I found this article in the September, 1987 issue of The Braille 
Monitor, published by the National Federation of the Blind. You can 
view the entire issue by going to http://www.nfb.org/bm/bm87/brlm8709.htm.

BRAILLE AND THE PARTIALLY SIGHTED
by Debbie Hamm

  (This article appeared in the Spring, 1987, Newsletter of the
National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB). 
Debbie Hamm is the mother of a blind child and the President of
the Northwest Chapter of the Parents of Blind Children Division
of the National Federation of the Blind.)
  There is a great controversy in this country among the blind
and the educators of the blind.  It concerns the question of
whether Braille should be taught to partially blind students. 
There is a widely held theory that Braille should be taught only
when all other methods of reading competency have been exhausted.
Some of the people who subscribe to this theory question why
anyone would want to learn Braille if any other means of
communication is available to them.  After many interviews and
considerable reading, I believe that this theory will not stand
careful examination. . . .
  Regarding literacy and the use of Braille, Nancy Scott (a blind
writer) states:  "It is the only system that provides a physical
interaction with the written word and allows for instant
perception of format and letter con- tent. . . . Braille becomes
an alternative technique used by blind individuals to gain
information and immediate access to the printed word. . . ."
  The comment has been made to me on several occasions by
itinerant teachers of the blind that Braille is difficult to
learn and that if a partially blind student can learn print, he
or she will want to.  The sighted people I know who have mastered
Braille admit that it is a challenge to learn.  Perhaps the
challenge for teachers to promote a skill in which they are not
proficient is reflected in their promotion of print reading for
their partially sighted students, even those with only a small
degree of eyesight.  An itinerant teacher in Oregon stated to me:
"This is a print world, and if there is any way to teach print,
we will.  I don't know of any partially blind student that is
learning Braille as an alternative technique."  This teacher went
on to say that she wouldn't object to trying Braille, just that
she had never heard of its being done.
  Eileen Rivera, a partially blind graduate student in
Philadelphia, related to me that:  "I was sent to a sight saving
school as a child.  The emphasis was on print.  I wish I had
learned Braille in addition to print.  There isn't much available
in large print, and what there is is very expensive.  If I had
studied Braille as a child, learning it would have been easier
for me.  Now it will be hard to find the time to concentrate on
it."
  When I asked if she got along without Braille she said, "Yes,
but not as well as I would have with it.  It is difficult to make
speeches.  Visualteks are fine, but they are expensive and
cumbersome--not something you can carry in your pocket.  I can
use magnifiers, but I am not always comfortable with them; and it
is awkward when I have to write with my face so close to the
page.  I can use tapes, but there isn't any efficient way to find
what I need to hear--so I use readers."
  In telling me about her experience with readers Eileen Rivera
said that they aren't always reliable, and it takes competent
management skills to get them to do the job correctly.  Readers
are also expensive.  It seems that not using Braille creates
dependence, not independence.
  I learned from several partially blind college students in July
of 1986 that because they were not taught Braille, it is
difficult (if not impossible) to keep up with their sighted
peers.  A few had dropped out of college and moved to a
rehabilitation center to learn Braille, while others struggled
over the decision to interrupt their education and focus a part
of their life on gaining Braille skills.  All of them expressed
the wish that they had learned Braille as children so that they
would be better able to compete in school, and ultimately in the
job market.
  Betty Niceley (President of the National Association to Promote
the Use of Braille) says:  "I was partially blind until I was in
my early twenties, when I became totally blind.  As a child I
learned Braille as an alternative in addition to print.  I
believe if students learn Braille as children, it becomes second
nature to them.  Not teaching a partially blind student Braille
in addition to print is analogous to telling sighted students
that writing is inefficient and that from now on they will only
be allowed to type."
  Eileen Rivera further stated:  "As long as it is necessary for
itinerant teachers to drive, partially sighted students will be
encouraged to read print and discouraged from reading Braille. 
This theory is based on the fact that drivers (sighted people)
must read print.  It follows that print reading will be stressed
to their students.  If Braille is not the itinerant's main method
of receiving and disseminating information, he or she will not
likely become proficient in its use and, therefore, will tend to
discourage it."
  It is not difficult to understand why such attitudes exist.  If
the student uses Braille and if the teacher is not proficient in
its use, added effort on the part of the teacher is required.  At
least in the beginning stages the teacher must transcribe lessons
into Braille and work to assist the student in the interfacing of
Braille with print in the regular school program.
  The mother of a totally blind student in Oregon's Willamette
Valley told me that her son began learning Braille in
kindergarten.  She learned Braille when he started first grade so
that she could help him do his homework.  In the middle of the
year he was introduced to a computer, and in the summer he
received a computer for use in his classroom and another for use
at home.  Each computer is equipped with a speech synthesizer and
printer.  He now does all his work at home on the computer.  This
is easier for his school, his itinerant teacher, and his
mother--and his mother believes that the computer enables him to
compete with his peers on a more equal basis.
  But I am curious about the effect on a child that must rely
exclusively on a computer to communicate with the world.  He
can't put it in his pocket and take it with him, so his world
becomes quite limited.  Also, so far as I know, recreational
reading matter doesn't come out in computer format.  As a result,
he is limited in his exploration of the world.  And what happens
if the power goes out?  A benefit of Braille is that it doesn't
matter whether there is or is not power or technology.  The power
is generated by the user, and his ability to use Braille (like
the ability of the sighted to use print) can bring enjoyment,
knowledge, and convenience.
  Life would be easy if everything was black and white--but it
isn't.  Life is full of gray areas.  My son exists in the gray,
living between the sighted and the totally blind.  For me there
is no question that he is "blind" and will need to learn
alternative methods to enjoy life to its fullest.  It is a simple
fact that he will never drive a car and will have to rely on
public transportation.  His eyes wander due to a condition called
nystagmus.  His left eye protrudes and has an odd appearance. 
Consequently, there will always be people who will stare and make
comments.  He will have to develop methods of dealing positively
with society's prejudice and ignorance.  He will never be able to
apply for a job without a future employer's questioning his
abilities, and not just those that relate to his eyesight or the
job.  He will have to be better prepared than his sighted
competitor to get a job because of the stigmas attached to
blindness.
  For this reason alone I think it is imperative that he and all
other partially blind children be educated with every method of
learning available to them.  He needs to believe that it is
respectable to be blind and that Braille is not an admission of
inferiority or failure.  It is an alternative means of obtaining
and disseminating information--a technique equal to using print,
not better, not worse.  Braille could be the skill that will give
him the confidence to compete, keep up with his sighted and
totally blind peers, and lead an independent life.  Moreover, he
will have a useful tool if he should become totally blind and
need to rely on Braille exclusively.  As a parent I intend to do
my utmost to see that he learns Braille and that it is presented
to him in a positive manner.