Myths and Facts About Blindness

Myths and Facts About Blindness

Future Reflections April 1982, Vol. 1 No. 3
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MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT BLINDNESS
By: Barbara Cheadle
(Much of the following article is based upon information in the
articles: BRAILLE: A BIRTHDAY LOOK AT ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND
FUTURE by Jim Burns, and READING BY TOUCH by Donald Bell. Both
articles are avilable free of charge from: The National Federation
of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230.)
I remember when I, as a small schoolchild, learned about Braille. At the
time, all I knew was that it had to do with reading raised dots with one's
fingers and it was "how blind people read". I assumed that the shapes those
dots formed were similar in shape to the letters we read visually. That is,
as "A" in Braille dots would look very much like the print "A". In fact, of
course, the Braille alphabet does not look like the print alphabet in any way.
Unfortunately, this difference seems to be one of the basis for some of the
negative myths about Braille.
Prior to the official acceptance of Braille, the common methods used to
teach blind students to read were embossed, or raised letter systems. Sometimes
the inventor of an embossed system would create a number of abbreviations
to make reading a little easier and faster, but it was still a system based
upon the shapes of the print alphabet. The problems with the various embossed
systems were many. They were usually quite difficult to learn, many blind
persons could never master them, and they were slow and cumbersome to read.
One of the biggest draw-backs was the inability to write using this method.
All materials had to be type-set, so the average blind person could not use
it to write anything for himself, or to communicate with other blind persons.
Then, in 1825-1827, a young blind Frenchman, Louis Braille, introduced a
system of reading for the blind that we know today as Braille. The system is
fairly simple and logical. It is based upon the various combinations possible
of the domino six. The six dots are, for teaching purposes, numbered 1-2-3
downwards in the left hand column and 4-5-6 downwards in the right hand column. Letter A is dot 1, B dots 1 and 2; C dots 1 and 4, and so on.
Blind people who had the opportunity to learn it, found it easy to learn,
easy and quick to read, and maybe best of all, a simple metal frame and
puncher allowed them to write for the very first time!
Despite the advantages, Braille was slow to be accepted by schools for the
blind. It was 1854, three years after Louis Braille's death, before his own
alma mater officially adopted its use. It was 1860 before the first school for
the blind in the U.S., the Missouri School for the Blind, was to officially use
it. The delay in the use of a system that blind people themselves found easy
to learn and were eager to use, came because of the resistance of the "old guard"
...sighted teachers who found it difficult to accept a system that did not
look like the reading system th^y used. It seems that then, as now, the
fact that Braille was "different" made it a prime target for accusations
of being difficult to learn, slow to read and in short, inferior to print.
According to Jim Burns in BRAILLE: A BIRTHDAY LOOK AT ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND
FUTURE, "Braille was even criticized because it supposedly...set blind people
apart from others. The fact that near illiteracy due to the failings of the
preferred systems of embossing tended to set blind people apart from others
was overlooked."
It is sometimes a difficult lesson to learn, but "different" does not
necessarily mean inferior, or superior for that matter. It may seem to me,
for example, that learning English with an alphabet of only 26 letters
would be infinitely easier than learning Japanese, which has 1,850 characters.
However, Japan has an illiteracy rate of only 2%; little more than the U.S.
illiteracy rate of 1%, and comparable to Switzerland's 2% illiteracy rate.
We could conclude from this that either the Japanese are inherently smarter
than we (the current world economic situation does make one consider that
possibility), or that we have underestimated the human ability to easily
learn a variety of language and communication systems. I believe the last is
true, and that we could apply the same principle to learning Braille.
To test a little of your own knowledge about Braille, see how you do on the
following True-False questionaire.
1. The blind pre-schooler can and should be introduced to Braille just as their sighted play-mates are introduced to print.
2. A slate and stylus is a simple metal fram and a hand held "puncher" that blind people use to write Braille with. It serves the same function as a pen or pencil does to someone who is sighted.
3. Writing with a slate and stylus is slow, difficult and confusing for most children to learn.
4. Children with some usable vision will naturally prefer reading large print to using Braille.
5. Braille will eventually be totally replaced as technology provides us with new and better print-reading devices...talking machines, Optacons, etc.

Myths and Facts About Blindness True/False Answers
1. True...Blind children are as curious and stimulated about learning letters
and words as a sighted child is. Simple alphabet books, Braille blocks
and Braille "flash-cards" are as interesting, entertaining and educational
to the blind pre-schooler as their print counterparts are to the sighted child.
Unfortunately, these pre-school toys are seldom available for purchase, but
handmade ones work just as well. Twin-vision books (books with both print and
Braille text) are good to use, too. (Ask pur State Library for the Blind about
them, or contact the American Brotherhood for the Blind, 18440 Oxnard Street,
Tarzana, CA 91356.)
2. True...A slate may come in various sizes, but the 3" x 5" and 2" x 9" are
most common. The stylus is small and fits easily into the palm of the hand.
It has all the advantages that a pen or pencil has...it fits easily into purse
or pocket; is handy for all those necessary quick notes to oneself...writing
down names, addresses, telephone numbers, telephone messages, making labels, etc.
Not having or being able to use a slate and stylus is as much a disadvantage
to a blind person as the lack of a pen or pencil would be to those with sight.
3. False...When the slate and stylus is introduced in the early grades and
taught by skilled teachers, the child quickly masters it and finds it no more
difficult to learn and use than say a sighted child who must master both print
and cursive writing. Unfortunately, many blind children are now being deprived
of an early, positive introduction to the slate and stylus. These children are
truely "disadvantaged" and may never achieve the speed and skill that many blind
adults of this generation, who learned its use at an early age, enjoy.
4. False...Children will prefer whatever they have been taught is most respectable
and acceptable. The attitude of teachers, parents and others toward Braille
will largely determine how the child will feel about using it. For example,
two sisters who attended a mid-western residential school for the blind several
years ago, were not scheduled to learn Braille because of their ability to read
print with magnification. However, the sisters insisted they be taught Braille
as well. Motivation? The sisters close friends were all Braille users and Braille
notes and letters were an important part of their "secret club" and other childhood
play. Fortunately, their parents supported them and the girls became proficient
Braille readers. Later, in college, on the job, and in their personal and
social lives, Braille proved very valuable to them. The sisters remain proficient
Braille and print users.
5. False...Technology will replace Braille to the same extent that the
invention of the printing press made pens and pencils obsolete and radio
and television has replaced newspapers and books.
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