. If any part of your own personal or educational experience has taught you that visual learning is superior to non-visual learning I challenge you to question the basis of that belief. Further I beseech you to buck the system and fight for your child’s right to an appropriate education. The POBCNY is here to help you in any way that we can.

THE VALUE OF LEARNING BRAILLE AS A CHILD By Mary Hartle Although visually impaired, I attended regular school in the 1950's and 1960's. I attended a parochial school in Minneapolis and was the only child with a vision impairment. I was taught to read print and progressed through the grades along with other children my age. No effort was ever made to teach me Braille. But, in retrospect, I wish I had been taught Braille as a small child. Although I could read standard print, I could not read it as fast as sighted students could. My grades ranged from a few B's to several C's, and some D's. (My brothers and sisters got A's and B's.) I was tracked into the lowest-ability group in junior high, although I was promoted to the middle group halfway through both the seventh and eighth grades. I could not read as much material as others could and thus had to spend more time on homework. I also had to hold books much closer to my face. Due to prolonged periods of bending over to read books at close range, I developed posture problems which, to this day, require chiropractic treatment. Learning became difficult and painful rather than joyful and exciting. As reading and learning became more difficult, I came to feel less intelligent. I began to feel shame and thus had more difficulty concentrating on learning. I became more anxious because of my increased difficulty. This was manifested in my struggles with arithmetic in fifth grade. I can still recall my extreme frustration and tears as I attempted to do my homework with my family's tutorial help. As a child I read fewer books than my classmates, especially novels, although I did read magazines and a few quick-read books. I also had, and still have, trouble spelling many words because I was not able to see the letters within words correctly. For instance, spelling double-consonant words has been particularly difficult because my eyes did not focus normally when I first learned to spell these words. Since I did not use Braille as a child, I was truly handicapped in my educational progress, and my self-confidence was low because I was unable to read fluently at a normal speed. I was embarrassed about both my slow reading speed and the fact that I had to look closer in order to read. Had I learned Braille earlier, I would have been able to read at a speed similar to that of sighted students. As I progressed through high school and college, the reading requirements became much greater, and the size of the print became much smaller. In college I avoided classes with heavy reading demands, such as history and literature. Over the past ten years I have lost the rest of my vision, thus necessitating my learning Braille. I am not unique. Many legally blind children with a little useful residual vision become blind adults with little or no ability to read print. Although I use Braille in my day-to-day life and on the job, I do not read with the speed I could have if I had learned Braille in the primary grades. There is nothing shameful about reading Braille or using any other non-visual technique. Today's blind children deserve a better education and a better chance to succeed in our highly competitive information age than I had. In fact, the need to read as efficiently as possible is more crucial today than ever before. Without Braille the chances of these children's getting through high school, much less going beyond it, will be minimal. When I think of how much Braille would have enhanced my education even though I could read standard print at the time, I know how important Braille is for children today who can barely read standard print or who rely on large print. School does not have to be and should not be torture. I believe visually impaired children must be given the opportunity to learn Braille if: 1. They cannot read print at speeds comparable to that of their classmates; 2. They cannot hold reading material at a normal distance from their eyes; or3. They cannot read print for long periods. Braille is as effective a reading method as print is, and blind and visually impaired children have the right to become as literate as their sighted classmates.

The Value of Braille UK article

Literacy for Blind People Anyone who cannot read is clearly at a disadvantage in our modern society, even though they may have many other skills. Consequently, braille is of inestimable value to visually impaired people. Literacy is one of the most essential and basic skills for anyone to acquire. Without it many of the other activities of life are made very much more difficult. Everyone should have the opportunity to read for themselves the great works of literature, and to enjoy the artistic use of language. Furthermore, learning any subject is made easier by being able to read teaching texts or instructional material. The dissemination of information also relies heavily on the basic skill of being able to read. A reading skill, however small, can be put to so many uses, whatever the range of other abilities a person may have. Not being able to read cuts off a person from a great deal of what is going on around them, greatly limiting their ability to achieve their full potential. This applies especially to those who have a visual impairment. There are many reasons why a blind person needs to be able to read: To gain a better understanding of language For information To gain employment To facilitate communication between people For pleasure and entertainment and For daily living. Braille is a system of representing characters and words by patterns of dots. A six dot 'cell' is used giving 63 possible braille symbols, plus space, which is no dots present. Braille is relatively simple to learn. Such difficulty as may exist relates to sensing the dots by touch. All too often when a person loses their sight no serious attempt is made to introduce them to braille. To the trauma of loss of sight is thus added the further and equally serious handicap of loss of literacy. The Talking Book service and talking newspapers - both local and national - are a great help, and may also be used by experienced braille readers. But these facilities must never be regarded as a substitute for teaching braille to all who have the capability of learning it. The ability to read braille offers a visually impaired person the opportunity to participate in many different situations, enhancing their quality of life and their contribution to family and work situations alike. This could range from the ability to read a child a bedtime story, to following the agenda at a meeting (whether on paper or the braille display of a portable computer). Most alarmingly, there is an increasing tendency not to teach braille to children in school. A computer with synthetic speech output is sometimes deemed to be a replacement for braille. Once again, while synthetic speech is invaluable to blind people in enabling them to use a computer effectively, no sighted person would ever choose to use this type of output to the exclusion of the print character output on the screen, so why deprive a visually impaired child the opportunity to read what is readily available to their sighted peers. Even where a blind person can only gain a limited capability with braille, it is still of great benefit to them in their daily life. For example: The ability to make short notes of messages or telephone numbers Labelling tinned food, so you don't open baked beans when you wanted to have some fruit salad can add much to the quality of life and independence for a visually impaired person. I have a modest collection of CDs, but if I had not stuck a short braille label on the outside of each CD case, I would not be able to access this effectively without sighted assistance. Help is needed just once for each CD, not every time I want to listen to it. When braille was introduced it greatly enhanced the lives of visually impaired people. Braille remains of vital importance to such people. It is therefore essential that those responsible for teaching visually impaired children and those who assist with the rehabilitation of people who loose their sight later in life, fully recognise the unique value of braille and make every effort to teach it to all who do not have sufficient sight to read standard or large print. Braille is one of the most precious things available to a visually impaired person, so it must be readily available to all who need it. Richard West Braille Authority of the United Kingdom

Braille

Braille Awareness: Braille = Print Have you ever wondered how important braille is to a blind or vision-impaired person? Think about how important print is to you, as a sighted person, and you have your answer. Read on to find out more about this vital literacy tool including how you can get your information put into braille to share with blind and vision-impaired people. It's a basic human right - everyone has the right to access information. Those who do not provide information in an accessible format may be participating in a form of indirect discrimination. Besides, the information you wish to communicate is not reaching this important section of the population. Braille Readers Over the last four decades the number of braille readers has fallen. As blind, deafblind and vision-impaired students are integrated into state schools, resources to teach braille have been insufficient. When people lose their sight later in life, there is again a lack of resources to teach them braille. Also, the diminishing number of braille readers can be attributed to the increased access to synthetic speech computer software rather than using electronic 'refreshable braille' displays which can enhance computer use. Increasing Braille Readership The decline in the number of braille readers is causing concern at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB). Initiatives to promote braille and braille literacy are currently being undertaken to increase braille production and the number of braille readers in New Zealand. Help us by making more print into braille. Producing your print information in braille not only allows current braille users access to more information, but it also gives other blind, deafblind or vision-impaired people another reason to learn braille. Being able to read a restaurant menu, a label on their medication, or checking out their favourite bottle of wine, may be reason enough to motivate a blind or vision-impaired person to learn this vital code. How did it all begin? Louis Braille, who was blinded in an accident at the age of three, attended the first School for the Blind in Paris from 1819. He was taught to read using raised, enlarged print. He was very critical of the system and began to look for ways to improve it. He came across the studies and surveys of Charles Barbier,a French army officer,who had devised a system of raised dots and dashes for men in the army to use for communicating by touch at night. This system was not a success, so Barbier offered it to the School for the Blind. Louis Braille looked at Barbier's system but realised that the twelve dots on which it was based were unable to be read with the pad of one's finger. He simplified Barbier's system and developed his own form of communicating. In 1824, at the age of 15, Louis Braille introduced his six dot code at the school. It met with considerable criticism from the sighted teachers, but the blind students and blind teachers adopted the new system immediately. They loved it. For the first time they were able to write down their own thoughts! Although determined to obtain official status for it, it was not until 1854, two years after Louis' death, that they met with success. What does the braille alphabet look like? This is the braille alphabet. Can you work out Louis Braille's system? Take a look at the first 10 letters of the alphabet, letters a to j. If you then look at the next 10 letters of the alphabet, k to t, you'll see they are exactly the same but with an extra dot in the bottom left hand corner. The last six letters are the same as k to t, but this time there is also another dot on the bottom right hand side. All except for the letter "w"; can you think why? There was no "w" in the French alphabet and it was not added in until later. Braille has been adapted to almost every known language, from Albanian to Zulu. Every day, braille is used to read words, numbers and music by blind and vision-impaired people all around the world. What sort of information is put into braille? Menus, medication labels, timetables, signs, brochures, manuals, books, maths, letters, maps, music... Anything you read in print someone may want to read in braille. How can I get print information put into braille? You need to contact the Accessible Information Consultancy (AIC) at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. Once AIC have received a copy of the print to be transcribed they will negotiate the cost and time frames with you. Contact AIC during business hours on 0800 24 33 33 (option 3) or email them on aic@rnzfb.org.nz How much will it cost? AIC will discuss this with you. One full page of print translates to about three braille pages. Obligation-free estimates are provided before any work commences. Who else can I talk to about braille? Talk to the RNZFB's Braille Awareness Consultant who is passionate about braille and eager to put you in touch with the right information or person. They can: give you advice on all braille signage matters; provide you with a list of resources to help you learn braille; give you a free colour poster of the braille alphabet or a set of frequently asked questions about braille; send you a recipe on how to make your very own braille biscuits (as seen below). The RNZFB produces, teaches and promotes braille. The Braille Awareness Consultant will be able to help you with any questions you have about any of these services, just ask! How do I get in touch with the Braille Awareness Consultant? Braille Awareness Consultant Julie Woods with braille biscuits Phone the Braille Awareness Consultant on 0800 24 33 33 or email braille Remember - think braille, think RNZFB. How can I make Louis Braille's legacy live on? Get your print information transcribed into braille. Contact the RNZFB's Accessible Information Consultancy now and allow blind, deafblind and vision-impaired people access to your printed word. Encourage and support anyone you know who is learning braille. Learn braille yourself, especially if you have a family member or friend who is blind. Wouldn't you love to be able to send them a birthday card in braille that they were able to read themselves? Make a donation today! Call 0800 DONATE (366 283) or check out www.rnzfb.org.nz The RNZFB is the primary provider of vision-related rehabilitation services to around 11,700 blind, deafblind and vision-impaired people. For more information: phone: 0800 24 33 33website: www.rnzfb.org.nz Braille and Visually Impaired Students What does the law require? Passing a law is one thing. Getting it enforced and, more to the point, accepted, is quite another. Laws tend to be a reflection of public opinion, not a creator of it. They give a final nudge to new reality. With respect to Braille, there can be no doubt that the climate of public opinion has changed dramatically during the past decade. Once again, Braille is becoming the centerpiece in the education of blind people, just as print is for sighted people. —Kenneth Jernigan, Braille Into the Next Millennium National Organization of Parents of Blind Children Q: You mean that there is a specific provision in the law about Braille instruction for visually impaired students? A: Yes, that’s right. The “Braille provision” as it is sometimes called, was added when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 1997 and was continued in the 2004 reauthorization. Q: What does it say? A: Here is the pertinent section from the IDEA reauthorization of 2004: Section 614 (d)(3)(B)(iii) (B) Consideration of Special Factors.— The IEP Team shall— (iii) in the case of a child who is blind or visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP Team determines, after an evaluation of the child’s reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child's future needs for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child; Q: Is it significant that this provision uses the word “provide” rather than “consider the need for” Braille instruction? A: Good observation. Yes, it is significant. It means that the IEP team is obligated to assume— even before an evaluation is conducted—that Braille instruction will be a necessary service for the blind or visually impaired child. This is an important shift from past educational practices when it was routinely assumed that children with some usable vision would read print and only be provided with Braille instruction as the last resort. Q: Does this provision apply to every blind or visually impaired child with an IEP? A: Yes. Q: Does this mean that visually impaired children who might have sufficient vision to read enlarged print or regular print with magnification shall also be provided with Braille instruction and the opportunity to use Braille? A: That’s right. Unless, of course (as the provision states), an evaluation that takes into consideration the child’s future need for Braille literacy demonstrates that Braille is not appropriate. Q: So, this evaluation must be pretty important. What is it called? A: It is extremely important. Many people in the blindness profession have come to refer to it as a learning media assessment. In all instances where Braille instruction is not provided for children covered under this provision, documentation of a learning media assessment (the evaluation) is required. Furthermore, is it critical that a qualified person conduct the assessment. The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, including those with Multiple Disabilities, recommends that “All assessments and evaluations of students will be conducted by and/or in partnership with personnel having expertise in the education of students with visual impairments and their parents.” Huebner, Merk-Adam, Stryker, and Wolfe. 2004. Q: What must the evaluation include? A: There are many elements in a learning media assessment. The Braille provision specifically requires that the following be addressed: skills in reading and writing, reading and writing needs, and future need for Braille or Braille instruction. The assessment of future needs is important because a number of congenital eye diseases or disorders are degenerative. As we know, the educational system is charged with the responsibility of preparing students for a lifetime of literacy. This provision protects the right of children with visual impairments to be provided with skills in a literacy mode that will also last a life-time, whatever the prognosis might be for their vision. Q: Are there any learning media assessment tools that an LEA can purchase and use for this evaluation? A: Yes. The Texas School for the Blind, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), and others have developed learning media assessment tools. Some state departments of education, such as Maryland, have also developed specific guidelines that may be used by IEP teams. Information about resources is included at the end of this brochure. Q: Some children with blindness or visual impairment also have additional disabilities— such as autism, learning disabilities, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and so forth. Do learning media assessments need to be conducted for these children? Might these children require Braille instruction? A: Yes, and yes—to both questions. Literacy is the pathway to maximum independence and life satisfaction for every child that has the capacity to learn, including those at the functional reading level. It may take such children longer to learn to read, and/or require additional supports or individualized strategies, but this only highlights the importance of good assessments. Q: Once the IEP team has conducted a learning media assessment and made a determination about the appropriateness of print and Braille instruction, does the team need to review or reconsider that decision during the annual IEP review? A: That depends. If the child is receiving regular and adequate Braille instruction, probably not. However, if the child is not receiving Braille instruction, then it would be appropriate and in keeping with the intent of the Braille provision for the IEP team to discuss and/or reassess the decision annually. Q: This sounds like a sensible and educationally sound process. Now what about those resources? Q: You mean that there is a specific provision in the law about Braille instruction for visually impaired students? A: Yes, that’s right. The “Braille provision” as it is sometimes called, was added when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 1997 and was continued in the 2004 reauthorization. Q: What does it say? A: Here is the pertinent section from the IDEA reauthorization of 2004: Section 614 (d)(3)(B)(iii) (B) Consideration of Special Factors.— The IEP Team shall— (iii) in the case of a child who is blind or visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP Team determines, after an evaluation of the child’s reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child's future needs for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child; Q: Is it significant that this provision uses the word “provide” rather than “consider the need for” Braille instruction? A: Good observation. Yes, it is significant. It means that the IEP team is obligated to assume— even before an evaluation is conducted—that Braille instruction will be a necessary service for the blind or visually impaired child. This is an important shift from past educational practices when it was routinely assumed that children with some usable vision would read print and only be provided with Braille instruction as the last resort. Q: Does this provision apply to every blind or visually impaired child with an IEP? A: Yes. Q: Does this mean that visually impaired children who might have sufficient vision to read enlarged print or regular print with magnification shall also be provided with Braille instruction and the opportunity to use Braille? A: That’s right. Unless, of course (as the provision states), an evaluation that takes into consideration the child’s future need for Braille literacy demonstrates that Braille is not appropriate. Q: So, this evaluation must be pretty important. What is it called? A: It is extremely important. Many people in the blindness profession have come to refer to it as a learning media assessment. In all instances where Braille instruction is not provided for children covered under this provision, documentation of a learning media assessment (the evaluation) is required. Furthermore, is it critical that a qualified person conduct the assessment. The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, including those with Multiple Disabilities, recommends that “All assessments and evaluations of students will be conducted by and/or in partnership with personnel having expertise in the education of students with visual impairments and their parents.” Huebner, Merk-Adam, Stryker, and Wolfe. 2004. Q: What must the evaluation include? A: There are many elements in a learning media assessment. The Braille provision specifically requires that the following be addressed: skills in reading and writing, reading and writing needs, and future need for Braille or Braille instruction. The assessment of future needs is important because a number of congenital eye diseases or disorders are degenerative. As we know, the educational system is charged with the responsibility of preparing students for a lifetime of literacy. This provision protects the right of children with visual impairments to be provided with skills in a literacy mode that will also last a life-time, whatever the prognosis might be for their vision. Q: Are there any learning media assessment tools that an LEA can purchase and use for this evaluation? A: Yes. The Texas School for the Blind, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), and others have developed learning media assessment tools. Some state departments of education, such as Maryland, have also developed specific guidelines that may be used by IEP teams. Information about resources is included at the end of this brochure. Q: Some children with blindness or visual impairment also have additional disabilities— such as autism, learning disabilities, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and so forth. Do learning media assessments need to be conducted for these children? Might these children require Braille instruction? A: Yes, and yes—to both questions. Literacy is the pathway to maximum independence and life satisfaction for every child that has the capacity to learn, including those at the functional reading level. It may take such children longer to learn to read, and/or require additional supports or individualized strategies, but this only highlights the importance of good assessments. RESOURCES The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities www.tsbvi.edu/agenda/ LEARNING MEDIA ASSESSMENTS www.lighthouse.org (search term: assessment compendium) BRAILLE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS American Printing House for the Blind (APH) www.aph.org/products American Foundation for the Blind www.afb.org/store Braille Too (Grant Wood AEA, Iowa) www.aea10.k12.ia.us/divlearn/brailletoo.html Exceptional Teaching Aids, Inc. (Mangold Exclusives) www.store.exceptionalteaching.net/maex.html Texas School for the Blind Publications www.tsbvi.edu (go to Curriculum Publications) INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS ABOUT BRAILLE The World Under My Fingers: Personal Reflections on Braille, Second Edition National Federation of the Blind www.nfb.org The Bridge to Braille: Reading and School Success for the Young Blind Child National Organization of Parents of Blind Children www.nfb.org/nopbc.htm Braille Into the Next Millennium ISBN 0-8444-021-7 National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped www.loc.gov/nls Developed and published by The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities www.tsbvi.edu/agenda/ in partnership with a division of the National Federation of the Blind www.nfb.org/nopbc.htm

Research

Inevitably our programs and services develop from our beliefs, explicitly and implicitly reflecting our expectations. The real problem with today’s programs for blind children is their lack of an effective philosophy. Education of the blind has become trapped by its own thinking, which has resulted in a system in which children are encouraged to progress from where they are, without a vision of where we want them to be. We have become complacent, using progress as our measure of success. We have taken this lack of clear vision and embraced it as a virtue. We have become the champions of individualized programs without clearly defined expectations. Yet doing better today than yesterday is simply not good enough. By using progress as the measure of success, we mislead ourselves into believing that our educational systems are working effectively. The real problem of a generalized belief in blind people is that it lacks definition. The progress measure of success rewards forward movement irrespective of whether it is constructive. Today’s Braille literacy problem did not emerge from a negative view of blindness, but rather from a lack of any specific view at all. If a child has some sight and is struggling to read print and if he or she begins to read better by using a CCTV or stronger magnifier, the goal of progress is achieved. The child is reading better, which is of course what we want. This satisfies our generalized belief in blind children. The progress standard is not so much wrong as incomplete. A child’s making progress is good, but only if it is progress toward a worthy goal, premised on a fundamental belief in the ability of blind people to compete. I believe that blind children are fundamentally normal, so I expect that they can become literate. Since I believe that they are normal, my expectation for their literacy is that they will read and write like their sighted peers. For this reason I am not satisfied by a child’s progressing from reading ten words per minute to twenty or thirty words per minute if this is the best that he or she will achieve, given a particular medium. Progress is not enough. It must be coupled with expectation. If a child is trained to read Braille knowing that it is reasonable to expect that child will learn to read at a rate comparable to that of his or her sighted peers, then progress takes on a new and positive dimension. Progress in response to substantive expectation is progress worth applauding. Progress from a position of inferiority to a position of less inferiority, without the prospect of full participation, is not only insufficient but damaging because it erroneously teaches the child that, due to blindness, he or she is less capable. Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, President Emeritus of the National Federation of the Blind, expressed it best: We have learned that it is not our blindness which has put us down and kept us out, but what we and others have thought about our blindness. (1990, reprinted in Walking Alone and Marching Together, p. 428) As educators, teacher trainers, and parents we must actively work toward developing a strong and positive conception of blindness within ourselves. This can only be accomplished by spending time with blind adults who can help us reshape and redefine our expectations. Ruby Ryles, a nationally recognized teacher of blind children in the United States, pointed out: The average VI teacher [teacher of blind children] has had little or no contact with competent blind adults and therefore does not imagine, cannot imagine, the tragic results of the omission of basic skill training. (June, 1989, in the Braille Monitor, p. 308) We must strive to replace our generalized beliefs with fundamental beliefs in the capacity of blind people. With these fundamental beliefs our philosophy of blindness will guide us intuitively to do what is right. Through our philosophy we will naturally hold high expectations for our students and replace undirected progress with that which is goal-driven. We will automatically know whether a decision or strategy is the right one by the degree to which it accomplishes the objective of full participation for the child. But, most important, a personal fundamental belief in the ability of blind people will result in the passing on of this belief to our children. If we believe in them and demonstrate that belief in all that we do, they too will learn to believe in themselves, internalizing our expectations. The skills we teach are not a complete package, but a starting point. If our children learn to believe in themselves, they will draw from these skills, applying them in new ways and in new situations. They will build on this foundation and integrate themselves into society. No master’s-level educator will have to teach them the correct method for playing tag. By believing in themselves and assuming that they can function competitively, they will automatically look for the techniques to put their beliefs into action. The critical factor is expectations—expectations stemming from an overarching philosophy rooted in a fundamental belief in the capacity of blind people to live full and productive lives. Dr. Schroeder is a research professor at San Diego State University and a former Commisioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

Your child's right to read

by Carol Castellano A father reports that his daughter had to be placed in a Resource Room instead of the regular classroom during the school year. The child has no learning problems or delays; she simply cannot keep up with the class reading on a closed circuit television. “Braille is a tremendous undertaking, very complicated and difficult to learn,” a blindness professional tells one mom. “Let your son use his vision for as long as he has it.” “My child isn’t blind. She doesn’t need Braille. She can use a closed circuit television (CCTV) to read.” But when the partially sighted youngster reaches second grade, her mother realizes the child cannot read at all. By the time Braille instruction is finally initiated, the student is lagging far behind her classmates. “I had been so happy that my daughter ‘wasn’t blind.’ I now see that Braille is not a curse of blindness, but a tool of literacy and freedom.” the mom says. What do these scenarios have in common? A negative attitude that Braille is the medium of last resort and the misconception that Braille is not for youngsters who have some eyesight. The reality is that Braille is a valuable tool that is the key for both totally blind and partially sighted people to full literacy and equality in the classroom. Not every partially sighted person needs Braille. But there are far too many students with partial vision for whom Braille would be a sensible reading option, who are denied instruction in this most beneficial medium. There is good news. An important change was made in 1997 to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that guarantees a “free and appropriate education” to children with disabilities. The change says: The IEP Team shall…in the case of a child who is blind or visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP Team determines, after an evaluation of the child’s reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child’s future needs for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child. (Section 614(d)(3)(B)(iii)) What does this actually mean? It means, first of all, that the school must provide Braille. Secondly, it means that four specific areas must be examined before Braille can be ruled out. The IEP team, which includes the parent(s), must evaluate 1. the child’s present reading and writing skills; 2. his/her reading and writing needs; 3. the appropriate reading and writing media (which could end up being Braille, print, or both Braille and print); and 4. any need the child might have in the future for Braille. Only if the results of these evaluations show that the child does not presently need Braille and will not need Braille in the future, can Braille be ruled out. Decisions about teaching Braille have often been made on a single basis—whether the child had enough vision to see any print. Now, it is no longer legal to say that just because a child can see a little, that he/she cannot have Braille. The teaching of Braille was often delayed until the child began falling behind in school. Now, families and teachers should not have to watch their children or students fail before an appropriate literacy tool is provided. Decisions about teaching Braille were often full of emotion—“You’re making the child blind.” Now decisions about Braille will be based on an objective examination of the child’s present and future need for the medium. Braille used to be the medium of last resort. Braille will now be the medium of first choice. This change in the law has the potential to make an enormously positive difference in the lives of blind children. Many of us have heard Braille spoken about as very difficult and burdensome to learn. We have heard that partially sighted students don’t want to learn Braille or that they will read it with their eyes anyway. But it’s all in the presentation. If Braille is presented in a positive light as the medium of choice for full literacy, if the methods of teaching it are engaging and appropriate, if children are taught to pair their remaining vision with their sense of touch, then Braille learning will be undertaken with the same excitement and interest that a child might have for any other subject or skill. And it will be mastered with a sense of pleasure and accomplishment. The fact is that Braille is a wonderful literacy tool, whether it is used exclusively or along with print. It enables the child to read fast and without fatigue, to keep up with the class, to take notes and read them back. Braille opens the world of the analysis of literature and of higher math and the sciences. Braille levels the playing field, enables our children to compete on equal terms with their peers, and to have access to all aspects of a good education. This law is a great victory for blind and visually impaired children, for it ensures that they will now be given the tools they need for full literacy, for a complete education, and for a bright tomorrow. (back) (next) (contents)

The Importance of Braille Literacy

BRAILLE = EQUALITY Could you imagine telling a class of 6-year-old children that they don't need to learn to read anymore because computers can do it for them? Silly idea, isn't it? But every day, that's what some children with vision loss are told.For children with vision loss, being able to read and write braille is the key to literacy, successful employment, and independence.All children need to be literate - to read, write, and count - in order to enjoy intellectual freedom, personal security, and equal opportunities when they grow up.We must offer children who are blind, visually impaired, and deafblind a real chance at equality. We must teach them braille. BRAILLE = PRINT Braille is a code that presents written information. It is equivalent to print. The alphabet, numbers, music notation, and any other symbol that appears in print can be replicated in braille by arranging combinations of the six dots of the braille "cell." Braille is read by touch, usually using the first finger on one or both hands.The dots of braille are also used for mathematics, scientific equations, computer notations, and foreign languages.When children with vision loss are learning to read, braille is the best way for them to develop skills in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Audiotapes and computers that "speak" a text through a voice synthesizer program provide access to all sorts of written materials, but they fail to give new readers the tools that they need to read and write for themselves. Although complex charts and graphs may be almost impossible to describe well orally, they can be clearly communicated in braille. BRAILLE = EMPLOYMENT Several studies have shown that people who are blind and know braille are far more likely to be employed than those who rely on voice synthesizers. These are the hard facts of the workplace. Although technological advances now provide people who are blind with additional workplace tools in the same way technology has enhanced the efficiency of sighted people, computers, scanners, and voice synthesizers do not replace the need for braille.Braille, like print, enables a person to make notes on documents, read a spreadsheet, take minutes at a meeting, file materials, label diskettes, and do a variety of other tasks efficiently and independently.The bottom line is that a person who knows braille is statistically more likely to be employed. That is true today and is almost certainly going to be true years from now. Technology is wonderful, but it will never be a substitute for basic literacy skills. BRAILLE = INDEPENDENCE Braille is a building block of literacy. Literacy is a building block of independence.Learning to read and write is challenging for most children. It takes time and practice. It takes the support and encouragement of family and teachers. That's true whether a child has vision loss or not. Children who do not read and write well have trouble succeeding in school and in the workplace. For children whose eyesight prevents them from reading and writing print, braille is the route to literacy.Braille is not that hard to learn, especially when the student is young. Children who learn braille early on usually become extremely fast and competent readers. Children have an advantage over adults - they learn more quickly, accept the tasks their teachers give them with little resistance, and expect to make mistakes as they go along. However, learning becomes more difficult when a child falls too far behind his or her classmates and feels discouraged and inferior. For these reasons, it is never too soon to teach braille to a child with a visual impairment. When children have eye conditions that may worsen over time, learning braille early gives them more options.To read without braille, a person who is blind is entirely dependent on computers with voice synthesizers or audiotape recordings, neither of which is useful in every circumstance. A person with low vision can use magnifiers and other print enhancers to read labels and other written texts that cannot be scanned or read by computer or are not on audiotape, but may not be able to read this way for long periods of time without experiencing eye fatigue and strain.To write without braille, a person who has vision loss may use keyboard skills or dictate a text and then review it using a computer voice synthesizer program. Even though technology offers people with vision loss some choices, it does not replace the benefits of braille in every situation. Aside from using braille to read all kinds of textbooks and documents, braille is useful in a variety of other ways: · Braille can be used at home to label, for example, tapes, CDs, clothes, thread, spices, cans of food, and computer disks. · People who read braille can play card games such as bridge and board games such as Scrabble. · At school, a student who is visually impaired and knows braille can take notes using a slate and stylus, scan a text to find the part to study, and re-read homework assignments before handing them in. · Braille readers can look things up and go back and forth in the text more easily. · Children can write personal messages and leave notes for parents and caregivers in braille. · Braille can be easily read by sighted people with some braille training. · And, of course, there are computer programs that transcribe braille to print or vice versa. BRAILLE = CHOICE There is a clear need to teach braille to blind and visually impaired children at a young age. Sadly, though, discrimination and misguided ideas about what is best for children have, in the past, acted to deny many children access to braille. There are too many distressing stories of children who were told they were too physically inept to learn braille, of parents who were told that braille skills were not necessary because their child could read enhanced print, of educators who decided that braille was too difficult and too different, of policy-makers who figured that technology had replaced the need for braille and that programs to support braille were no longer necessary. Children who are denied braille are denied an equal chance to be literate.It is better to teach braille to a person with low vision who may never need to rely solely on braille, than never to teach braille to someone who may need it in a few years. We must give every child who has vision loss the chance to learn braille. The Confusion Over the Need for BrailleSome people who are blind and visually impaired lead fulfilling, independent personal and professional lives even though they do not read or write braille. The successes of these exceptional people may confuse others about the need for braille. For most people, braille is the key to success. BRAILLE RESOURCES = SUCCESS You may have many questions about braille. Should my child be learning braille? What is an appropriate braille reading and writing level in each grade? Is our school doing what it should to ensure that its visually impaired students are literate? Do our teachers promote braille in all the circumstances in which they should? CNIB can help you answer these questions.For over 80 years, CNIB has been providing services to people with vision loss. We believe in the importance of braille as a tool to literacy and we have a variety of services to support braille learning and braille reading. We cannot list all the available resources, but here are three important braille services that may be of interest to you: · The CNIB Library sends fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, music scores, and other braille materials out on loan across Canada every day. French braille is provided in co-operation with francophone service providers in Quebec. The Library publishes The Braille Courier and Braille Books Acquired in English to keep readers up to date on current events and new library acquisitions. Programs for young people such as the Creative Braille Writing Competition (English only) are offered annually. The Library's Accessible Text Service prepares contract braille materials for government, businesses, and other organizations. · The Canadian Braille Literacy Foundation provides funds to registered non-profit organizations for activities to raise public awareness of braille and support its use. Applicants can request funding for up to one year and can then ask for funding to continue for up to two more years. The Foundation also sponsors writing competitions and challenges students to demonstrate their proficiency in braille. Donations to support braille literacy are always welcome. · The Canadian Braille Authority is a national group of users, producers, and teachers whose mandate is to promote braille as a primary medium for people who are blind. For more information about braille, contact CNIB in your community. "; document.write(ppb + window.location.href + ppe); //end --> Print Copyright © 1996-2006 CNIB. All rights reserved.

Early Braille education is vital

Research Study: Early Braille Education Vital by Ruby Ryles, Ph.D. An exhaustive study has cast aside some erroneous stereotypes while underscoring the importance of Braille education at an early age. The study has revealed that literacy rates of blind high school students who began their Braille education at an early age are consistent with those of their sighted peers. The study further disclosed that legally blind children who received infrequent or no Braille training, or who began their Braille education later in life, exhibit noticeably lower literacy rates. The study was conducted by Ruby Ryles, Ph.D., founding coordinator of the master’s program in Orientation and Mobility at Louisiana Tech University/Louisiana Center for the Blind. Ryles performed the study for her University of Washington doctoral dissertation in special education, titled “Relationship of Reading Medium to Literacy Skills of High School Students Who Are Visually Impaired.” Results from that and a preliminary study suggest that partially sighted children may be at greater risk of literacy deficiencies than children who are totally blind. The study was intended to establish correlations between present literacy rates and the early reading education of high school students from 45 cities, towns, and rural communities in 11 eastern and southern states. Of 60 students in the study, 45 were legally blind from birth, had no other disabilities, spoke English as a first language, were of average intelligence, and attended public rather than residential schools. The study also included a comparative group of 15 sighted students attending the same schools as the legally blind subjects. The 45 legally blind students were divided into three groups of 15 students each, corresponding with the initiation and consistency of their Braille instruction: Early Braille—students who received Braille instruction four to five days per week while in the first, second, and third grades. Infrequent Braille—students who received Braille instruction fewer than four days per week during the first three grades; Non-Braille—legally blind students who received no instruction in reading Braille, instead using print material and optical aids. Ryles administered comprehension, vocabulary, and other subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test and the Woodcock Johnson R (revised) assessment tests. In comprehension tests, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of the sighted students and the group of blind students who received early frequent instruction in Braille. Nor was there a significant difference between the mean scores of the infrequent Braille group and the non-Braille group on the two comprehension tests. However, the students who received instruction in Braille fewer than four days a week during the first three grades of school (infrequent Braille group) and the non-Braille group posted mean scores on both tests significantly lower than those of the sighted and early Braille groups. In vocabulary, early Braille readers outperformed sighted students by a 5 percent margin on the Stanford test and nearly matched their sighted classmates on the Woodcock Johnson R test. The infrequent Braille learners, producing a mean score of 45 percent, registered significantly below the early Braille and sighted groups on the Stanford test. Legally blind students who received no Braille instruction posted a mean score 6 percentage points lower than the infrequent Braille group on the same test. The infrequent and non-Braille groups also scored significantly lower than the early Braille and sighted groups on the Woodcock Johnson R vocabulary test. Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization scores shattered stereotypes. In the capitalization and punctuation portion of the Woodcock Johnson R test, early Braille readers produced a mean score that was 7 percentage points higher than their sighted peers, 25 percentage points higher than the infrequent Braille group, and 42 percentage points higher than their legally blind peers in the non-Braille group. In the spelling portion of the Woodcock Johnson R test, early Braille learners averaged 1 percent point higher than fully sighted readers, 32 percentage points higher than infrequent Braille learning, and 38 percentage points higher than the non-Braille group. Before beginning work on the project, Ryles conducted a preliminary study in the state of Washington evaluating the correlation between adult literacy skills and employment. There, she studied 74 adults who were born legally blind and were patrons of the Library for the Blind. Ryles discovered that 44 percent of the study participants who had learned to read in Braille were unemployed, while those who had learned to read using print had a 77 percent unemployment rate. Those results prompted her to conduct an in-depth study exploring the childhood reading education of legally blind high school kids. The two studies led Ryles to an inescapable conclusion: “Low-vision kids need to be taught Braille,” she asserts. “Early Braille education is crucial to literacy, and literacy is crucial to employment.” The article above first appeared in the Spring, 1998, edition of HumanWare’s publication, Star Student. It was later reprinted in Future Reflections. Future Reflections Special Issue 2004 (back) (next) (contents) Reading and School Success for the Young Blind ChildCarol Castellano Dawn KosmanIllustrated by Lynne Cucco The Bridge to Braille is a practical, step-by-step guide that shows parents and teachers how to help blind children progress from early literacy experiences all the way to full participation in the classroom. This book demystifies the education of blind children and enables parents and teachers to give ordinary help with spelling, homework, reports, and projects to children who happen to be blind. Topics included in the book: Adapting Materials A Quick Braille Lesson Using Technology Beginning Braille Reading Braille Writing in the Classroom Indepenence in the ClassroomDoing Math in Braille Resources About Braille Books “Now I understand what to do to get my son off to a good start in school. Parents need this information right from the beginning, when their blind child is a baby.” - Amy Kaiser, Parent of a blind child “A much-needed adjunct to the information shared by a busy Braille teacher...The Bridge to Braille should be in the hands of every teacher who is going to have a blind student in class!” - Debbie DeHaven, First Grade Teacher The Bridge to Braille is available from:National Organization of Parents of Blind Children _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Order Form Name ____________________________________ Phone ( ) __________________ Address_________________________________________________________________ Number and Street City State Zip The Bridge to Braille Quantity ____ @12.00 + $5.00 (S&H) = _______ (Total Due) Make check or money order payable to NFB and mail with this form to: Materials Center, National Center for the Blind1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230-4998Phone: (410) 659-9314 Email: nfbstore@nfb.org Web site: www.nfb.org (back) (next) (contents Ruby Ryles The Impact of Braille Reading Skills on Employment,Income, Education, and Reading Habitsby Ruby Ryles Ph.D. From the Editor: As a society we have become increasingly alarmed in recent years about the growing illiteracy rate among our children and young adults. This increase is occurring, of course, at the very time in our nation's economic life when the need for true literacy is increasing. Today's jobs require much more skill and technical expertise than ever before, and unskilled and manual-labor jobs are on the decline. In response to this national crisis, literacy programs are springing up everywhere, and both governmental and private-sector programs are being created and publicized. Just about everyone agrees that increased literacy means increased opportunity and a better chance for a real share in the American dream. For blind people improved Braille literacy has been the focus. It has always seemed self-evident that our chance for success and to share in the American dream increases in direct proportion to our ability to read and write effectively. However, while our common sense has told us that blind people must master Braille to succeed, supposed common sense has also told many in the field of special education that such skills are not important for the blind and that tapes or computers or large print or magnification devices can be just as effective as (or maybe even more effective than) reading and writing Braille. Now we have a chance to take a look at this important question, not merely applying common sense and using anecdotal experience, but examining empirical data derived from an objective, professional study. The results are not only interesting but enlightening and instructive. We can only hope that an entirely new body of knowledge is emerging—data that once and for all can settle the question of the critical need for Braille for all blind people who cannot read print easily, rapidly, and steadily. This study was conducted several years ago by Dr. Ruby Ryles, now head of the Orientation and Mobility master's degree program at Louisiana Tech University. This was her first major study examining the effectiveness of Braille (since its completion she has done a much more extensive study of Braille-literacy skills). The following article was peer-reviewed and published in the May/June, 1996, issue of the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Dr. Ryles began her professional career as a first and second grade teacher of sighted children. She specialized in reading and taught sighted children for nine years. Then her son Dan was born blind. In order to help Dan more effectively, Dr. Ryles returned to school to specialize in the education of blind children. Armed with these new credentials and her practical experience as the mother of a blind child, she worked for a number of years teaching blind children in Arkansas, Alaska, and Washington State. Because of her personal experience as a mother and teacher and her increasing understanding of the problems faced by blind adults, Dr. Ryles began to recognize the need for a new kind of training and preparation for teachers of the blind. She recognized the need for teacher training dealing with attitudes about blindness and stressing the need for Braille literacy. She began to understand that this very specific teacher training must occur if blind children are to have the chance to develop into confident, competent, and successful blind adults. Therefore, she enrolled in a doctoral program in special education at the University of Washington. While she was working on her doctorate, Dr. Ryles conducted her first major study of Braille versus print for partially blind people. She did not consider the reason or reasons for the drastic decline in the use of Braille in America. Rather she was interested in obtaining objective information about the effectiveness of Braille: specifically, were economic and other benefits a predictable and measurable outcome when people had been taught and were using Braille? In order to qualify for the study, candidates had to be congenitally legally blind, be between the ages of eighteen and fifty-five, and have no other disabilities. Of the seventy-four adults in the group, forty-three subjects had learned Braille as their "original, primary medium," and thirty-one had learned to read using print. This study begins to provide the objective information we need on the question of Braille versus print. The study reveals that those who were taught Braille from the beginning had higher employment rates, were better educated and more financially self-sufficient, and spent more time doing pleasure and other reading than the print users. The pertinent parts of the study as reported in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness follow: The decline in the number of Braille readers since 1963 (American Printing House for the Blind, 1991) has been widely discussed by professionals and censured by consumer groups (Rex, 1989; Schroeder, 1989; Stephens, 1989). Although there is no consensus on the causes of this decline, a number of factors have been cited. Among them are the rise in the number of visually impaired children with additional disabilities who are nonreaders (Rex, 1989), disputes on the utility of the Braille code (Thurlow, 1988), the decline in teachers' knowledge of Braille and methods for teaching it (Schroeder, 1989; Stephens, 1989), negative attitudes toward Braille (Holbrook & Koenig, 1992; Rex, 1989), and the greater reliance on speech output and print-magnification technology (Paul, 1993). Pressure from consumers and advocacy groups has led twenty-seven [now twenty-nine] states to pass legislation mandating that children who are legally blind be given the opportunity to learn Braille. These laws have created further controversy in the field (Rex, 1992; Schroeder, 1992; Virginia State Department, 1991). Whereas professional groups such as the Council of Executives of American Schools for the Visually Handicapped, have called for a renewed emphasis on teaching Braille (Mullen, 1990), others have stressed that Braille is only one educational option (Paul, 1993). The majority of literature in the field regarding Braille reading is in the form of qualitative studies and position papers. Without the balance of quantifiable data, how can any position on the use of Braille be rationally supported or refuted? How can teachers determine when to teach Braille and to whom or consider more basic questions: Should the field continue to emphasize Braille? Do the outcomes of early Braille training justify the educational resources required to provide it? Can training in Braille reading be linked to measures of the economic success of adults? A causal relationship between reading medium alone (either Braille or print) and the economic success of adults is difficult to establish. However, the possible effects of a particular reading medium on the lives of visually impaired children and adults warrant more objective and quantifiable research than has been conducted so far. The aim of the study presented here, which was part of a larger study of the reading habits and employment of legally blind adults, was to add to the knowledge in these areas. Most disciplines accept that the primary indicators of socioeconomic status in this society are employment and education. Therefore, if higher education, employment, and financial self-sufficiency are considered indicators of success in adult life, the following research questions become evident: 1. What impact does early Braille training have on the employment rates of visually impaired adults? 2. Does the skill of early Braille reading influence the reading habits of visually impaired adults? 3. Do visually impaired adults who learned to read Braille as their original reading medium have higher rates of economic independence? Method A search of the literature revealed few longitudinal studies that measured or defined the success of educational decision makers in determining reading media for visually impaired children. For obvious reasons an experimental design was considered inappropriate for the study. Therefore, because the author was interested in obtaining quantifiable data, she chose a structured-interview design with a variety of open-ended, multiple choice free-answers, and dichotomous questions. She then conducted telephone interviews with adults who fit the criteria for inclusion. To assess interrater reliability, random subjects were informed that a third party would quietly listen in on the interviews and record answers on a scoring sheet. Identification of subjects: The Washington State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (WSLBPH) identified adults on this registration list who met the following criteria: they were legally blind, aged eighteen to fifty-five, and had no concomitant disabilities; fifty-five was chosen as the cutoff point to avoid the confounding effect of unemployment because of retirement or ill health in old age. Although the majority of adults in the state who are legally blind are registered with WSLBPH, the fact that the study was restricted to eligible adult patrons of the library who resided in Washington is a limitation of the study. (WSLBPH also serves some persons who live outside the state, but they were not included in the study.) For the larger study WSLBPH mailed a packet to 900 identified people that included a letter explaining the study and a return postcard. The potential subjects were asked to return the postcard indicating their willingness to participate and to include their telephone numbers and convenient times for them to be interviewed. Twenty-three packets were returned unopened because of incorrect addresses, and 303 response cards granting permission to be interviewed for the larger study were received. To protect the potential subjects' anonymity, the response cards did not include identifying information, such as names and addresses. Thus it was not possible to do follow-up mailings to track non-respondents. During the actual interview process fifty-one potential subjects who could not be contacted on the first try were called four or five times during the eight-week project before they were considered ineligible. Another seventy-seven were eliminated when they were called because they did not meet the criteria for inclusion but had not been ruled out during the initial screening. Most of those who were eliminated had concomitant disabilities (deaf-blindness or cerebral palsy); in addition, several were above the age ceiling of fifty-five, and one was under eighteen. From the pool of the remaining 175 subjects, a subgroup of seventy-four persons was identified who met all the criteria and were congenitally visually impaired. These seventy-four persons were the subjects of the smaller study reported here. Interviews: The majority of the telephone interviews were conducted in the evenings, according to the subjects' preferences, and lasted an average of fifteen to twenty minutes. Numbers were assigned to the subjects, and the original phone numbers were not entered with the data. During the interviews the subjects were asked thirty-five to forty questions. These questions were designed to elicit their visual history; current visual status; preference for and perceptions of past and present reading media (Braille or print; listening to audiotaped books was not included); educational background; and current employment, income, occupation, and reading habits. The subjects' responses were categorized, coded, and analyzed using descriptive statistics (chi-square). To measure the accuracy of the scores and categories of responses, a second scorer simultaneously listened to the interviews and scored and categorized a randomly selected sample of eight subjects. The interrater agreement for the sample was 96 percent. Subjects: All seventy-four subjects were congenitally legally blind at the time of the interviews, having been diagnosed as legally blind before age two, and therefore had no memory of normal vision. Of the seventy-four, forty-two were women and thirty-two were men, who lived in rural and urban areas. As was mentioned earlier, the subjects ranged in age from eighteen to fifty-five; seven (9 percent) were eighteen to twenty-four, twelve (16 percent) were twenty-five to thirty, eight (11 percent) were thirty-one to thirty-six, thirty-two (43 percent) were thirty-seven to forty-two, nine (12 percent) were forty-three to forty-eight, and six (8 percent) were forty-nine to fifty-five. Thirty-one subjects were employed, six part-time and twenty-five full-time, and forty-three were unemployed, yielding an unemployment rate of 58 percent. (The unemployment rate for the 175 in the larger study was 66 percent, which parallels the national unemployment rate for visually impaired adults reported by Kirchner & Peterson, 1988). The subjects' annual personal incomes ranged from less than $7,000 to $70,000; the majority (thirty-nine, or 53 percent) reported annual incomes of less than $7,000. The majority of the subjects (forty-two, or 57 percent) reported current vision levels of no light perception or light perception only (nineteen men and twenty-three women). In addition, twenty-two (29 percent) had vision levels between 20/300 and shadow vision, and the vision of the remaining ten (14 percent) ranged from 20/200 to 20/300. Eleven subjects said that their visual acuity had deteriorated before they graduated from high school, and eighteen said that it had deteriorated afterward; three reported improved visual activity during their school years. With regard to educational levels, ten subjects (14 percent) had a high school education or less, twenty-three (31 percent) had attended college but had not graduated, twenty-four (32 percent) had bachelor's degrees, and seventeen (23 percent) had graduate degrees. The women tended to be slightly better educated than the men; twelve (12 percent) of the forty-two women, compared to six (19 percent) of the thirty-two men, had graduate degrees. With regard to reading media, forty-three subjects (58 percent) had learned to read Braille as their original primary medium (hereafter referred to as the BR group), and thirty-one subjects (42 percent) had learned to read print as their original primary medium (hereafter referred to as the PR group) in childhood. One of the subjects who had initially learned to read Braille uses both Braille and print as an adult. Results Employment: As figure 1 shows, the BR group had a significantly lower unemployment rate (44 percent) than did the PR group (77 percent) (X2=10.499; p<.0148). Of those who were employed, 16 percent of the BR group and 13 percent of the PR group were in professional positions, 23 percent of the BR group and 10 percent of the PR group were in skilled positions, and 16 percent of the BR group,but none of the PR group, were in unskilled positions. Furthermore, 42 percent of the BR group versus 23 percent of the PR group were employed full-time (forty or more hours per week), and 14 percent of the BR group, but 3 percent of the PR group, were employed part time (X2=7.031 p<.0297). FIGURE 1: Employment breakdown by original readium medium. NOTE: Figure 1 represents visually the data reported in the text. The extent of Braille use in adulthood was an important variable in examining the employment rates of the BR group. Using qualifying criteria for each category, the author determined Braille use to be extensive, some, or minimal. Extensive Braille use did not guarantee employment, but within the BR group it was apparent that the subjects who reported extensive personal and/or professional use of Braille had a far lower unemployment rate (33 percent) than did the total sample (58 percent). Of the twenty-four subjects in the BR group who were employed at the time of the study, twenty-two met the criteria for extensive Braille users. Five subjects in the PR group were taught to read Braille after they learned to read print. None reported using Braille extensively, and all were unemployed at the time of the study. Reading Habits: Addressing reading in this type of research design is problematic, particularly because the study was based on self-reported data. Therefore, three symbols of literacy in this society were examined: the number of hours per week spent reading (Braille or print), the number of books read in an average year, and the number of magazines currently subscribed to. Figure 2 compares the number of hours in an average week that the BR and PR subjects spent reading (for their jobs and for pleasure). It is significant that sixteen subjects in the BR group and five in the PR group read more than twenty-one hours per week (X2=13.852: p<.0166), whereas three in the BR group versus nine in the PR group read one hour or none during an average week. FIGURE 2: Number of hours a week spent reading. NOTE: Figure 2 represents the number of hours spent reading each week--0 to 1 hours, Braille readers 3, print readers 9; 2 to 5 hours a week, Braille readers 4, print readers 9; 6 to 10 hours a week, Braille readers 9, print readers 4; 11 to 20 hours a week, Braille readers 10, print readers 4; and 21 or more hours a week, Braille readers 16, print readers 5. As Figure 3 shows, the BR group read significantly more books per year than did the PR group (X2=23.138:p<.0008). Thirteen of the forty-three BR subjects but only three of the thirty-one PR subjects read twenty-one or more books per year, and three BR subjects versus fourteen PR subjects read no books per year. These findings are consistent with the greater number of hours per week that the BR group spent reading. Furthermore, in accord with the greater amount of time spent reading and books read, the BR group reported subscribing to significantly more magazines than did the PR group (X2=13.435: p<.0038). For example, eight BR subjects but eighteen PR subjects subscribed to no magazines (see Figure 4). NOTE: Figure 3 represents the number of books read per year—zero books a year, 3 Braille readers, 14 print readers; 1 to 5 books a year, 16 Braille readers, 5 print readers; 6 to 10 books a year, 4 Braille readers, 7 print readers; 11 to 20 books a year, 7 Braille readers, 2 print readers; and 21 and over books a year, 6 Braille readers, 3 print readers. Figure 4 represents magazine subscriptions at the time of the study—zero subscriptions, 8 Braille readers, 18 print readers; 1 to 3 subscriptions, 19 Braille readers, 7 print readers; 4 to 6 subscriptions, 9 Braille readers, 5 print readers; over 7 subscriptions, 7 Braille readers, 1 print reader. FIGURE 3: Number of books read per year. FIGURE 4: Magazine subscriptions at the time of the study. Table 1 depicts the point basis for a scale on which each subject was assigned points based on values of the three variables previously discussed. Table 1: Basis for Scale. NOTE: The table represents points awarded for hours a week spent reading, books a year read, and magazine subscriptions. Hours spent reading a week: 0 points for 0 to 1 hour, 1 point for 2 to 6 hours a week; 2 points for 7 to 20 hours a week; 3 points for 20 or more hours a week. Number of books read a year: 0 points for 0 to 1 book read; 1 point for 1 to 5 books read; 2 points for 6 to 20 books read; and 3 points for 20 or more books read. Number of magazines subscribed to: 0 points for none; 1 point for 1 to 3 magazines; 2 points for 4 to 7 magazines; and 3 points for 7 or more magazines. The total points attained by the subjects were plotted on a 10-point scale, and the subjects were divided into four groups. The subjects in Group 1 scored 0 or 1 point; those in Group 2 scored 2, 3, or 4 points; those in Group 3 scored 5, 6, or 7 points; and those in Group 4 scored 8 or 9 points. For example, a subject who read twelve hours in an average week, read four books in the previous year, and currently subscribed to six magazines would receive a total of five points and hence would be placed in Group 3. Thirty-six percent of the PR subjects and four percent of the BR subjects were in Group 1, 35 percent of the PR subjects and 33 percent of the BR subjects were in Group 2, 26 percent of the PR subjects and 47 percent of the BR subjects were in Group 3, and 3 percent of the PR subjects and 16 percent of the BR subjects were in Group 4. The results were significant (X2=14.674: p<.0021), the most noticeable difference being in Group 1. Education: The overall difference in the mean educational levels of the BR and the PR groups was small and not statistically significant (X2=4.035; p<.2577). The distinction between early Braille readers and early print readers was at the highest level of education: Thirteen (30%) of the 43 BR subjects but only four (13%) of the thirty-one PR subjects obtained graduate degrees. It is also worth noting that only two of the subjects in this sample (n=74) and in the larger sample (n=175) had doctoral degrees; both were in the BR group. Self-Sufficiency: Although the overall income levels of the two groups were not statistically significant (X2=7.059, p<.2163), the representation of the BR and PR subjects in the three income ranges—highest range ($25,000 to $70,000), middle range ($7,000 to $25,000), and lowest range ($7,000 or less)--are of interest. The BR group was over-represented in the highest range, and the PR group was over-represented in the lowest range, but both groups were similarly represented in the middle range. Thus 25 percent of the BR group versus 7 percent of the PR group were in the highest range, 28 percent of the BR group and 31 percent of the PR group were in the middle range, and 47 percent of the BR group but 62 percent of the PR group were in the lowest range. In addition, the subjects' responses to the question, "Do you receive money on a regular basis from a nonemployment source, such as SSI (Supplemental Security Income), SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), public assistance, food stamps, or Medicaid?" were significant (X2=4.805; p<.0284): 49 percent of the BR group, compared to 74 percent of the PR group, regularly received such public entitlement benefits. Past and Present Reading Ability: In any study self-reported data, especially retrospective data, must generally be considered suspect. Nevertheless, the subjects' responses to questions regarding their perceptions of their past and present reading ability tended to follow the other trends reported here: 1. As a junior high school student could you read as fast and as fluently as your classmates? Nine of the thirty-one subjects in the PR group, compared to thirty-five of the forty-three subjects in the BR group answered yes. 2. Do you consider yourself a good reader today? Nineteen of the thirty-one subjects in the PR group versus forty of the forty-three subjects in the BR group answered yes. Visual Acuity: Of the seventy-four subjects, fourteen reported having had 20/200 visual acuity since birth that had remained stable throughout their adult lives. This level of acuity is the upper limit of the definition of legal blindness. Thirteen of these fourteen subjects learned to read print and were included in the PR group; seven of the fourteen subjects received Braille instruction later in life but used print as their current primary reading medium. Four of the fourteen subjects were employed. Although most subjects in the PR group reported little knowledge of the Braille code, the four employed subjects in this group all reported knowing "some" Braille. The only one of the fourteen who was taught to read Braille as a child said that she reads both print and Braille as an adult but uses print as her primary reading medium. She was one of the four who were employed in this group. Since this group contained thirteen PR subjects and only one BR subject, quantitative analysis of the data was not possible. Instruction in Braille reading has traditionally been reserved for students with the most severe vision loss—those who cannot see print. It is typically assumed by the general public that the greater the amount of vision a child or adult has, the greater his or her advantage in employment and education. The findings of this study did not support that supposition: acuity was not a statistically significant factor in the employment or educational levels the subjects attained. However, the recipients of public entitlement programs were exceptions to these findings. Those with partial sight were represented in significantly greater proportions than were those with little or no sight (X2=6.045; p<.045). (This finding also held true for its subjects in the larger study [X2=7.648: p<.0218].) Contrary to common perceptions, more sight was not synonymous with a lower unemployment rate and financial independence in this study. The subjects who reported the least vision—light perception only or no light perception—had an unemployment rate of 52 percent, whereas those with the greatest degree of vision--20/200--20/300--had an unemployment rate of 67 percent. Discussion It is an effort of gargantuan proportions to attempt to isolate the impact of a reading medium on the life of an adult who is visually impaired. The interaction of a multitude of confounding variables (such as mobility, financial disincentives, and social biases) complicates and confuses attempts to study employment rates and measures of literacy or financial independence. The legally blind adult subjects were chosen and screened to provide as representative a sample as possible of otherwise non-disabled visually impaired adults in the state of Washington. However, because questions of home support, motivation, intellectual ability, educational placement, and the like were not addressed, it is possible that an analysis that would include these variables would also yield significant results. Nevertheless, it is rational to expect that the diverse values of these independent variables existed in both the BR and the PR groups and thus should not have significantly altered the findings. However, these issues and their impact on the concerns addressed here should be the focus of future studies in the field. It is sometimes confusing and always disturbing to read the staggering unemployment rates of adults with visual impairments. The implications for the future of today's generation of children with visual impairments are sobering for professionals in the field. Rather than focusing on the seemingly overwhelming task of determining why so many adults with visual impairments are unemployed, this study concentrated on one possible common factor of the 33 percent who are employed. The impact of Braille reading skills on the subjects' employment rates was significant—with qualifications. Having a knowledge of Braille, even as a primary reading medium, did not increase a subject's chances of employment, but those who had learned to read Braille as their original reading medium and used it extensively were employed at a significantly higher rate. Thus the early acquisition and extensive use of Braille reading skills were the two factors that had a strong impact on employment rates. The subjects who had been taught to read Braille as children were employed (either full time or part time) at more than twice the rate of those who were taught to read print. However, the subjects who learned Braille after they learned to read print did not have a higher employment rate than those who had not learned Braille. In this society the ability to read well is highly valued. It is an ability to which school districts devote copious amounts of funds and resources. Classroom teachers spend countless hours coaxing children to develop the lifelong habit of reading. In this study the BR subjects demonstrated those positive reading habits at a significantly greater rate than did the PR subjects. They spent substantially more time reading, read more books, and subscribed to more magazines. This finding is particularly noteworthy when one considers the comparative availability of print and Braille materials. Because higher education depends to a great extent on a background of reading skills and habits, it is not surprising that the BR group also had more graduate degrees. Not only were the BR subjects more prolific readers, but they perceived their reading abilities, both as children and as adults, in a more positive light than did the PR subjects. Whether those who were taught to read Braille were actually more fluent, skilled readers as children than were those who were taught to read print is an issue for further study. The point of interest here is that the overwhelming majority of the BR subjects (81%) had elevated perceptions of their abilities compared to only 29 percent of the PR subjects. Rehabilitation is also affected by the inability of visually impaired children to read. Excessive rehabilitation dollars are spent annually on visually impaired young adults who are recent graduates of public (and residential) school programs for visually impaired children. Rehabilitation programs that were originally designed to retrain adventitiously blind adults designate a large portion of their annual budgets to congenitally visually impaired adults who, in theory, should have been habilitated in childhood education programs. But in reality many visually impaired young adults are not sufficiently accomplished in literacy or alternative skills to complete higher-level degrees or obtain employment. As Koenig and Holbrook (1989) noted, the 10-15 percent of visually impaired children who are totally blind should present little concern to educators regarding whether they should be taught to read Braille since those children who are cognitively and physically capable of reading will be taught to read Braille. It is the remaining 85 percent of visually impaired children with various degrees of residual vision who present the print-or-Braille dilemma to their multi-disciplinary teams. The results of this study suggest that teaching Braille as an original primary reading medium to children with visual impairments may encourage them to develop the positive lifelong habit of reading as adults, enhance their later employment opportunities, and thereby increase the possibility of financial independence. Recommendations As the field of education moves toward the full inclusion of students with disabilities in regular school programs, it is imperative that vision professionals resist the urge to normalize visually impaired children by insisting that they read only print. All too frequently decisions on reading media are based on available resources, rather than on the needs of students. According to Tuttle and Heinze (cited in Caton, 1991), over 1,400 additional certified teachers are needed nationwide to meet the educational needs of unserved and under-served children with visual impairments. Teachers of children with visual impairments are typically expected to teach sixteen or more students who are widely spread over large geographic areas (Caton, 1991). Given such conditions, dedicated itinerant teachers are frequently forced to assume consulting rather than active teaching roles. Children cannot adequately be taught to read (in print or Braille) by consultants. It is tragic that school districts (and professionals) may opt to recommend print as a reading medium under such circumstances. This article does not address that critical shortage. However, it should be noted here that in the face of the restructuring of many university teacher-training programs, it is imperative to retain and support the growth of categorical teacher training programs in the field. The shortage of qualified teachers, as well as researchers, has contributed heavily to the problems the field now faces. Without qualified teachers alternative skills, such as Braille, which are specific to individuals with visual impairments, will by necessity be taught so infrequently that they will eventually become all but extinct. If the results of this study are an indicator, omitting Braille reading instruction from the curriculum of visually impaired children may well create a handicap far more debilitating than blindness—chronic unemployment. References: American Printing House for the Blind. (1991). Distribution of federal quota based on the registration of eligible students. Louisville, Kentucky: Author. Caton, H. (Ed.) (1991). Print and Braille literacy: Selecting appropriate learning media. Louisville, Kentucky: American Printing House for the Blind. Koenig, A.J. & Holbrook, M.C. (1989). Determining the reading medium for students with visual impairments: A diagnostic teaching approach. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 83, 296-302. Koenig, A.J. & Holbrook, M.C. (1992). Teaching Braille reading to students with low vision. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 86, 44-48. Kirchner, C. & Peterson, R. (1988), Employment: Selected characteristics. In Data on blindness and visual impairment in the U.S. (pp. 169-177). New York: American Foundation for the Blind. Mullen, E. (1990), Decreased Braille literacy: A symptom of a system in need of reassessment. RE:view, 23, 164-169. Paul, B.J. (1993, Spring), "Low tech" Braille vital to high-level literacy. Counterpoint, p. 3. Rex, E.J. (1989), Issues related to literacy of legally blind learners, Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 83, 306-313. Schroeder, F. (1989), Literacy: The key to opportunity, Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 83, 290-293. Schroeder, F. (1992, June), Braille bills: What Are They and What Do They Mean? Braille Monitor, 308-311. Stephens, O. (1989), Braille—Implications for living, Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 83, 288-289. Thurlow, W.R. (1988), An alternative to Braille, Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 82, 378. Virginia State Department for the Visually Handicapped, (1991), A Study of Braille literacy in Virginia's public schools (Senate Document No. 31), Richmond: Virginia State Department for the Visually Handicapped. Reprinted with permission from the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Copyright 1996 by American Foundation for the Blind, 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300, New York, New York 10001. All rights reserved.

About braille

Stand Up! Speak Out! An Advocacy Guide for Blind, Deaf-Blind and Partially Sighted Canadians Download a Microsoft Word version of the Advocacy Guide. New Research Study: Early Braille Education Vital in Establishing Lifelong Literacy By: Ruby Ryles, Ph.D. Editor's Note: The following article is re-printed from Future Reflections, Vol. 18, No. 2, Summer/Fall 1999. Future Reflections is a magazine for parents and teachers of blind children. It is published quarterly by the National Organisation of Parents of Blind Children, a Division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Future Reflections is available in print and on cassette tape. A special introductory book issue is available free from the NFB. Here is the report: An exhaustive study has cast aside some erroneous stereotypes while underscoring the importance of Braille education at an early age. The study has revealed that literacy rates of blind high school students who began their Braille education at an early age are consistent with those of their sighted peers. The study further disclosed that legally blind children who received infrequent or no Braille training, or who began their Braille education later in life, exhibit noticeably lower literacy rates. The study was conducted by Ruby Ryles, Ph.D., who co-ordinates the master's program in Orientation and Mobility at Louisiana Tech University in conjunction with the Louisiana Centre for the Blind. Ryles performed the study for her University of Washington doctoral dissertation in special education, titled "Relationship of Reading Medium to Literacy Skills of High School Students Who Are Visually Impaired". Results from that and a preliminary study suggest that partially sighted children may be at greater risk of literacy deficiencies than children who are totally blind. The study was intended to establish correlations between present literacy rates and the early reading education of high school students from 45 cities, towns, and rural communities in 11 eastern and southern states. Of 60 students in the study, 45 were legally blind from birth, had no other disabilities, spoke English as a first language, were of average intelligence, and attended public rather than residential schools. The study also included a comparative group of 15 sighted students attending the same schools as the legally blind subjects. The 45 legally blind students were divided into three groups of 15 students each, corresponding with the initiation and consistency of their Braille instruction: Early Braille-students who received Braille instruction four to five days per week while in the first, second, and third grades. Infrequent Braille-students who received Braille instruction fewer than four days per week during the first three grades; Non-Braille-legally blind students who received no instruction in reading Braille, instead using print material and optical aids. Ryles administered comprehension, vocabulary, and other subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test and the Woodcock Johnson R (revised) assessment tests. In comprehension tests, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of the sighted students and the group of blind students who received early frequent instruction in Braille. Nor was there a significant difference between the mean scores of the infrequent Braille group and the non-Braille group on the two comprehension tests. However, the students who received instruction in Braille fewer than four days a week during the first three grades of school (infrequent Braille group) and the non-Braille group posted mean scores on both tests significantly lower than those of the sighted and early Braille groups. In vocabulary, early Braille readers outperformed sighted students by a 5 percent margin on the Stanford test and nearly matched their sighted classmates on the Woodcock Johnson R test. The infrequent Braille learners, producing a mean score of 45 percent, registered significantly below the early Braille and sighted groups on the Stanford test. Legally blind students who received no Braille instruction posted a mean score 6 percentage points lower than the infrequent Braille group on the same test. The infrequent and non-Braille groups also scored significantly lower than the early Braille and sighted groups on the Woodcock Johnson R vocabulary test. Spelling, punctuation and capitalisation scores shattered stereotypes. In the capitalisation and punctuation portion of the Woodcock Johnson R test, early Braille readers produced a mean score that was 7 percentage points higher than their sighted peers, 25 percentage points higher than the infrequent Braille group, and 42 percentage points higher than their legally blind peers in the non-Braille group. In the spelling portion of the Woodcock Johnson R test, early Braille learners averaged 1 percentage point higher than fully sighted readers, 32 percentage points higher than infrequent Braille learning, and 38 percentage points higher than the non-Braille group. Before beginning work on the project, Ryles conducted a preliminary study in the state of Washington evaluating the correlation between adult literacy skills and employment. There, she studied 74 adults who were born legally blind and were patrons of the Library for the Blind. Ryles discovered that 44 percent of the study participants who had learned to read in Braille were unemployed, while those who had learned to read using print had a 77 percent unemployment rate. Those results prompted her to conduct an in-depth study exploring the childhood reading education of legally blind high school kids. The two studies led Ryles to an inescapable conclusion: "Low-vision kids need to be taught Braille," she asserts. "Early Braille education is crucial to literacy, and literacy is crucial to employment." For more information about the study, contact Ruby Ryles at: lesr@lcb-ruston.com Alliance for Equality of Blind CanadiansPO Box 20262, RPO town Centre Kelowna, BC V1Y 9H2Toll Free: 1-800-561-4774E-Mail: info@blindcanadians.caFor all web site related questions send an e-mail to:webmaster@blindcanadians.ca© Copyright 1992 - 2007 AEBC - All Rights

Articles about Braille

By Maurine Barcelo, President, Greater Pasadena Area Chapter and NFBC Treasurer Keeping the focus on Braille literacy has been a high priority for the NFBC. This thinking resulted in the development of a Braille Symposium, which was held at the Burbank Airport Hilton on Oct. 1, 2004. Our target audience was broad-based. We wanted to appeal to parents, educators, Braille users, transcribers, and others in the blindness field. A list of dynamic and knowledgeable speakers was put together. The keynote speaker, Dr. Fredric Schroeder, delivered another one of his upbeat and thought-provoking speeches. The audience listened intently as Dr. Ruby Ryles outlined her research which made the connection between literacy and the success of a blind or visually impaired student. Braille instruction for adults and Braille music were discussed. The Department of Rehabilitation and the coordinators for the VI programs spoke on the importance of Braille literacy. Technology, Braille transcription and the perspectives of parents of blind children were presented. The tone for this day-long intensive symposium was set by comments from Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos. Mayor Ramos has supported many functions of this organization. A social mixer was held the evening prior to this event, allowing time for some casual mixing and mingling. The comments received from the symposium were very positive and encouraged us to present a second symposium here in Southern California next year. A similar symposium is already being planned for Northern California for the spring of 2005. Approximately two years ago I was making the service club circuit here in the city of Burbank. Literature was distributed and the NFBC message was presented in an attempt to make these service clubs aware of our existence in this community. I was particularly impressed with the members of the Burbank Sunrise Rotary Club. They were warm, friendly and caring people. Since then I have become a member of this group. Rotarians are service-oriented and have become interested in some of our NFBC projects. At one Rotary meeting I discussed Braille literacy. I brought slates and styluses and alphabet cards and gave a quick Braille lesson. The projects of the NFBC were discussed and also the need for a second, or backup, Braille embosser was explained. In another effort to educate these Rotarians about blindness, breakfast was served to them in the NFBC office. During that breakfast meeting, Rotary Club president Beth Anderson presented me with a check for $565. This money went toward the purchase of the Tiger Max Braille embosser. Rotarians have also purchased Whozit tickets and have attended our second annual Celebrate Life. Hats off to the Burbank Sunrise Rotary Club. As you have probably observed, this issue and the Spring/Summer 2004 issue of the Journal have taken on a new look. The Journal is now being professionally printed as opposed to being photocopied. This was made possible by Pat Patterson and Patterson Graphics. Mr. Patterson has provided us with this professional printing for the same cost that was being paid to have the Journal copied. Thanks to Patterson Graphics from the NFB of California.

Guardian Article about David Blunkett

Blunkett was a minister in Tony Blair's government, and talks aboutthe difficulties of being a blind politician in a sighted world. Now here's a perspective we don't often get, that of the blind politician. After reading this article, I couldn't help feeling impressed by how this blind man used different techniques to deal with day to day things.Sometimes in politics, there are none so blind as those who can seeIn this final diary extract, David Blunkett talks about the issuesarising from blindness - such as well-meaning, but patronising,colleaguesFriday October 13, 2006GuardianIt was some months [after my birth] before it was recognised thatthere might be something wrong with my eyes. Once it was clear that Icould see only a tiny bit (normally referred to as "light and dark"),efforts to trace the cause were under way. It was only my mother'stenacity that prevented [doctors] from what now would probably bedescribed as a medical fetish - namely to remove the eyes of thechild in order to avoid further damage. There was no tumour, and itwas a one-in-several-million chance which led to the failure of myoptic nerve to develop.I have rarely done interviews about the way I work and the challengeof overcoming blindness. But it seems appropriate to offer a betterunderstanding of what it has been like to deal with avalanches ofpaper, to have all print material read on to tape and to be on top ofthe material in a way that would never allow people to be able tosay: "If only he could see, he would have understood that better."When I first entered parliament I struggled to get additionalequipment (for brailling) and additional staffing hours for reading,and will never forget a remark made to me by one colleague who becamea very senior cabinet minister when we came to power in 1997: "It'sall right for you with the extra resources you get. No wonder you canchurn out the press releases." My reply was fairly succinct: "I'llswap with you any time."When I first entered the House of Commons in 1987 I came across manywho were patronising, even if they meant well. Of course I was verysensitive about people being indulgent to me, and my pigheadedness,my inherent independence and sometimes my unintentional rudeness soonput paid to any do-gooding. I didn't want to be promoted out ofsympathy, though it was never easy to pull off the feat of being seento be effortlessly on top of things. Sometimes I have thought ofnothing else but how I was going to get through the masses of tapesthat arrived in the box each weekend or the nightly tapes that had tobe done either that evening or at least first thing in the morning.In these early years of government the sheer volume of work left notime for "gallivanting around in London", as my mother would havecalled it. I was at that time very much what the press saw (andwanted me always to be): the dedicated, workaholic, almost obsessive,dour northerner.Feeding and grooming a guide dog, and of course making sure that itis exercised and has a chance to do what the Guide Dogs for the BlindAssociation call its "spend", are all-important. So each morning mydog and I would set off walking. We would have a decent walk and thecar would collect us. We would then run the dog properly (often butnot always in New Palace Yard at the House of Commons) before goinginto the office.Each morning I would, however, have had a phone call from the pressoffice. They were lovely young - forgive me if I call them that -people who volunteered to do a rota for what increasingly over theyears became an extremely grumpy man. The more difficult the coveragewe received, the grumpier and more bad-tempered I became.Every minute of every travelling hour had to be spent working. It wasthe only way. I kept a braille machine of my own on my desk so that Icould make notes. Contrary to common assumption, I didn't always relyon my memory, although I did try to develop it, much in the way thatone develops a muscle, to ensure that with particular aspects of thejob it was possible to achieve better recall than would normally bethe case.The same is true of my hearing and my ability to be able to sensewhat is going on around me. I am still learning, and I stillsometimes get it wrong. When I am chairing a meeting I often askpeople to indicate to me when they want to speak with a quiet word orcough, or make some other sound to show that they would like to comein on the discussion.And I also have to be careful not to blunder in. This is a particularissue for blind people. Speaking at the wrong moment, interveningjust when someone else has their hand up and is about to be called,or failing to recognise a visual indication (which often can bediscernible body language) that this is not the moment to speak out,is something that has been difficult, to say the least.Honesty is a mixed blessing. Saying what you think, you cannot seethe thunder in the faces around you. It does lead to honest, plainspeaking, but it also undoubtedly sometimes makes you a pain in therump.Using tape machines which allowed me to speed up the sound hashelped, but even with recordings half as fast again as the normalreading speed, it is still substantially slower than anyone who is areasonable speed-reader of print. Speaking in the House was never aproblem, though it was certainly challenging when I first came intoparliament, when I thought I knew it all. I had already been on thepublic stage and had substantial media exposure, but the House ofCommons was different from anything else I had ever experienced. Inthe space of a few sentences the atmosphere can change from positive,uplifting support to resentful animosity.In many ways, not being able to see required me to be much more alertand alive to what was going on around me, as well as knowing whenpeople wanted to intervene and being ready to sit down and allow themto raise a question or make a point. It is possible to work out wheresomeone is most likely to be sitting. It is possible to know fromtheir voice who they are. Question time, which for departmentalquestions is once a month and lasts for an hour, I always found easy.After all, the secretary of state has the last word.But I found delivering written - what are known as "oral" -statements very difficult. They are oral in the sense that they aredelivered to the House, but they are written and have to be readverbatim. And here is the rub: I am not a good reader. Very fewpeople appreciate just what a nightmare it is in such circumstancesto use braille, where there are no capital letters as there are inprint, no highlighting, no underlining and, given that braille is sobulky, masses of paper. Even a short statement requires a largenumber of sheets. Delivering a statement to the Commons was my worstnightmare.If I had my time again, I would do two things. First, I would lookafter my fingers a great deal better, because the skin was burnt fromcooking and toughened by manual chores, resulting in clumsiness. Iwould also have made sure that they were cared for, using whateverointments or creams were necessary (even if that did make me a biggirl's blouse). Second, I would have practised braille over and overagain. I do regret that now, because it was certainly an achillesheel noticeable not simply in my awkward and sometimes stumblingdelivery of the statement (in contrast to answering questions, whereI was easy, confident and articulate) but in my whole body language -the tension, the hunched shoulders, the unrelaxed facial muscles,which came from what inside was frankly downright fear.January 2000Frank [Dobson] patronised me about not being able to see. If there isanything that absolutely gets my goat, it is other people pretendingto be nice while being deeply offensive. Give me someone who isclearly just deeply offensive any day and I can deal with them, butsave me from paternalism. Frank will never know - or perhaps he will- just how offensive his introduction of me as "my blind friend" was.He went on: "What a remarkable achievement it is for someone whocan't see to have made the progress that my friend has made" -perhaps the kind of remark that some well-meaning but ill-informeddistant acquaintance may make, but not a fellow cabinet minister oftwo and a half years' standing. I could at that moment have walkedout of the room and finished Frank's campaign there and then, but Imanaged to get a grip of myself, and, as so often, I let it go.July 2000One of the problems of not being able to see is drinking orange juicewhen there is a wasp in it. This happened to me. I had it in my mouthand was about to chew it when something told me to spit it out. I didso, but it stung me and my mouth, face, arms and hands all started toswell. It was one of those frightening experiences when you think:"There's no one around, what do I do?" Living on my own is sometimesquite frightening.February 2001Once, when I was leader of Sheffield city council, the Queen and theDuke of Edinburgh came to Sheffield for an official visit and I washosting lunch. It was one of those very pleasant occasions when itwas possible to sit next to Her Majesty and have a genuineconversation, but (and I know she will forgive me for recalling it)it was strange when twice she asked me if I would like my meatcutting up - strange not because it was not a kind and thoughtfulquestion, but because of the comment she made when I politelydeclined: "You know, I often do it for the corgis." Well, well, well.April 2001I hate buffets for obvious reasons.Perhaps my hatred of buffets merits a little more explanation. Inorder to get the true picture, close your eyes and imagine you are ina very noisy room, with everyone standing about with glasses in theirhands, normally at an angle just right for tipping over if you happento bang an elbow. People are milling about and someone (you've noidea who) approaches you and begins to talk - and talk ... You aredesperately trying to avoid being rude because, God knows, you mightneed help in the future ... So you try just to pop in, show yourface, hope that someone really interesting will "take pity on you",and eat what you can. It has to be said here that this is usually aplate of food collected for you by someone else and whichunderstandably reflects their taste in food but not necessarily yours.David Blunkett praises civil servants for reading out documents andtransferring others to braille. But he expresses frustration with thecivil service as a wholeOctober 2001[Leak of email sent by Jo Moore, special adviser to Stephen Byers, toDepartment of Transport press office on September 11 saying it wouldbe a "very good day" to "bury" bad news]The world has gone crackers, and the cause célèbre of the week hasbeen the débâcle over Jo Moore, which is going on and on. Steve wasintending to sack Jo Moore, but by early afternoon it had all changedand apparently it was because, quite rightly, Tony had perceived thatthis was a try-on by the civil service. It was felt that they werethe ones who had received the email and leaked it, and no matter howappalling the email, the declaration of war by the civil service andtheir ability to leak emails and thereby bring down special advisershad to be countered. Unfortunately life is not as simple as that.Tony's interpretation of the situation is right, but Steve's initialdecision to sack Jo Moore for the content of the email was also rightbecause this story has run and run and run.In dictating this I had no idea just how catastrophic it was going tobe for Steve Byers. I think those advising really did mean well, andit was a difficult situation to call. There is no doubt that Jo Moorepaid the price, but what price.January 2002I'm having a real problem with correspondence concerning KeithBennett, who was killed by Ian Brady [convicted, with Myra Hindley,for the Moors Murders in the 1960s]. His brother Alan had written andit had taken two months for the letter to come through to me. Ireplied to him personally, and now find that Mrs Johnson, KeithBennett's mum, had written on November 15 and her letter has justfloated round until Christmas, with no one taking responsibility forit. I've written a robust letter to John Gieve about this as I feelit was just grossly incompetent and insensitive. How they couldpossibly have missed that this was a significant and sensitive letterI can't imagine, bearing in mind that the letter began: "Dear MrBlunkett, My son Keith was murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Mylife ended then ..."February 2002Steve Byers is in the mire because he's got rid of Jo Moore [who hadwanted to stand down in October] and Martin Sixsmith [director ofcommunications] and Sixsmith is saying that he never agreed to go.Everyone eulogises about our free, independent, apolitical civilservice. They are apolitical all right - an island within an island,a government within a government. They have clearly declared war onspecial advisers and on some ministers, and they are determined topull Steve Byers down.We talked about special advisers at cabinet. Steve said his bit andJohn Reid said one or two sensible things about the dangers, but thediscussion wasn't going anywhere so I just launched in. I knowRichard Wilson will not forgive me for this but it's too bad -because apparently he went grey and looked daggers at me.I said: "Well, I think if we're going to have legislation thatprotects the civil service from the government, could we build intoit protection for the government from the civil service?"We have a situation in my department where virtually anything of anyimportance is leaked. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate isa complete shambles. The only reason we got a police reform whitepaper and the reform of immigration, nationality and asylum wasbecause the two respective advisers worked extremely closely with meon them ... The civil service are very lucky that we can't sack them,that no one can sack them" - with the implication that they damn wellwould be sacked if I had my way, and they would be. At the end of allthis diatribe Tony said: "Well, I think Richard Wilson's got themessage. You really love the civil service, David. You've got a lotof time for them and you believe they're doing a first-class job" -and everybody just doubled up.Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 Blunkett was a minister in Tony Blair's government, and talks aboutthe difficulties of being a blind politician in a sighted world. Now here's a perspective we don't often get, that of the blind politician. After reading this article, I couldn't help feeling impressed by how this blind man used different techniques to deal with day to day things.Sometimes in politics, there are none so blind as those who can seeIn this final diary extract, David Blunkett talks about the issuesarising from blindness - such as well-meaning, but patronising,colleaguesFriday October 13, 2006GuardianIt was some months [after my birth] before it was recognised thatthere might be something wrong with my eyes. Once it was clear that Icould see only a tiny bit (normally referred to as "light and dark"),efforts to trace the cause were under way. It was only my mother'stenacity that prevented [doctors] from what now would probably bedescribed as a medical fetish - namely to remove the eyes of thechild in order to avoid further damage. There was no tumour, and itwas a one-in-several-million chance which led to the failure of myoptic nerve to develop.I have rarely done interviews about the way I work and the challengeof overcoming blindness. But it seems appropriate to offer a betterunderstanding of what it has been like to deal with avalanches ofpaper, to have all print material read on to tape and to be on top ofthe material in a way that would never allow people to be able tosay: "If only he could see, he would have understood that better."When I first entered parliament I struggled to get additionalequipment (for brailling) and additional staffing hours for reading,and will never forget a remark made to me by one colleague who becamea very senior cabinet minister when we came to power in 1997: "It'sall right for you with the extra resources you get. No wonder you canchurn out the press releases." My reply was fairly succinct: "I'llswap with you any time."When I first entered the House of Commons in 1987 I came across manywho were patronising, even if they meant well. Of course I was verysensitive about people being indulgent to me, and my pigheadedness,my inherent independence and sometimes my unintentional rudeness soonput paid to any do-gooding. I didn't want to be promoted out ofsympathy, though it was never easy to pull off the feat of being seento be effortlessly on top of things. Sometimes I have thought ofnothing else but how I was going to get through the masses of tapesthat arrived in the box each weekend or the nightly tapes that had tobe done either that evening or at least first thing in the morning.In these early years of government the sheer volume of work left notime for "gallivanting around in London", as my mother would havecalled it. I was at that time very much what the press saw (andwanted me always to be): the dedicated, workaholic, almost obsessive,dour northerner.Feeding and grooming a guide dog, and of course making sure that itis exercised and has a chance to do what the Guide Dogs for the BlindAssociation call its "spend", are all-important. So each morning mydog and I would set off walking. We would have a decent walk and thecar would collect us. We would then run the dog properly (often butnot always in New Palace Yard at the House of Commons) before goinginto the office.Each morning I would, however, have had a phone call from the pressoffice. They were lovely young - forgive me if I call them that -people who volunteered to do a rota for what increasingly over theyears became an extremely grumpy man. The more difficult the coveragewe received, the grumpier and more bad-tempered I became.Every minute of every travelling hour had to be spent working. It wasthe only way. I kept a braille machine of my own on my desk so that Icould make notes. Contrary to common assumption, I didn't always relyon my memory, although I did try to develop it, much in the way thatone develops a muscle, to ensure that with particular aspects of thejob it was possible to achieve better recall than would normally bethe case.The same is true of my hearing and my ability to be able to sensewhat is going on around me. I am still learning, and I stillsometimes get it wrong. When I am chairing a meeting I often askpeople to indicate to me when they want to speak with a quiet word orcough, or make some other sound to show that they would like to comein on the discussion.And I also have to be careful not to blunder in. This is a particularissue for blind people. Speaking at the wrong moment, interveningjust when someone else has their hand up and is about to be called,or failing to recognise a visual indication (which often can bediscernible body language) that this is not the moment to speak out,is something that has been difficult, to say the least.Honesty is a mixed blessing. Saying what you think, you cannot seethe thunder in the faces around you. It does lead to honest, plainspeaking, but it also undoubtedly sometimes makes you a pain in therump.Using tape machines which allowed me to speed up the sound hashelped, but even with recordings half as fast again as the normalreading speed, it is still substantially slower than anyone who is areasonable speed-reader of print. Speaking in the House was never aproblem, though it was certainly challenging when I first came intoparliament, when I thought I knew it all. I had already been on thepublic stage and had substantial media exposure, but the House ofCommons was different from anything else I had ever experienced. Inthe space of a few sentences the atmosphere can change from positive,uplifting support to resentful animosity.In many ways, not being able to see required me to be much more alertand alive to what was going on around me, as well as knowing whenpeople wanted to intervene and being ready to sit down and allow themto raise a question or make a point. It is possible to work out wheresomeone is most likely to be sitting. It is possible to know fromtheir voice who they are. Question time, which for departmentalquestions is once a month and lasts for an hour, I always found easy.After all, the secretary of state has the last word.But I found delivering written - what are known as "oral" -statements very difficult. They are oral in the sense that they aredelivered to the House, but they are written and have to be readverbatim. And here is the rub: I am not a good reader. Very fewpeople appreciate just what a nightmare it is in such circumstancesto use braille, where there are no capital letters as there are inprint, no highlighting, no underlining and, given that braille is sobulky, masses of paper. Even a short statement requires a large number of sheets. Delivering a statement to the Commons was my worstnightmare. If I had my time again, I would do two things. First, I would look after my fingers a great deal better, because the skin was burnt from cooking and toughened by manual chores, resulting in clumsiness. Iwould also have made sure that they were cared for, using whatever ointments or creams were necessary (even if that did make me a biggirl's blouse). Second, I would have practised braille over and overagain. I do regret that now, because it was certainly an achillesheel noticeable not simply in my awkward and sometimes stumbling delivery of the statement (in contrast to answering questions, whereI was easy, confident and articulate) but in my whole body language -the tension, the hunched shoulders, the unrelaxed facial muscles,which came from what inside was frankly downright fear.January 2000Frank [Dobson] patronised me about not being able to see. If there is anything that absolutely gets my goat, it is other people pretendingto be nice while being deeply offensive. Give me someone who isclearly just deeply offensive any day and I can deal with them, butsave me from paternalism. Frank will never know - or perhaps he will- just how offensive his introduction of me as "my blind friend" was.He went on: "What a remarkable achievement it is for someone whocan't see to have made the progress that my friend has made" -perhaps the kind of remark that some well-meaning but ill-informeddistant acquaintance may make, but not a fellow cabinet minister oftwo and a half years' standing. I could at that moment have walkedout of the room and finished Frank's campaign there and then, but Imanaged to get a grip of myself, and, as so often, I let it go.July 2000One of the problems of not being able to see is drinking orange juicewhen there is a wasp in it. This happened to me. I had it in my mouthand was about to chew it when something told me to spit it out. I didso, but it stung me and my mouth, face, arms and hands all started toswell. It was one of those frightening experiences when you think:"There's no one around, what do I do?" Living on my own is sometimesquite frightening.February 2001Once, when I was leader of Sheffield city council, the Queen and theDuke of Edinburgh came to Sheffield for an official visit and I washosting lunch. It was one of those very pleasant occasions when itwas possible to sit next to Her Majesty and have a genuineconversation, but (and I know she will forgive me for recalling it)it was strange when twice she asked me if I would like my meatcutting up - strange not because it was not a kind and thoughtfulquestion, but because of the comment she made when I politelydeclined: "You know, I often do it for the corgis." Well, well, well.April 2001I hate buffets for obvious reasons.Perhaps my hatred of buffets merits a little more explanation. Inorder to get the true picture, close your eyes and imagine you are ina very noisy room, with everyone standing about with glasses in theirhands, normally at an angle just right for tipping over if you happento bang an elbow. People are milling about and someone (you've noidea who) approaches you and begins to talk - and talk ... You aredesperately trying to avoid being rude because, God knows, you mightneed help in the future ... So you try just to pop in, show yourface, hope that someone really interesting will "take pity on you",and eat what you can. It has to be said here that this is usually aplate of food collected for you by someone else and whichunderstandably reflects their taste in food but not necessarily yours.David Blunkett praises civil servants for reading out documents andtransferring others to braille. But he expresses frustration with thecivil service as a wholeOctober 2001[Leak of email sent by Jo Moore, special adviser to Stephen Byers, toDepartment of Transport press office on September 11 saying it wouldbe a "very good day" to "bury" bad news]The world has gone crackers, and the cause célèbre of the week hasbeen the débâcle over Jo Moore, which is going on and on. Steve wasintending to sack Jo Moore, but by early afternoon it had all changedand apparently it was because, quite rightly, Tony had perceived thatthis was a try-on by the civil service. It was felt that they werethe ones who had received the email and leaked it, and no matter howappalling the email, the declaration of war by the civil service andtheir ability to leak emails and thereby bring down special advisershad to be countered. Unfortunately life is not as simple as that.Tony's interpretation of the situation is right, but Steve's initialdecision to sack Jo Moore for the content of the email was also rightbecause this story has run and run and run.In dictating this I had no idea just how catastrophic it was going tobe for Steve Byers. I think those advising really did mean well, andit was a difficult situation to call. There is no doubt that Jo Moorepaid the price, but what price.January 2002I'm having a real problem with correspondence concerning KeithBennett, who was killed by Ian Brady [convicted, with Myra Hindley,for the Moors Murders in the 1960s]. His brother Alan had written andit had taken two months for the letter to come through to me. Ireplied to him personally, and now find that Mrs Johnson, KeithBennett's mum, had written on November 15 and her letter has justfloated round until Christmas, with no one taking responsibility forit. I've written a robust letter to John Gieve about this as I feelit was just grossly incompetent and insensitive. How they couldpossibly have missed that this was a significant and sensitive letterI can't imagine, bearing in mind that the letter began: "Dear MrBlunkett, My son Keith was murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Mylife ended then ..."February 2002Steve Byers is in the mire because he's got rid of Jo Moore [who hadwanted to stand down in October] and Martin Sixsmith [director ofcommunications] and Sixsmith is saying that he never agreed to go.Everyone eulogises about our free, independent, apolitical civilservice. They are apolitical all right - an island within an island,a government within a government. They have clearly declared war onspecial advisers and on some ministers, and they are determined topull Steve Byers down.We talked about special advisers at cabinet. Steve said his bit andJohn Reid said one or two sensible things about the dangers, but thediscussion wasn't going anywhere so I just launched in. I knowRichard Wilson will not forgive me for this but it's too bad -because apparently he went grey and looked daggers at me.I said: "Well, I think if we're going to have legislation thatprotects the civil service from the government, could we build intoit protection for the government from the civil service?"We have a situation in my department where virtually anything of anyimportance is leaked. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate isa complete shambles. The only reason we got a police reform whitepaper and the reform of immigration, nationality and asylum wasbecause the two respective advisers worked extremely closely with meon them ... The civil service are very lucky that we can't sack them,that no one can sack them" - with the implication that they damn wellwould be sacked if I had my way, and they would be. At the end of allthis diatribe Tony said: "Well, I think Richard Wilson's got themessage. You really love the civil service, David. You've got a lotof time for them and you believe they're doing a first-class job" -and everybody just doubled up.Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 Report of Research Study into Teaching Braille to Children in Schools Sue Keil with Louise Clunies-Ross RNIB November 2002 Contents Acknowledgements Many thanks to the heads of Visual Impairment services, head teachers, teachers and teaching assistants who have taken part in this research project, either as participants in the case studies or by completing the survey questionnaire (and in some cases, both!). Particular thanks to Louise Clunies-Ross who played a central role in design of the research methodology and the survey questionnaire. Thanks also to members of the braille research advisory group: Stephen Plumpton, Louise Clunies-Ross, Julie Jennings, Rory Cobb, Susan Potter, Claire Wilson, Joyce Chatterton, Elizabeth Clery and Myrtle Robinson; also Debbie Taylor, Nicola Crews and Anne Donnelly. Thanks to Aysen Yousouf for arranging the meetings, writing the minutes and brailling and distributing various drafts of this report. Thanks also to colleagues who have provided important and constructive feedback on drafts of this report, in particular Angelique Praat and Adam Ockelford, and to Mary McDonald for her editorial comments. Sue Keil Glossary of Terms Braille Primer A guide to Grade 2 braille for people wishing to learn to sight read and write braille or for those wishing to become transcribers ClearVision Lends tactile books and dual format braille/print and Moon/print books for adults and children to share reading DfES Department for Education and Skills EA Education Authority (term used in Scotland) Early years Children under the age of 5 years (ie statutory school age) HI Hearing impairment/hearing impaired HoS Head of Service (ie head of visual impairment advisory service) ICT Information and communications technology IEP Individual Education Plan KS1, 2, 3, 4 Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 LEA Local Education Authority LSA Learning Support Assistant LVA Low vision aids MSI Multi-sensory impairment Non-resourced school A local mainstream school that does not have a dedicated resource base for pupils with visual impairment NNEB Nursery Nurse Education Board (specialist qualification for nursery nurses) PMLD Profound and multiple learning difficulties QTVI Qualified teacher of the visually impaired Resourced school Mainstream school with a dedicated resource base (specialist teachers and material resources) for pupils with a visual impairment SEN Special educational needs SLD Severe learning difficulties TA Teaching assistant UA Unitary authority 1. Introduction Perceived decline in braille teaching and standards. This study arose out of concerns expressed within and outside RNIB about a perceived decline in both the numbers of children learning braille, and in standards of teaching braille to children in schools in Britain. Anecdotal evidence exists of children with very severe visual impairments being taught to read print sizes of over 48pt when braille would be the more appropriate reading medium. Anecdotal reports have also been received of a reduction in standards of braille literacy amongst some pupils who do read braille. Some people have attributed this apparent decline to the policy over the past 20 years, of transferring the education of blind and partially sighted pupils from specialist schools for the visually impaired (many of them residential) to local mainstream schools. This policy has been accompanied by changes in training of qualified teachers of the visually impaired (QTVI), and in the nature of teaching support. Whereas under the specialist school system a QTVI would teach a class of blind and partially sighted pupils, many such pupils are now educated alongside their sighted classmates in mainstream schools, with specialist support provided by peripatetic advisory teachers of the visually impaired. In the remainder of this section we review the literature that has contributed to this debate and provide a background to the current status of braille teaching in schools in Britain. We begin with an overview of the population of blind and partially sighted children and young people. Population of blind and partially sighted pupils. Previous RNIB research had indicated that in 1997 there were around 22,000 blind and partially sighted children and young people in England, Scotland and Wales up to the age of 16. Of these, 36 per cent were categorised as multi-disabled and visually impaired; many of this 36 per cent were likely to have learning difficulties (Clunies-Ross, Franklin and Keil, 1999). These data are believed by many to underestimate the numbers of visually impaired children with multiple difficulties/additional complex needs including those with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties (SLD/PMLD). That is because the data reflect the caseloads of visual impairment (VI) advisory services, who may not have received referrals for all visually impaired children in special SLD or PMLD schools in their area. A recent re-analysis of the OPCS Disability Survey data that had estimated the number of disabled children in Britain in the mid-1980s adds weight to the argument that a high proportion of visually impaired children have other disabilities (Gordon, Parker, Loughran and Heslop, 2000). These findings are of relevance to the current research because an observed increase in the numbers of visually impaired children with additional disabilities, including learning difficulties, has been cited as one of the reasons for the decline in braille usage in the USA (Rex, 1989). Other contributory factors that have been suggested include the increased use of technology making braille obsolete, cost and availability of resources, and poor training and negative attitudes of teachers of the visually impaired (Schroeder, 1989; Stephens, 1989). There is currently insufficient evidence from recent UK research into the education of visually impaired children to indicate whether or not the same pattern is occurring in Britain. However, the American experience does to some extent appear to have informed a debate in the UK about the future of braille as a literacy medium. Population of children who use braille. RNIB research carried out in 1997 identified between 800 and 900 children in Britain between the ages of four and 16 who used braille as their primary literacy medium, representing a little over four per cent of the visually impaired population (Clunies-Ross et al, 1999). This compares with around five per cent of braille users aged between four and 16 who were identified in 1995 (Clunies-Ross, 1997). The data show that, in general, around 70 children in each year cohort in England, Scotland and Wales are likely to use braille for reading and writing (Clunies-Ross et al, 1999). What these data do not tell us are the numbers of braillists with additional disabilities. However, other research carried out by RNIB using a sample of 425 blind and partially sighted children between the ages of five and 16 found that of 44 braillists of around average learning ability, one in four had at least one other disability (Franklin et al, 2001). The same survey had found that of the profiled population whose details were obtained from LEA VI advisory services to ensure that the survey sample was representative, five per cent (28) of visually impaired children with additional complex needs were said to use braille (Cole-Hamilton and Clunies-Ross, 2001). Braille and technology. A viewpoint that has been discussed by a number of writers is that braille literacy may become obsolete due to advancements in technology such as speech recognition software (Schroeder, 1989; Paul, 1993; Stone, 1995; Kent, 1997). This view is disputed by McCall (in Mason and McCall, 1999) who argues that braille technology has in fact increased the availability of braille. Specialist equipment is considered important for pupils who use braille because it provides the means by which they access the curriculum. ICT is not only in itself part of the national curriculum, but facilitates independence by allowing children more control of their learning (RNIB Accessing Technology, 2001). Specialist technology can however be expensive. Prices can range from under £100 for a battery operated “thermo pen” to over £3,000 for a braille note-taker. Cost is also an issue with respect to the provision of braille materials. Another reason given by some researchers in the USA for a decline in braille use relates to resources including the high cost of braille and lack of availability of braille materials (Rex, 1989). While there does not appear to be any UK research evidence indicating that cost or availability of braille resources are deciding factors in choice of literacy medium for pupils with a severe visual impairment (in particular those on the print/braille borderline), Jennings (1998) highlights the possible danger of these factors contributing to the decision making process. As one QTVI respondent in her survey had commented, the cost of supporting braille “is not much of an incentive to be proactive in making it an option for those for whom it is not essential.” (Jennings, 1998, p. 89.) Teacher attitudes towards braille. Another reason given in the American literature for the perceived decline in braille literacy is a negative attitude towards braille held by teachers of visually impaired pupils (Schroeder, 1989; Stephens, 1989). While Rex’s (1989) informal discussions with teachers did not find them opposed to braille, he considered that for various reasons, their statements were often not supportive of braille usage. Wittenstein and Pardee (1996) however, argue that there is no hard evidence upon which to base the claim that a decline in braille use is attributable to negative attitudes of teachers. Their own survey of teachers of visually impaired pupils in the USA found positive attitudes towards braille, and that teachers cared deeply about the literacy skills of their students. Similarly, Jennings’ (1999) research found a positive attitude to braille overall amongst teachers of visually impaired children in the UK. However, Craig, DePriest and Harnack (1997) found that the type of school a teacher worked at could influence their decisions about a pupil’s literacy medium. Some teachers in Jennings’ (op. cit.) study also commented that mainstream placements tended to favour print or technology while special schools were more likely to accept braille as the norm. Her findings led Jennings to conclude that there was a need for clearer guidelines for teachers to help them decide whether print or braille (or both) was the most suitable medium for pupils on the print/braille borderline. These findings do echo concerns expressed anecdotally that some pupils may be inappropriately steered towards print rather than braille as their primary literacy medium. Nevertheless, with regard to the wider debate about a decline in braille literacy amongst children, as Wittenstein and Pardee (1996) point out, this is a complex issue, and in their view there is a need to re-evaluate the causes. Standards of braille teaching. Closely related to the debate about a perceived reduction in the numbers of children learning braille is the claim made by some people that there has been a decline in standards of braille teaching (eg Stephens, 1989). Rex (1989) agrees with the view that a contributory factor may be the move to educate blind and partially sighted children in mainstream schools where they are supported by peripatetic advisory teachers, rather than in specialist schools for visually impaired pupils. He asserts however, that it is not the peripatetic teacher/mainstream school model that is at fault but how the model is implemented. Difficulties faced by peripatetic teachers, he claims, include large caseloads or caseloads spread over a wide geographical area, preventing visits of sufficient length or frequency for proper braille teaching, or for preparation of suitable teaching materials. The claim that the peripatetic teacher/mainstream school model is a cause of a decline in teaching standards is not, however, supported by research evidence. In the UK the issue of teaching standards concerned researchers 30 years ago at a time when visually impaired children were still being educated in specialist schools. Norris (1972) in her study of approaches to teaching English to blind pupils in specialist residential schools found no systematic approach to teaching braille amongst the teachers surveyed. Her findings indicated that many teachers had not received guidance on methods or approaches to teaching braille and that, “some teachers claimed to have had no knowledge of braille at all when they started to teach, a number going so far as to claim that this had been no disadvantage since they believed that all that was required was to be one or two steps ahead of their pupils…” (op cit, p. 123). In the USA, Stephens (1989) noted concerns expressed by the American Council of the Blind about the “widely perceived erosion of standards in the teaching of braille” in mainstream and specialist residential schools. Rex (1989) discusses the quality of training provided to trainee teachers of visually impaired pupils, both in terms of the students’ own braille proficiency and in teaching reading and writing in braille. In the UK, training for qualified teachers of the visually impaired (QTVI) is provided at five universities. Braille is a mandatory component of the courses, and students are required to pass this in order to qualify. Most of the braille training is by distance learning, and at the time of the research one university was in the process of putting their course onto the university’s website. The courses qualify students to read and write grade 2 braille. They do not teach students how to teach literacy via braille or cover in detail (other than via voluntary modules) other aspects of braille teaching such as braille mathematics, teaching braille to adventitiously blind pupils, and braille technology. Yet Wittenstein and Pardee (1996) found that teaching programmes that emphasised the methodology of teaching reading and writing through braille produced teachers who were more confident in their own braille skills and in their ability to pass this knowledge on to their visually impaired pupils. They argue that teacher training courses should not concentrate simply on teaching braille, but should include literacy skills and braille reading methods. “Training teachers only in the braille code is analogous to training teachers of print reading by only teaching them the alphabet and expecting that this minimum competence will prepare them for the complex task of fostering literacy in their students.” (op cit, p. 209.) This view is endorsed by Rex, (1989), and by Stone (1995) who contends that braille must be taught by teachers who understand both the demands of reading by touch and the additional complexities caused by the braille code. Without this knowledge there may be a risk of mis-attributing reading errors to a child’s literacy difficulties rather than to incorrect finger positioning for example. Lamb (1996, p. 183) argues that “the teaching of braille literacy has been preoccupied with tactile perception skills and the mechanical aspects of reading by touch…” rather than as a language- based skill. She puts forward the view that children who are learning to read and write using braille need to be taught by teachers who are competent braillists, who are aware of the special skills required for reading by touch and who can implement these skills within the whole language approach to literacy (Lamb, 1998). In the UK, a pre-requisite for entry onto the specialist courses to become a qualified teacher of the visually impaired (QTVI) is a post-graduate teaching qualification. It could therefore be argued that primary trained teachers on QTVI courses will have already received training in teaching literacy through print and that these skills are transferable to teaching literacy in braille. Essential though it is for teachers to have the necessary skills to teach braille literacy, other specialist skills and knowledge may also be required of teachers who support braillists. The needs of secondary aged braillists, older, adventitiously blind pupils and pupils with a deteriorating sight condition who need to transfer from print to braille, and pupils with additional difficulties or disabilities also have to be taken into account. With respect to secondary aged braillists Stone (1995) observes that it is not always appreciated that teaching braille needs to continue beyond mastery of the code; helping pupils to develop their technique will improve their reading speed, fluency and comprehension. The merits of continuing braille teaching into secondary level have been demonstrated by Lorimer, Tobin, Gill and Douce (1982). As pupils enter secondary level there will also be an increasing need for them to learn specialist braille codes in order for them to access curriculum subjects such as science, mathematics, modern foreign languages and music. These become more complex in line with more advanced academic study. Learning or teaching specialist codes do not form part of the core syllabus of QTVI courses in the UK. A different set of skills is needed to support older pupils who have learnt to read using print and are now facing the prospect of learning braille due to deteriorating sight or sudden sight loss. As McCall (1999) points out, the pupil’s psychological needs must also be taken into account. The timing and introduction of braille therefore needs careful consideration. Additional specialist skills may also be required to identify and teach braillists with specific learning difficulties. Arter’s (1998) research to investigate whether braille dyslexia exists, found evidence of inversion and reversal of braille letters when reading in some blind students with no other disabilities. Very different skills and knowledge are likely to be needed to support blind pupils with moderate or severe learning difficulties, and indeed to decide whether braille is the most suitable literacy medium or whether Moon might be more appropriate for some (McCall and McLinden, 1997; 2001). The role of learning support/teaching assistants. The discussion so far has made clear that teaching braille is a specialist skill, and raises concerns about the adequacy of current specialist teaching training courses in preparing teachers for this varied role. Implicit acknowledgement of the specialist nature of the role is found in recent DfES guidelines on quality standards in educational support for blind and sighted pupils. The standards state there should be evidence that there is a range of support [for pupils with a visual impairment] from the VI service. This may include “teaching in specialist curriculum areas from qualified staff [our emphasis] eg braille” (DfES, 2002, p.8). However, research carried out by RNIB (Franklin, Keil, Crofts and Cole-Hamilton, 2001) indicated that learning support assistants (LSAs) played a significant role in teaching braille to primary aged pupils. Of 30 children aged between five and 11, five were apparently being taught braille solely by a learning support assistant. A further six were taught by a specialist advisory or classroom teacher and an LSA. The increasing role played by teaching assistants in the education of pupils with special educational needs is illustrated by the fact that between 1998 and 2002 the number of special needs support assistants in schools in England increased by 20,000 to more than 46,000 (Howson, 2002). Research into the role of LSAs working with a range of pupils in mainstream and special schools found that in general, teachers were responsible for planning programmes of work for pupils and LSAs for implementing them. However, there was also evidence of LSAs taking responsibility for adapting programmes of work and in planning new programmes (Farell, Balshaw and Polat, 1999). A key recommendation from the research was the establishment of a nationally recognised system for the career progression of LSAs, linked to [relevant] training and experience. Training is also a key issue in the DfES quality standards guidelines (op. cit.) These include a recommendation (SY3) that “all staff working with pupils who are visually impaired are offered appropriate training and support to ensure that they are competent and confident in the management of such pupils”; and (SY4) that “learning support assistants assigned to work with pupils with VI receive induction and ongoing training in the specialist aspects of the role…” (DfES, 2002, p. 9). One of the aims of the current study is to identify the role of LSAs who support braillists in different educational settings, and the training they receive. Resources for braillists. In their discussion about the decline in braille literacy in the USA, Spungin and D’Andrea (2000) raise concerns about availability of braille textbooks and materials for blind students. There is evidence that resources are a matter of concern for teachers of visually impaired pupils in the UK. Cost, availability and quality of braille resources were a matter of concern for the specialist teachers in Jennings’ (1999) study. Many questioned the willingness of LEAs to pay for brailling materials. Provision of sufficient appropriate resources and materials were regarded as important issues in determining whether or not braillists were adequately supported. Concerns about the availability of reading materials in appropriate formats were also found in RNIB research into the educational experiences of blind and partially sighted pupils (Franklin et al, 2001). As the parent of one primary school child commented: “A teacher comes in two mornings a week to teach braille. I wish she would supply him with more tactile things to help explain subjects, more braille books or audio tapes. I find I have to keep asking her for things to help him. Resources are very limited.” Many of Jennings’ respondents (op. cit.) considered that there was a need for a centralised government education department responsible for providing modified materials to a given standard. Hopkins (2001b) also concluded from her study of reading services for visually impaired children, that there was a need for a central advice centre, supported by a national database of accessible resources. In an earlier study (Hopkins, 2001a) found that the main difficulties for families in obtaining books in accessible formats lay in “the number of agencies, in locating sufficient information about their services, in the problem of tracing particular materials, in the time spent hunting for them and the delays created by lack of production capacity…communication [between agencies and between mainstream and specialist schools] was also a major factor” (Hopkins, 2001b. p. 4). These are issues that schools and LEAs will have to pay close attention to, as since September 2002 the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended by the SEN and Disability Act 2001, gives disabled pupils the same rights to access the full curriculum as their non-disabled peers. This will include giving braillists a right to curriculum materials in this format (DfES, 2001). However, the issue should not be limited to concerns about availability of curriculum resources; as Lamb (1998) has pointed out, the whole language approach to literacy acquisition requires children to be exposed to a range of “quality literature”. It is notable that in her study of employment rates and braille reading among blind adults in the USA, Ryles (1996) found a correlation between extensive braille reading for pleasure, and rates of employment. Assessment of pupils’ progress in braille. One way to monitor individual pupils’ progress and proficiency in braille is via formal assessment procedures. Currently there is no national test of children’s braille competence, although a number of braille assessment tests have been developed. These are the Tooze Braille Speed Test (Tooze, 1962); the Lorimer Braille Recognition Test (Lorimer, 1962); and the Braille Version of the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability which gives age norms for accuracy, comprehension and reading rate for pupils aged 7 to 13 (Greaney, Hill and Tobin, 1998). It is not known how widely these tests are used, or what other procedures are being used by teachers to assess their pupils’ braille competence. Guidelines for standards in braille presentation and layout. The development of braille translation computer programs within the past few years means that it is now much easier for schools and VI services to produce their own materials in braille. However, this raises quality control issues, both with respect to braille code errors and layout errors. Guidelines that have been developed for the modification and production of GCSE examination papers provide a standard (RNIB, 1998) but it is unclear to what extent these are referred to by VI services and schools. The issue of what – if any - standards are used to guide the production of braille within VI services and schools will also be explored in the current study. 1.1 Research aims. It is apparent that a range of complex issues relate to the teaching of braille to children. Clearly it would be unrealistic to expect to address every issue within a single research study. It is therefore outside the remit of the present study to investigate in detail strategies employed by teachers in teaching braille literacy, or to assess the standards of braille teaching in schools. Instead, we aim to explore issues surrounding the perceived decline in numbers of children learning braille and in standards of braille teaching by asking the following research questions: 1. How many children in the early years, primary and secondary age groups in the UK are learning braille? 2. Where are braillists being educated? 3. Who teaches braille? 4. What type of training have teachers and learning support assistants had in teaching braille literacy? 5. How are braillists supported (teaching and non-teaching support)? 6. What policies do LEAs and schools have relating to braillists? 7. What plans and general strategies do LEAs and schools have for particular groups of children who read and write using braille: · a) Young children whose access to literacy is through braille? · b) Older, secondary age pupils who have been using braille from an early age? 8. How do LEA VI services and schools assess pupils’ progress in braille? 9. Which particular standards/guidelines (if any) are being followed in LEAs and schools by those who produce their own braille materials for use by the pupils they support? 10. Models of delivery of braille teaching provision. 1.2 Structure of the research report. Section 2 of this report describes the methods used to conduct this research and the reasons why this approach was used. Section 3 contains a detailed account of the research findings beginning with quantitative data obtained from the survey questionnaire used in the research. This is followed by a description of the main findings from case studies of four LEA Visual Impairment Advisory services and one specialist school for blind and partially sighted pupils. To maintain confidentiality of the services and schools concerned, the case study findings have been organised around key themes that were determined by the case study interview schedules. In section 4 we discuss the findings and the implications this may have for teaching of braille to children in schools. Section 5 gives an overall summary and conclusion and in section 6 we draw upon the main conclusions to propose recommendations for future practice or further action. 2. Methodology Given the range of research questions two complementary methodological approaches were used: a national postal questionnaire survey of local education authority (LEA) visual impairment advisory services, and case studies of four LEA VI advisory services and one specialist school for blind and partially sighted pupils. As outlined by Yin (1994) whereas the survey asks “who”, “what”, “where”, “how many” and “how much” questions, case studies ask explanatory questions such as “how” and “why”. Case studies are relevant when the investigator particularly wants to include context, and to trace operational links or processes as they occur over time. The aim of the survey questionnaire was to find out the number of braillists in the UK (how many?), where they are being educated, who is teaching them, and what type of training their teachers and support staff have received (research aims 1, 2, 3 and 4). The case studies were intended to explore in detail how braille teaching is provided to children in different settings and why provision is organised in this particular way, enabling us to look at different policies and practices in relation to the contexts in which they were located. The main aim of the case studies therefore, was to address research questions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, although it was also hoped that they would provide contextual data to inform the findings from the questionnaire survey. 2.1 Questionnaire survey. During January and February 2002 questionnaires were mailed to VI services and specialist schools for blind and partially sighted pupils in England, Scotland and Wales. The questions related to numbers of braillists, where they were being educated, the role of teachers and support assistants in teaching braille, and what form of training in braille teaching they had undergone. The section of the questionnaire containing questions related to braille is attached as Appendix A. 2.2 Case studies. Using an embedded multi-case study design (Yin, 1994) five separate case studies, each with a number of sub-units (or embedded units) of analysis were carried out. The case studies were of four LEA Visual Impairment Advisory services and one specialist school for blind and partially sighted pupils. Because the main aim of the case studies was to develop theory, as opposed to testing an existing theory, an exploratory/descriptive design was used. It is emphasised that case studies do not constitute a sample for statistical generalisation; their aim is to develop theory or to generalise their findings to a broader theory and not to a population (Yin, op. cit.) As previously stated this was primarily an exploratory/descriptive case study design. However our basic premise was that factors such as staffing levels, number of qualified staff, number of braillists, method of funding and geographical characteristics of the LEA play a key role in the way in which braille teaching is provided to children in schools. Our aim was to describe the contexts in which braille teaching provision is organised, with a view to identifying some of the processes leading to a particular organisational structure (of braille teaching provision) and also some of the problems and difficulties facing services and schools. We hoped to ascertain ways in which some of these problems have been overcome, with a view to informing future practice, to identify outstanding problems and issues, and to make recommendations as to how these might be addressed. Case study data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with heads of VI services, peripatetic advisory teachers, and teachers in VI resourced and specialist schools, and with support staff based in both mainstream and resourced schools. Details of question areas used in the interview schedule are given in Appendix B. To ensure construct validity, where at all possible evidence was obtained from more than one respondent in each case study, plus documentary evidence from sources such as written braille policies, staff training policies, Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and checklists of pupil progress. 2.3 Methods of analysis. Quantitative analysis of the questionnaire survey responses was undertaken using SPSS for Windows. For the case studies, a cross-case analysis was undertaken, using the interview schedule to provide categories for analysis. This method of analysis was selected rather than single-case reports to ensure anonymity of the participating LEA VI services and schools (Yin, 1994, p. 144). A manual content analysis was used to identify key issues within each theme by cross-referencing across the individual case studies. 3. Findings 3.1 Questionnaire survey 3.1.1 Numbers of children in England, Scotland and Wales who are learning braille. Results from the questionnaire survey, based upon information provided by 106 LEA VI advisory services and extrapolated from a population base of 52 per cent, indicated that there were approximately 850 braillists up to the age of 16 in England, Scotland and Wales in 2002. This represents around 4 per cent of the population of blind and partially sighted children between the ages of five and 16. A smaller proportion (2 per cent) of children under the age of five years were identified as being in the early stages of learning braille, or acquiring pre-braille skills. This might be expected as some children would have been in the process of being assessed and a decision yet to be made concerning their future reading medium. An illustration is provided by one questionnaire respondent who explained that an early years pupil on her caseload who was currently able to use print was also learning pre-braille skills as she “might be a braillist.” This also highlights the importance of on-going assessment – particularly in the early years – before making a decision about the most appropriate literacy medium for an individual child. These data reflect the findings from RNIB research carried out in 1997 (Clunies-Ross et al, 1999), suggesting that in the past five years the overall proportion of children learning braille in the UK has remained relatively stable. Of 495 braillists identified, just under one in five (17%) were able to access print or large print. There were few indications from respondents’ comments to give a clear picture of the circumstances in which this occurred. Two respondents volunteered the information that while braille was their pupil’s primary literacy medium, print might be used in specific contexts such as for mathematics or, as in the case of one pupil, “only for sports results! Teletext”. Some respondents referred to visually impaired pupils with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties, many of whom were using neither print or braille but alternative tactile communication systems, in particular objects of reference. It is notable that of the total population of visually impaired pupils in the UK, the questionnaire survey identified 30% who had severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties in addition to a visual impairment. A further 20% had additional disabilities. 3.1.2 Where braillists are being educated. Data from 97 LEAs showed that the majority of braillists (71%) were being educated in mainstream or resourced mainstream schools, although the proportion was higher for primary pupils (83%) than for secondary aged pupils (60%). Primary pupils were also more likely to be in local mainstream schools (49%) than in resourced mainstream schools (34%), whereas for the secondary aged braillists educated within the mainstream sector there was a larger proportion in resourced mainstream schools (39%) than in local mainstream schools (21%). Of the secondary aged pupils in mainstream or resourced mainstream schools, 16% were placed outside the LEA. Table 1: Where blind and partially sighted pupils in the UK were being educated in 2002 (n=97 LEAs) Type of placement No. of pupils educated locally in LEA/EA No. of pupils educated outside LEA/EA No. aged 11-16 % No. aged 5-10+ % No. aged 11-16 % No. aged 5-10+ % Mainstream school 47 57 <0.5 n="97" n="107)" n="81)">

Saturday, 27 January 2007