The World Under My Fingers:

The World Under My Fingers:

Future Reflections Winter 1996, Vol. 15 No. 1
(contents)

The World Under My Fingers:
Personal Reflections on Braille
Edited by Barbara Pierce
Table of Contents
An Open Letter to Parents
Who Should Learn Braille
Keeping Within the Lines
The Everyday Usefulness of Braille
Blueprint for Learning?
Braille Made the Difference
The Value of Learning Braille as a Child
Braille is an Essential Part of My Life Because...
Braille or Print: Why the Debate
The Chance to Read
Reflections of a Lifelong Braille Reader
Braille Today and Tomorrow
Braille: What Is It? What Does It Mean to the Blind?

INTRODUCTION
All parents yearn for their children to be happy and healthy and
to grow up to live satisfying and productive lives. If it were possible
to do so, we would arrange for them to be attractive, intelligent,
ambitious, sensible, and funnyþall the traits, in short, we wish we
could boast and never have enough of, no matter how talented we are.
Obviously our children do not grow up to exhibit all these traits, but
most of them do well enough with the skills and attributes we do manage
to impart to them.
Sometimes, however, a child must come to terms with very real
difficulties: frequent or serious illness, mental handicaps of one kind
or another, or physical disability. The parents, too, must then face the
limitations or alterations that such problems place on our children and
on our dreams for them. The natural instinct is to feel that the more
closely the child can be taught to mimic the behavior of so-called
normal youngsters, the better off he or she will be in the long run,
because the differences will be less obvious. If we are honest with
ourselves, we usually find that a part of this reaction also comes from
the feeling that we will not have to confront the problem as directly
and painfully if the trappings of disability are kept to a minimum.
However, successful adults who have coped with various disabilities for
many years have a somewhat different notion. We have found that striving
for the independence and richness of normal adult experience is far more
satisfying and constructive than trying to use the methods of those who
have no obvious disabilities, even though such striving requires mastery
of alternative techniques and skills.
In the case of people whose vision is so poor as to make it
difficult or impossible to read regular print for extended periods of
time and to write accurately and legibly, it is extremely useful to
learn to read and write using Braille. When learned early and taught by
a knowledgeable teacher, Braille is an invaluable tool for those who
cannot use print comfortably for extended periods of time or in all
kinds of light.
Most of the following stories and articles are firsthand accounts
of people who have depended on Braille all their lives or who were
denied Braille instruction and have paid the price of that neglect for
years. As you consider whether or not to ask that your child be taught
Braille, we invite you to consider the experience and views of these
competent blind adults.