BRAILLE

Braille was first developed in the 1820's by Louis Braille who was a yound French student. He modified a system of writing originally developed for use by soldiers on the field of battle at night and was therefore called “night writing.”

Braille is a system of raised dots and is comprised of signs formed by the use of all the possible combinations of six dots arranged in a Braille cell.

Each dot within the cell has a number. The dots are numbered 1,2,3, from top to bottom on the left; and 4,5,6, from top to bottom on the right. The letter or symbol that is formed depends on how many dots are used and their respective position within the Braille cell. For example, a is dot 1 (the top left dot); b is dots 1 and 2 (the top and middle left dots). The diagram shows the dot patterns for the rest of the alphabet. In learning Braille it is important to learn the dot patterns by number as in the previous example.

In contrast to printed letters, there are not different symbols for capital letters in Braille. The same symbols are used but are preceded by a capital sign which is dot 6. The numbers are the same as the first ten letters of the alphabet, except that they are preceded by a number sign which is dots 3,4,5,6.

The alphabet, the numbers, and punctuation signs make up what is commonly known as Grade One Braille. Grade Two Braille is a contracted form of Braille, which is sometimes compared to shorthand. Contracted Braille is used to speed up reading and writing and to save space.

Braille is written on heavy paper so that it will hold the shape of the dots longer and won't be as likely to be mashed. Braille is written in two different ways. Using a slate and stylus compares to writing print with a pen or pencil. A slate is made of metal or plastic and is hinged so that it can be clamped shut over the paper. The slate serves as a guide for the stylus which is used to punch the dots into the paper. With a slate and stylus you write from right to left since the dots are being produced on the underside of the paper. In order to read. You take the paper out of the slate and turn it over. You will be reading from left to right, just as print is read.

Braille is also written with a Braille writer, which is comparable to a typewriter, except that it has only six keys (representing the six dots in the Braille cell) and a space bar. Unlike a typewriter, all six keys may be pushed at once. Pushing the various combinations of the keys forms the various letters of the alphabet and other Braille symbols.

Braille means literacy for blind people. It is very important for all of us to have a way to gather information, to be able to write it down and retrieve it again later. It is extremely important for blind children to grow up with a means of reading and writing that is going to be useful to them all of their lives. Some "legally" blind children are not taught Braille because they can see some large print. But what happens to them when they get to college and you can't get books in large print and can't possibly read the volume of material that is assigned?

The deaf-blind are another group for which Braille is extremely important. Braille may be their only means of gathering information about what is going on in the world around them.

If you are losing sight, even if you are a senior citixen, you may want seriously to consider learning enough Braille to take notes to yourself. Or you may want to learn Braille for more fun things like playing cards or games. If you would like to learn Braille, but you can't find anyone to help you, please call us.

Updated February 13, 2002