The Braille Literacy Crisis

in America

Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind

A Report to the Nation by the National Federation of the Blind

Jernigan Institute
March 26, 2009
The Braille Literacy Crisis in America
Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind

Executive Summary

A good education is the key to success, and every it, and proposes a number of action steps to double
American deserves an equal opportunity to receive the Braille literacy rate by 2015 and eventually
a good education. Inherent to being educated reverse it altogether.
is being literate. The ability to read and write
means access to information that, in turn, leads to
understanding and knowledge. And knowledge is
power—the power to achieve, function in the family, Key Report Findings:
thrive in the community, succeed in a job, and
contribute to society. I. Facing the Truth

Nearly 90 percent of America’s blind children are • Fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million
not learning to read and write because they are not people who are legally blind in the United
being taught Braille or given access to it. There is a States are Braille readers. Further, a mere 10
Braille literacy crisis in America. percent of blind children are learning it.

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the • Each year as many as 75,000 people lose
largest and most influential membership organiza- all or part of their vision. As the baby-boom
tion of blind people in the United States, is taking generation moves into retirement age and
swift action to reverse this trend. This year, 2009, as diabetes (the nation's leading cause of
marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis blindness) approaches epidemic proportions,
Braille, inventor of the system that allows blind the NFB expects this number to increase
people to read and write independently. Coinciding dramatically and, if nothing is done, the Braille
with this anniversary, the NFB has announced illiteracy rate as well.
specific action to address the education of
• The current effects of this crisis are dire. Over
America’s blind children so that every blind child
70 percent of blind adults are unemployed,
who has a need for Braille will have the opportunity
and as many as 50 percent of blind high
to learn it.
school students drop out of high school.
In this report to the nation on the state of Braille
Factors contributing to this low literacy among
literacy in America, the NFB examines the history
the blind include:
and decline of Braille education, addresses the
crisis facing the blind today and key factors driving

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 ♦ The Teacher Crisis. There is a shortage of II. Reversing the Trend
teachers who are qualified to teach Braille.
In 2003 there were approximately 6,700 Undoubtedly the ability to read and write Braille
fulltime teachers of blind students serving competently and efficiently is the key to success
about 93,600 students. In that same year the for the blind. The National Federation of the Blind
number of new professionals graduating from Jernigan Institute is committed to reversing this
university programs to work with blind or low- downward trend in Braille literacy in order to ensure
vision students fluctuated between 375 and that equal opportunities in education and employ-
416 per year. In addition there is no national ment are available to all of the nation’s blind.
consensus on what it means to be certified to
teach Braille, and states have a patchwork of Braille literacy can be accomplished by:
requirements for certification. • Increasing access to Braille instruction and
♦ The Spiral of Misunderstanding. There reading materials in every community
are many misconceptions about the Braille nationwide.
system. For example, “Braille isolates and • Expanding Braille mentoring, reading-
stigmatizes students from peers who read readiness, and outreach programs.
print,” or “Braille is always slower than reading
print and difficult to learn.” Yet studies have • Requiring national certification in literary
found that Braille is an efficient and effective Braille among all special education teachers.
reading medium with students demonstrating By 2015 all fifty states must enact legislation
a reading speed exceeding 200 words per requiring special education teachers of blind
minute. children to obtain and maintain the National
Certification in Literary Braille.
♦ Blind Children with Low Vision Are Deprived
of Braille Instruction. Parents often find them- • Requiring all Braille teachers to pass the
selves battling with school administrators to National Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB)
get Braille instruction for their children with in order to assure their competency and
low vision because of the historical emphasis fluency in the literary code.
on teaching these children to read print.
Many students with residual vision cannot • Advancing the use of Braille in current and
read print efficiently even with magnification. emerging technologies.
Children with some residual vision account for
around 85 percent of the total population of • Researching new methods of teaching and
blind children. learning Braille.

♦ The Paradox of Technology. Eighty-nine • Making Braille resources more available

percent of teachers of blind students agree through online sharing of materials, enhanced
that technology should be used as a supple- production methods, and improved
ment to Braille rather than as a replacement. distribution.
Advances in technology have made Braille
more available than ever before. Computer • Educating the American public that blind
software can translate any document into people have a right to Braille literacy so they
literary, contracted Braille quickly and accu- can compete and assume a productive role
rately. Further, hundreds of thousands of in society.
Braille books are available from Internet-
based services.

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III. Empowering the Blind and minds of blind people, no alternative system
or new technology has ever replaced Braille. For
Blind people who know Braille and use it find this reason the National Federation of the Blind
success, independence, and productivity. A recent is launching a national Braille literacy campaign
survey of 500 respondents by the National Federa- to enhance the future prospects for blind chil-
tion of the Blind Jernigan Institute revealed a dren and adults in this country and to help make
correlation between the ability to read Braille and Braille literacy a reality for the 90 percent of blind
a higher educational level, a higher likelihood of children for whom reading is a struggle, if not an
employment, and a higher income. impossibility.
Hundreds of thousands of blind people have found The future of sighted children depends on a proper
Braille to be an indispensable tool in their educa- education; the future of America’s blind children is
tion, their work, and their daily lives. In the hearts no different.

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4
The Braille Literacy Crisis in America
Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind
A Report to the Nation by the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute

Introduction is further evidenced by hundreds of published

accounts from blind people themselves. The
Unquestionably a good education is the key to archives of the monthly publication of the National
success. In national polls Americans routinely Federation of the Blind, the Braille Monitor, are full
identified this issue as an important national of personal stories detailing the problems blind
priority (Blackorby, 2004). Education is generally people experience when they are not taught Braille
understood to encompass literacy, defined as “the at an early age. When educators and parents insist
ability to read and write” (Concise Oxford Dictionary, that children who are blind or have low vision read
2009). According to the National Institute for print to the exclusion of reading Braille, the ultimate
Literacy, literacy is “an individual’s ability to read, result is that many of them are functionally illiterate.
write, speak in English, compute and solve prob-
lems at levels of proficiency necessary to function Braille has been controversial since its invention.
on the job, in the family of the individual, and in At the time Louis Braille developed the system,
society” (http://www.nifl.gov/). Schools not doing a most of those who were attempting to educate the
good job of teaching children to read and write are blind were not blind themselves but sighted people
correctly seen as failing schools. Yet, for thousands with altruistic impulses (Lorimer, 2000; Mellor,
of children across the United States, it is considered 2006). They believed that the blind should be
acceptable to fail to teach them to read and write. taught to read print rather than using a separate
These children are blind, and they are not learning system. Many educators still believe this today,
to read and write because they are not being taught arguing that Braille is slow and hard to learn and
Braille. that it isolates blind children from their peers.
These arguments and their mistaken assumptions
Despite its versatility and elegance, and notwith- will be addressed in detail in the following pages.
standing the fact that it is the official system of
reading and writing for the blind in the United Beliefs among educators about Braille are only one
States, Braille is not being taught to most blind reason, albeit a very significant one, that Braille
children or to adults who lose their vision. This has literacy has declined in the United States to the
led to a literacy crisis among blind people. Many point where it is estimated that only 10 percent of
commentators on the Braille literacy crisis agree blind children are learning it. Other factors include
that one of the most significant contributing factors a shortage of teachers qualified to give Braille
is a negative societal attitude toward Braille (Ricco- instruction, the need for improved methods of
bono, 2006; Hehir, 2002). The bias against Braille producing and distributing Braille, and not enough

5
certified Braille transcribers (Spungin, 1989, Braille cell
2003). All of these issues must be addressed if
the downward trend in literacy among the blind is to
be reversed. And it must be reversed, for to fail to
reverse it is to condemn blind children and adults
to illiteracy and to a permanent struggle to keep
up with their sighted peers in getting an educa- Braille alphabet
tion. By contrast, reversing the downward trend in
Braille literacy will ensure that current and future
generations of blind children, as well as adults who
lose their vision, have access to knowledge and the
power and opportunity that it represents.

This report discusses Braille’s history and effective-

ness, the reasons for the crisis in Braille literacy,
and what the National Federation of the Blind is
doing to address this crisis. It is a call to action for
all who are concerned about the welfare of Ameri-
ca’s blind children to join with the National Federa-
tion of the Blind in our effort to ensure that every
blind child and adult who has a need for Braille will
have the opportunity to learn it.

A Brief History of Braille

Braille is a system of raised dots that allows blind
people to read and write tactilely. Named for its
inventor, Louis Jean-Philippe Braille (1809-1852),
the Braille code is the universally accepted method
of reading and writing for the blind. It is the
only system that allows blind people to read and
write independently and to do both interactively.
Because of its effectiveness, Braille has been
adapted for almost every written language. Other
Braille codes represent mathematical and scientific
notation and music. Even blind computer program-
mers have a Braille code, computer Braille. All of
these codes are based on Louis Braille’s original For most of human history no method existed
system, a cell consisting of six dots in parallel allowing blind people to read and write indepen-
vertical columns of three each. The Braille code dently. Some blind people did learn to read print in
was first introduced into the United States in 1869 a tactile form, but usually they had no way to write
but was not adopted until 1932 as the Standard tactilely; even if they learned to reproduce print
English Grade Two Braille code. characters accurately, they could not read what they
had written. In addition, the difficulty and expense
of producing books with embossed print lettering
made such books rare. As a result most blind
people were condemned to illiteracy, along with the

6
poverty and deprivation accompanying it. If they Braille’s fellow students adopted his new system
earned a living at all, they did so as storytellers or immediately. Not only could they now read books,
musicians or through certain kinds of manual labor, which were hand transcribed by Braille and his
including basketry and massage. friends, but they could take their own notes in class
and read them back later rather than learning exclu-
This was the state of affairs when Louis Jean- sively by listening and memorizing. The instructors
Philippe Braille was born in the small village of at the school were skeptical, however, and some
Coupvray, France, just outside Paris, in 1809. At
the age of three Braille was blinded in an acci-
dent, probably resulting from playing with tools in Only about 10 percent of blind children
his father’s harness-making shop (Lorimer, 1996, in the United States are currently learning
2000; Mellor, 2006). Braille’s family was not
wealthy, but his parents were literate and deter-
Braille. Society would never accept a 10
mined that their son would obtain an education. percent literacy rate among sighted children;
When it became clear that the local school could it should not accept such an outrageously
no longer meet Braille’s needs (though he had low literacy rate among the blind.
progressed astonishingly far given that he could
not read and write), a local nobleman put up the
funds for him to attend the Royal Institute for the of the administrators were actually hostile. The
Young Blind in Paris, the world’s first school for school was a political showpiece and made money
blind children (Mellor, 2006; Lorimer, 1996). At this from selling crafts produced by its blind students; if
school Braille found a limited number of books with the blind became too independent, its prestige and
embossed print letters and quickly read all of them. revenue might be reduced (Mellor, 2006). At one
point the school’s director burned all of the books
In 1821 a French army captain, Charles Barbier de that Louis Braille and his friends had transcribed
la Serre, came to the school to show the students by hand and confiscated the students’ slates and
an invention that he thought might be of use to styluses. The result was an open rebellion among
them. Barbier had developed a system called students, who began to steal forks from the dining
“night writing” consisting of raised dots punched room to replace their lost writing implements. This
into cardboard with a stylus. A metal frame, or early struggle for the acceptance of the Braille
slate, was used to guide the stylus in the proper system would be only the first of many battles
placement of the dots. This system was invented pitting blind people against those who professed
as a way for soldiers to transmit messages in the to know what was best for them. These struggles
dark without striking a match, which would give continue to this day.
away their position to enemy gunners. While Braille
recognized the system’s potential, he believed that Despite these setbacks the Braille system was
it could be improved. In particular he thought that eventually adopted by the Royal Institute for the
the dot formations should represent alphanumeric Young Blind, and two years after Braille’s death it
characters instead of sounds (Barbier’s system was became the official system of reading and writing
also called sonography because the symbols repre- for the blind in France. To this day Louis Braille is
sented the sounds of speech rather than letters). considered a national hero in his native country;
He also thought that the number of dots making his body is interred in the Pantheon in Paris. The
up each character should be reduced so that they Braille code was later adopted in England because
could be read with a fingertip rather than having to of advocacy by the founders of what is now the
be traced. Braille worked on improving the system Royal National Institute of Blind People, and other
for several years. By the age of twenty he had blind people and educational institutions for the
developed the six-dot Braille cell that is used today blind began to use it. Helen Keller reported using
and had published a booklet on the method. the system. Rosalind Perlman (2007), in her
book The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story,
reports that the first physician to have been born
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blind, practicing in Chicago during the early part that allows blind people to operate at a high degree
of the twentieth century, learned Braille at the of proficiency when performing a multitude of func-
Illinois School for the Blind and used it for notes tional tasks (Eldridge, 1979, Waechtler, 1999). But
in medical school and throughout his subsequent rather than seeing Braille as a tool that every blind
career. Braille was adopted as the exclusive means child should have in his or her toolkit for dealing
of teaching blind people to read and write in the effectively with vision loss, to be used in conjunc-
United States in 1932. At the height of its use in tion with and not to the exclusion of techniques that
the United States, it is estimated that 50 to 60 rely on the child’s remaining vision, some educators
percent of blind children learned to read and write insist that a choice must be made between print
in Braille. and Braille and that only one reading medium must
be used (Federman, 2005). These disagreements
translate in the field into disputes among profes-
sionals in planning meetings researching how to
The Decline of Braille Literacy deal with individual children. Parents caught in
the middle of these disputes and often themselves
The decline in the number of Braille readers since confused about the best course of action find that
1963 (Miller, 2002) has been widely discussed by they and their children become the real victims in
professionals and censured by consumer groups these academic battles.
(Rex, 1989; Schroeder, 1989; Stephens, 1989).
Although there is no consensus on the causes of
this decline, a number of factors have been cited.
Among them are disputes on the utility of the Braille The Crisis Facing the Blind Today
code (Thurlow, 1988), the decline in teachers’
knowledge of Braille and methods for teaching it The American Foundation for the Blind (1996) has
(Schroeder, 1989; Stephens, 1989), negative atti- estimated that fewer than 10 percent of people
tudes toward Braille (Holbrook and Koenig, 1992; who are legally blind in the United States and
Rex, 1989), greater reliance on speech output and fewer than 40 percent of the estimated number
print-magnification technology, and a rise in the who are functionally blind are Braille readers. The
number of blind children with additional disabili- American Printing House for the Blind estimates the
ties who are nonreaders (Rex, 1989). The greatest Braille literacy rate among children to be around
controversy over whether to teach a child Braille 10 percent. Experts estimate 1.3 million blind
arises when a child has some residual vision; such people live in the United States, and approximately
children account for around 85 percent of the total 75,000 people lose all or part of their vision each
population of blind children (Holbrook and Koenig, year. These numbers may increase dramatically as
1992). the baby-boom generation reaches retirement age.
Macular degeneration, the most common form of
Pressure from consumers and advocacy groups has blindness in older Americans, is likely to increase
led thirty-three states to pass legislation mandating as this population increases, particularly since
that children who are legally blind be given the Americans are living longer. The nation’s leading
opportunity to learn Braille. The Individuals with cause of blindness, diabetes, has reached epidemic
Disabilities Education Act also mandates that the proportions in this country, so a higher incidence of
teams who help to write educational plans for blindness can be expected.
students with disabilities presume that all blind
children should be taught Braille unless it is deter-
mined to be inappropriate. But these laws have
not ended the controversy. Whereas professional The Teacher Crisis
groups have called for a renewed emphasis on
teaching Braille (Mullen, 1990), others have opined U.S. education faces a chronic shortage of teachers
that Braille is only one educational option. Braille qualified to teach Braille. In 2003 there were
should be viewed as one tool among many, a tool approximately 6,700 fulltime teachers of blind

8
students serving approximately 93,600 students to earn an endorsement. These standards specify
(Spungin, 2003). Far too few teachers of blind that the teacher has taken at least one course in
children have graduated from accredited programs; Braille, but give no guarantee that the individual
a 2000 report observed that the total number is actually competent in Braille or is able to teach
of new professionals graduating from university it (Frieman, 2004). Teachers who are uncomfort-
programs to work with students who are blind or able with Braille are likely to be reluctant to teach
have low vision fluctuated between 375 and 416 it, especially when they can get by without doing so
per year during the previous seven years (Mason, et for students who have low vision but can read some
al., 2000). Not all of these teachers are qualified print.
to teach Braille. Many teachers who are consid-
ered qualified to teach Braille have not neces- To act in the best interests of blind children and
sarily learned it themselves. There is no national adults, schools must require that every child who
consensus on what it means to be certified to teach is blind will have the right to be taught Braille and
Braille, and states have a patchwork of require- that Braille be taught by someone who is competent
ments for certification. Local school districts in its use. This is not what is currently happening
depend upon state education agencies to set the in schools (Vaughn, 1997). Today there is no
certification standards for teachers. All states have guarantee that a teacher, even one with formal
specific certification standards for those who teach credentials, will be fluent in Braille. In order to
children who are blind or have low vision; however, assure Braille fluency, teachers of blind children
these standards vary across the country (Vaughn, must be tested on their actual Braille skills by way
1997). of a comprehensive and validated test. States
should require Braille teachers to pass the National
States license or certify candidates who want to Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB) in order to
teach children who are blind or have low vision in assure competency and fluency in the literary code.
three ways: requiring the candidate to graduate Passing the NCLB examination will not in itself
from an approved bachelor’s or master’s program ensure effective Braille teaching, but it will provide
from an approved college or university, requiring a measure of how well a person knows and uses
the candidate to have a generic degree in special Braille.
education, or requiring the candidate to have an
endorsement to an existing certificate in early
childhood, elementary, secondary, or special educa-
There is a chronic shortage of teachers who
tion, with certain courses needed to gain that
endorsement (Frieman, 2004). In order to approve are qualified to teach Braille. It was reported
a program, the National Council for the Accredita- in 2003 that there were approximately 6,700
tion of Teacher Education requires performance- fulltime teachers of blind students serving
based criteria. The Council for Exceptional Children approximately 93,600 students.
has developed performance-based standards
for programs to train teachers of students who
have a visual impairment. If a candidate gradu-
ates from an approved program that follows the Even assuming a teacher is competent in Braille,
Council for Exceptional Children’s standards, an the size of the teacher’s case load will often influ-
administrator can predict that the teaching candi- ence how well his or her students learn Braille. An
date will have the necessary background to teach itinerant teacher is essentially a consultant who
Braille. However, only nineteen states require is responsible for meeting the needs of several
candidates to have graduated from an approved students. Teachers of blind students often must
program. Seven states require that candidates travel within or even between school districts each
have only a generic degree in special education with week to help a number of students. They are typi-
no specific mention of Braille. Twenty-four states cally expected to teach sixteen or more students
require candidates to have taken courses in order who are widely spread over large geographic areas

9
(Caton, 1991). As a result many students are have residual vision cannot read print efficiently
trained in Braille for only two to three hours a even with magnification; attempting to read print
week, and some even less than that. results in eye strain, headaches, and other prob-
lems. Furthermore, many degenerative eye condi-
Teachers of blind students must often teach a tions are progressive, meaning that the student’s
number of skills, including cane travel and the vision will continue to decrease over time, making
use of technology such as a computer with text- print harder and harder to read. Students with low
to-speech screen access software, and there vision are particularly at risk for not receiving appro-
is evidence that Braille instruction is not priori- priate instruction in Braille. These students tend
to receive less direct service from teachers of blind
students and are surrounded with more emphasis
Experts estimate that 1.3 million on “vision” over nonvisual skills and learning tech-
blind people live in the United States, and niques. Additionally, if Braille is not introduced
approximately 75,000 people lose all or early, student motivation to accept Braille will
greatly decrease due to frustration in learning
part of their vision each year. Braille, emotional issues with looking and acting
different from one’s peers, and issues involving
emotional acceptance of additional vision loss. It
tized. According to one survey respondents spent is important for educators to give these students
an average of 35 percent of their instructional appropriate instruction based on their needs in the
time using assistive technology with students in long term rather than simply considering only their
grades 7-10 (Thurlow, et al., 2001). The primary most immediate needs.
goals most often cited for instructional time were
“become a proficient user of assistive technology” Parents often find themselves battling with school
(42 percent) and “read using a combination of administrators to get Braille instruction for their
approaches” (30 percent), with “become fluent children with low vision. The Colton family of Park
Braille reader” (18 percent) selected less often. City, Utah, took out a second mortgage on their
Respondents spent an average of 27 percent of home in order to hire lawyers for litigation against
reading instruction time on direct instruction of how the school district to get Braille instruction for their
to use assistive technologies to assist in reading, daughter Katie, who has a progressive eye disease
19 percent of time in supported reading aloud, (Lyon, 2009). “We’d had to argue a wait-to-fail
and only 9 percent of time in direct instruction of model is not appropriate for a progressive disorder,”
phonemic strategies (Braille or print). Furthermore, her mother was quoted as saying in the Salt Lake
anecdotal evidence suggests that a teacher of blind Tribune.
students spends more time tutoring than teaching
blindness skills (Amato, 2002). The Jacobs family was told that their blind daughter
could read print if the font was 72 point or higher,
so there was no need for Braille (Jacobs, 2009).
Needless to say, the child will never have access to
The Spiral of Misunderstanding print that large in the real world, except perhaps on
billboards. The school system justified having the
Attitudes about Braille, which are often based on child read print by claiming that she was “resistant
myths and misconceptions about the system, are to Braille.” But a school district would never refuse
also a barrier to proper Braille instruction. One of to teach a sighted child to read because he or she
the major reasons for the increasing illiteracy of was “resistant” to reading. Furthermore, resistance
the blind and those with low vision is the historical to Braille is often a product of the way it is taught; if
emphasis on teaching children with residual vision Braille is presented to a blind child as different and
to read print (Spungin, 1996). Most blind chil- hard, rather than the positive way in which reading
dren have some residual vision; they are legally is presented to sighted children, then the child will
blind but not totally blind. But many students who
10
naturally absorb the expectations of the adults do receive effective Braille instruction and use the
doing the teaching (Craig, 1996; Stratton, 1999). code effectively gain a sense of hope and empow-
erment. Dr. Fredric Schroeder (1996) commented
The experiences of the Colton and Jacobs families that Braille literacy “should be viewed more expan-
are not uncommon; they are merely examples of sively than simply as a literacy issue.” Schroeder’s
the experiences of hundreds of families across the analysis of interviews with legally blind adults
United States. On the other hand, the experiences “found that issues of self-esteem, self-identity, and
of parents of blind children who have successfully the ‘stigma’ of being a person with a disability were
introduced their young readers to Braille and fought integrally intertwined with the subjects’ reported
for inclusion of the system in the child’s education feelings about using Braille…For some, Braille
suggest that, when Braille is simply presented as seems to represent competence, independence,
reading and reading becomes fun for the family, and equality, so the mastery and use of Braille
children readily absorb the system. played a central role in the development of their
self-identities as persons who are capable, compe-
Others argue that Braille isolates and stigmatizes tent, independent, and equal.”
students from peers who read print. This has never
been backed by any kind of research; it is without Schroeder’s work connects to other valuable
foundation. Blind children will always have to work in self-efficacy and demonstrates that blind
use alternative technologies or methods to read, people who learn to value and use Braille gener-
ranging from holding a book close to their face to ally have a higher degree of confidence and do not
using a magnification device or putting on head- spend energy attempting to reshape themselves
phones to listen to recorded text. Their peers notice as “normal” individuals. Schroeder’s work is
these differences as surely as they notice that the reinforced by more recent investigations by Wells-
child reads Braille instead of print, but they do not Jensen (2003) and through the published first-hand
necessarily treat the child differently because of experiences of hundreds of blind individuals—some
reading differences. who did and others who did not receive appropriate
instruction in Braille in childhood.
Ultimately, all of these mistaken beliefs about
Braille come down to low expectations of blind Another misconception about Braille that has
students. Whether they will admit it or not, many of contributed to the decline in Braille literacy is the
the sighted educators and administrators charged idea that reading Braille is always slower than
with providing instruction to blind students do not reading print and that Braille is difficult to learn.
believe in the capacity of their students or in the While some studies suggest that Braille is slower
effectiveness of Braille and other alternative tech- than print and difficult to learn because of its 189
niques used by blind people to live successful, English contractions—symbols and letter combi-
productive lives. As one commentator has put it: “A nations that reduce the size of Braille books by
little honest reflection about this situation (decline making it possible to put more Braille on a page
in Braille literacy) suggests that the real culprit here instead of spelling each word out letter-by-letter—
is the inadequate and inappropriate education of research in this area is unreliable since studies
the special education teachers who are not compe- tend to be anecdotal. Other studies have found that
tent or confident themselves in using Braille and Braille is an efficient and effective reading medium
who also believe that their students should not be (Foulke, 1979; Wormsley, 1996). Furthermore, the
expected to compete successfully in school or in experience of Braille instructors shows that reading
life” (Ianuzzi, 1999). speed exceeding 200 words per minute is possible
when students have learned Braille at an early age
Blind students who are not properly taught Braille (Danielsen, 2006).
and other blindness skills and who therefore
struggle with literacy ultimately experience low self-
confidence and a lack of belief in their own ability to
live happy, productive lives. By contrast, those who

11
The Paradox of Technology available, and this is one of the goals of the Braille
Readers are Leaders campaign of the National
It is often said that technology obviates the need Federation of the Blind. Assuming a commitment to
for Braille. The availability of text-to-speech tech- Braille instruction and Braille literacy is renewed in
nology and audio texts, for example, is advanced as America and proper steps are taken to ensure the
an argument against the use of Braille. But literacy production and distribution of more Braille mate-
is the ability to read and write. While using speech rials, there will be no need to avoid teaching Braille
output and recorded books is a way for students to because of a shortage of books.
gain information, it does not teach them reading
and writing skills. Students who rely solely on
listening as a means of learning find themselves
deficient in areas like spelling and composition. The Truth about Braille
Most teachers of blind students (89.4 percent
[Wittenstein and Pardee, 1996]) agree that tech- The crisis in Braille literacy is real. Thousands of
nology should be used as a supplement to Braille blind children and adults who need adjustment to
rather than as a replacement, even though as cited blindness training are being denied access to the
above, many of them spend more instructional time most effective means of reading and writing for
working with technology than teaching Braille. No the blind ever invented. The effects of this crisis
one would seriously suggest that alternate sources can be seen in the high unemployment rate (over
of information, like television and radio, replace the 70 percent) among blind adults, the high dropout
need for a sighted child to learn to read; the same rate (40 to 50 percent) among blind high school
should be true for Braille. students, and the lives of dependence and minimal
subsistence that many blind people lead. By
contrast, blind people who know the Braille code
and use it regularly find success, independence,
Many teachers who are considered qualified to and productivity.
teach Braille have not learned it themselves.
A recent survey of five hundred respondents by the
National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute,
For the sighted technology has not replaced print; conducted on a national random sample selected
it has in fact simplified and enhanced access to from a list of 10,000 people who had had contact
the printed word. The same is true with respect with the NFB within the last two years, demon-
to Braille; advances in technology have made strated that contact with the NFB increases the
Braille more available than it ever was in the past. likelihood of knowing Braille. Unlike the general
Computer software can translate any document into sample of blind individuals, where the AFB esti-
literary, contracted Braille quickly and accurately, mates that only 10 percent read Braille, more
although work still needs to be done to make other than half (59 percent) of those interviewed in the
Braille codes machine-translatable. Braille displays NFB Jernigan Institute study are Braille literate.
and embossers can be attached to computers to This is probably due to the Federation’s emphasis
generate Braille documents on the fly. Thousands on Braille literacy; those who have had contact
of Braille books are available from Internet-based with the National Federation of the Blind tend to
services like the Web-Braille service offered by the believe strongly in the efficacy of Braille and to be
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically committed to learning and reading it. In this sample
Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS) and the ability to read Braille was also correlated with
the online community Bookshare.org. While scar- a higher educational level, a higher likelihood of
city of Braille is still a problem, it is not nearly as employment, and a higher income level. These rela-
bad as it has been in the past. Certainly improve- tionships were statistically significant.
ments can still be made in Braille production
Most disciplines accept that the primary indicators
methods and technology so that more Braille will be
of socioeconomic status in this society are employ-

12
ment and education leading to self-sufficiency. Dr. Ryles’s research on the education and employ-
A study by Dr. Ruby Ryles, now the director of the ment outcomes for Braille readers, combined with
orientation and mobility master’s program at the the difference in confidence, self-efficacy, and
Professional Development and Research Institute reported independence of Braille readers, suggests
on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University, began that Braille is extremely valuable for those blind
to provide the objective information needed on the people who learn and use Braille in their lives. The
question of Braille versus print. In a comparison results of this study suggest that teaching Braille
between two groups of blind people, one consisting as an original primary reading medium to children
of Braille readers and the other of print readers, the with low vision may encourage them to develop the
study revealed that those who were taught Braille positive lifelong habit of reading as adults, enhance
from the beginning had higher employment rates, their later employment opportunities, and increase
were better educated and more financially self-suffi- the possibility of financial independence.
cient, and spent more time engaged in leisure and
other reading than the print users (Ryles, 1996).

Dr. Ryles’s work showed a striking difference The Future Is in Our Hands
between those who had grown up learning Braille
and those who had relied primarily on print. She There can be no doubt that the ability to read and
found that 44 percent of the Braille-reading group, write Braille competently and efficiently is the key to
as compared to 77 percent of the print-reading education, employment, and success for the blind.
group, were unemployed. In other words the Despite the undisputed value of Braille, however,
unemployment rate for the print group was actu- only about 10 percent of blind children in the United
ally higher than the generally reported unemploy- States are currently learning it. Society would
ment rate among the blind as a whole (70 percent) never accept a 10 percent literacy rate among
(Riccobono, et al.), while the unemployment rate sighted children; it should not accept such an
among Braille readers was much lower. The Braille- outrageously low literacy rate among the blind. The
reading sample had significantly stronger reading National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute is
habits than the print group, including more hours committed to the reversal of this downward trend in
in a week spent on reading activities, reading more Braille literacy in order to ensure that equal oppor-
books, and subscribing to more magazines. While tunities in education and employment are available
the overall educational rate between the two groups to all of the nation’s blind.
was not statistically significant, a dramatic differ-
ence was observed at the advanced degree level. The overall goals of this effort are that:
Thirty percent of the Braille group had an advanced
• The number of school-age children reading
degree compared to only 13 percent for the print
Braille will double by 2015.
group, with only the Braille group having any indi-
viduals with doctoral degrees. • All fifty states will enact legislation requiring
special education teachers of blind children to
Last, the Braille group was over-represented in
obtain and maintain the National Certification
the higher income level and under-represented
in Literary Braille by 2015.
in the lowest income level, while the print group
was under-represented at the high income level • Braille resources will be made more available
and over-represented at the low income level (the through online sharing of materials, enhanced
two groups were comparable at a medium income production methods, and improved
level). The print group contained significantly more distribution.
people receiving non-employment-related funding
from the government (such as Social Security • Courses in Braille instruction will be added to
Disability Income) as compared to the Braille group. the curricula in high schools and colleges and
offered to all students to ensure that this

13
 reading medium becomes an established, But the lives of successful blind people testify to
recognized method of achieving literacy in the usefulness of Braille, and in the face of that
our nation. testimony the only truly professional and moral
course of action is to ensure that all blind people
• The American public will learn that blind have access to competent Braille instruction. In
people have a right to Braille literacy so they the hearts and minds of blind people, no alterna-
can compete and assume a productive role tive system or new technology has ever replaced
in society. Braille where the rubber meets the road—in the
living of happy, successful, productive lives. That is
For over 150 years Braille has been recognized as why the National Federation of the Blind is asking
the most effective means of reading and writing for all who are concerned about the future prospects
the blind. Hundreds of thousands of blind people for blind children and adults in this country to help
have found Braille an indispensable tool in their us make Braille literacy a reality for the 90 percent
education, their work, and their daily lives, even as of blind children for whom reading is a struggle, if
professionals in the field of blindness continued to not an impossibility. The future of sighted children
debate the merits of the system. Certainly more depends on a proper education, and the future
empirical research is needed to break down the wall of blind children is no different. Let us make the
of misunderstanding that still stands between all commitment that no blind child or adult who needs
too many blind people and proper Braille instruc- Braille as a tool in his or her arsenal of blindness
tion. The Braille codes and the technology to techniques will be left without it.
reproduce them can and will continue to improve.

14
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