Braille Literacy Links

My Little Introduction

Web sites about braille literacy

One is Fun - This is an online book about how, for some people, grade 1 braille is the way to go. There is also a section about braille for people with low vision.

The Braille Literacy Page - This page has lots of links to other sites about braille, although a few of the links are dead.

The World Under My Fingers - This book, published by the NFB, contains stories of blind and low vision people's experiences with braille.

THOUGHT PROVOKER: Literacy, Braille, Print - One of a series of THOUGH PROVOKERS, this one deals with the issue of print and braille literacy, with opinions from everyday blind and visually impaired people.

Braille Usage: Perspectives of Legally Blind Adults and Policy Implications for School Administrators - An NFB study on how legally blind people use braille, whether they were taught braille as a child, and whether they think there is a braille crisis.

The Slate and Stylus Information Center - This section of the Blindness/Visual Impairment section of About.com gives tips and tricks for teaching and using a slate and stylus to write braille.

DOTS for Braille Literacy - This is a newsletter published by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Copied NFB articles about braille literacy

Note: The following articles have been copied and pasted from issues of The Braille Monitor and Future Reflections, published by the NFB. I do not have copyright permission to reproduce them, but I could not link directly to them. If I am breaking any laws please let me know and I will remove them!

Why Not Braille - This article tells the story of a parent's struggle for her child to be taught braille, and points out that the "experts" don't always know what's best for a visually impaired child.

Braille and the Partially Sighted - The author discusses several arguments against teaching students with low vision braille, and then shows why she views these arguments as weak.

The Battle for Braille and Literacy - An article and letter about the decline in the number of visually impaired children taught braille, and what some organizations are doing to try to remedy this trend.

Seville Allen Talks About Braille - A short article about some of the consequences visually impaired students face if they do not know braille and cannot see print.

Braille: Pedagogy, Prejudice, and the Banner of Equality - Fred Schroeder discusses his experiences and observations about braille literacy among blind and low vision children, in a speech he made in Toronto, Canada.

What is the Chance for Braille? - Braille training for visually impaired students is often not available to them, even when people are willing and eager to teach, and the students are eager to learn.

Braille: A Touchy Issue -

Readers' Viewpoint: In Defense of Braille -

Conflicting Unprofessional Advice About Braille - A letter from a parent about whether her legally blind son should learn braille, and a response from one of the leaders of the NFB.

Of Literacy, Braille, and the Oddities of Semantics -

Why Braille? -

Literacy: The Key to Opportunity -

Braille: A Survival Skill for All Blind People - An article about the vital importance of braille to the success of blind and partially blind children.

Why Braille Literacy Bills? -

Diabetics, Don't Give Up On Braille - An article and testimony to the fact that diabetics, even those with severe complications, can still learn, and even become proficient in, braille reading.

The Everyday Usefulness of Braille - An article in which the author describes how she uses braille daily, and the overall usefulness of braille.

Fighting for the Right to Learn Braille: New York Federationists Enter the Ring -

Comments on CCTVs and Braille - Although CCTVs have their place for people with low vision, there is no substitute for braille in situations where a CCTV is impractical or impossible to use.

Braille Readers Deserve More -

The Value of Learning Braille as a Child -

Braille Standards for Teachers of the Blind and Visually Impaired - The parent of a blind child argues why braille standards are so important for teachers of blind and visually impaired students.

Braille Helps Girl Become Book Champion -

Can Braille Change the Future? -

Braille Literacy Legislation: Testimony From a Parent -

The Mountbatten Brailler and Braille Literacy -

A Powerful Testimony for Braille -

Print or Braille? I Use Both! -

A Reader Comments on Braille -

Building Braille Reading Speed: Some HelpfulSuggestions -

Braille: A Renaisance -

Parent's Guide to the Slate and Stylus -

From Taking Notes to Taking Out the Trash -

When Mom Learns Braille -

Why Parents Should Learn Braille -

Braille Worldwide -

The Case for Braille -

Literacy, Learning and Louis Braille -

Is It Too Late To Rescue Braille Literacy? -

Direct links to articles about braille literacy

Technology Replacing Braille -

Braille Reading Speed Are You Willing To Do What It Takes? -

Reflections of a Braille Student -

Garden of Knowledge, Garden of Beauty -

101 Ways to Use Braille -

The Vitality of Braille -

Young Braille Readers and Their Friends Take Note -

The Impact of Braille Reading Skills on Employment, Income, Education, and Reading Habits -

The Importance of Braille Literacy -

The Great Debate: Braille or Print? -

Braille and Beyond: Braille Literacy in a Larger Context -

The Braille Literacy Crisis for Children -

Report on a Review of Textbooks to Teach Braille to Blind Adults -

Tactile Acuity, Aging, and Braille Reading in Long-Term Blindness -

Teachers' Voices: Comments on Braille and Literacy from the Field -

Weaving the Cloth of Literacy: The Relationship Between Braille and Reading -

When a Child Resists Braille -

New Research Study: Early Braille education vital in establishing lifelong literacy -

Braille Opens World for Mentally Impaired Child

Braille Literacy in America: A Student's View -

Slate And Stylus Saves The Day (And Maybe The Job) -

An All Too Familiar Story -

From Bad Philosophy to Bad Policy: The American Braille Illiteracy Crisis

More About Braille Remote Learning -

Braille Contractions: Are They Really So Hard? -