I found this article in the Sprint, 1992 issue of Future Reflections, 
published by the National Federation of the Blind. You can view the 
entire issue by going to http://www.nfb.org/fr/fr1/92spr.htm.

COMMENTS ON CCTV'S AND BRAILLE
                      by Mary Ellen Gabias
     Editor's Note: The following comments were lifted from a
letter Mrs. Gabias had written about the usefulness of a CCTV
(closed circuit television--a powerful magnification device) for
a
particular partially sighted student. I have edited and published
her sensible, thought-provoking comments because they are
especially relevant to blind students who use, or are considering
using, CCTVs. Mrs. Gabias, a blind woman, is a long time leader
in
the National Federation of the Blind and an expert on employment
of
the blind (she is the former Assistant Director of Job
Opportunties
for the Blind). 
     There are several companies which provide closed circuit
televisions for enlarging print on a page.  The cheapest I have
seen is approximately one thousand dollars.  It's easy to spend
five thousand dollars or more on a complex system.
     If a student is thinking about using a closed circuit
television system to read print, she should test equipment in
situations like those she is encountering in school.  Sometimes
the
system will work very well under controlled showroom conditions. 
The same equipment may be of little or no practical value when it
is taken home. It is usually helpful for someone considering the
purchase of equipment to get a thorough low vision evaluation
from
an optometrist or ophthalmologist who is skilled in helping people
find visual aids.
     Magnifiers, telescopes, prisms, closed circuit televisions,
and other visual aids can sometimes help.  It can also do a great
deal of damage.  I am not suggesting that a person's eyesight
will
get worse if it's used.  I am talking about a much more subtle,
and
in the long run more destructive, type of damage.
     Most people use their eyesight to do a wide variety of
things. 
Usually there are alternative techniques which can be used
instead
of eyesight and which work equally well.  Someone who has ten
percent or less of normal vision (the generally accepted
definition
of legal blindness) can take two general approaches to solving
the
problem blindness creates. 
     The most tempting approach is to try to maximize remaining
vision.  The second is to develop alternative techniques to
replace
vision in situations where it is inadequate.  The first approach
concentrates on overcoming a deficit.  The second approach builds
up strengths.  I believe the second approach, that of developing
alternatives to vision is psychologically healthier and is more
likely to succeed on a practical level. 
     Let's look at an analogy.  Suppose there is a young man who
is
an excellent student.  He has great skill in math, English, and
languages.  However, he is a disaster on the football field. For
one thing, he is very small.  For another, he is not terribly
coordinated.  What should the young man do?  Should he build up
his
muscles and try to become a great football player, even though
his
size will keep him off most college or professional teams?  Or,
should he play football for the fun of it and concentrate instead
on building up his academic skills so that he can become a
college
professor some day?  You probably are saying that he ought to go
with his strengths.  That doesn't mean you think he should sit
around without exercising and become flabby and unhealthy.  It
simply means that you think he ought to plan a strategy that has
some hope of success.  After all, it is just as respectable to be
a college professor as a football player.  I think it's that way
with blindness, too. 
     Blind people who have some remaining sight should not ignore
it or pretend that it doesn't exist.  On the other hand, they
should not spend so much time working on stimulating their
remaining vision that they neglect to develop the skills of
blindness that will have more practical value in the long run. 
After all, it's as respectable to be blind as it is to be
sighted.
     I hope the parents of the little girl you mentioned will
seriously consider teaching her Braille.  There will simply be
situations where a closed circuit television isn't practical. 
When
she grows up and attends a meeting, how will she take notes?  If
she takes them in print, but can't read them back until she gets
home to her closed circuit television set, how will she refer to
the notes she's taken?  What about giving a speech?  She can't take
her television set to the podium with her.  Even if she could,
she
would lose the value of having eye contact with her audience. 
     Braille could solve these and a number of other problems for
her.  It is also faster, less tiring, and more pleasant than a
television screen.  Someone who is blind and has not learned
Braille is forced to rely on print for everything from writing
recipes to keeping phone numbers.  That often leads to increased
eye strain and headaches.  It also means that the blind person
has
no maneuvering room if there is a change in vision. Even for eye
conditions which are stable, visual efficiency decreases with
age. 
It gets harder to use limited vision as time goes by.  As a
result,
many people gradually decrease the amount of reading they do as
they get older.  They get out of the habit.  Reading becomes a
chore, not a pleasure. With Braille, the partially sighted
student
can enjoy reading and still use the CCTV or other magnification
aids for specific visual tasks.