January 22, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 How the advent of Braille changed the world Literacy is important to success in life. Knowing how to read and write is vital for success in school and the professional world, and that ability helps people partici- pate fully in society. Before the creation of Braille, visually impaired people struggled to fully assimi- late into society. Since the inception of the Braille alphabet and method of reading and writing, the visually impaired have had an entire world open up to them, enabling them to more easily live well-rounded, indepen- dent lives. Braille is not a language, but a code for transcribing written letters and num- bers into a sensory experience for visually impaired people. It is comprised of a series of raised dots that can be felt with the fin- gers and read by the blind or those whose vision is not strong enough to visually read printed text. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, Braille symbols are formed within units of space known as Braille cells. A full cell has six raised dots arranged in two parallel rows of three dots each. Sixty-four combinations of dot pat- terns are possible using one or more of the dots. A Braille cell can be used to repre- sent a letter, word, number or punctuation mark. Grade 1 Braille is when every letter of every word is expressed in Braille. This is typically used for newly blind adults or others new to the Braille code. Many text- books and other publications today are printed in what is called Grade 2 Braille. This system features cells that are used individually or together to form abbre- viated words and contractions. Grade 2 Braille reduces the number of cells needed to create phrases. This cuts down on the paper used for printing books in Braille and to make the reading process easier. Braille can be produced by an individual with a specialized stylus and a slate. The stylus is used to press paper into the depres- sions on the slate, wherein tactile dots will form. There also are machines known as Braillewriters. Technology has advanced so far that visually impaired people can now use digital, portable note takers and have writing displayed back verbally or tactu- ally. Specialized desktop printers enable some to print Braille at home. Approximately 90 percent of blind workers in the United States are literate in Braille, and Braille enables many others to go to school. Braille has enabled millions of people to communicate through the written word. Who was Louis Braille? People who rely on Braille may know it was created by a man named Louis Braille. Braille was born in France on Jan. 4, 1809. As a small child, he was blinded in an acci- dent by an awl that struck his eye while he was working in his father’s workshop. The injury caused an infection that spread to both eyes. By the age of five, Braille was blind in both eyes. Braille was supported by his parents, and they helped him become an indepen- dent child and young adult. He attended a prestigious school for the blind, called the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, where he learned a reading system devised by the school’s founder, Valentin Hauey. It con- sisted of raised imprints of Latin letters. Texts written in Hauey were small because of the complicated and time-consuming process of producing the letters. Braille became frustrated, but was eager to learn more. As Braille entered adulthood, eventually becoming a professor at the Royal Institute, he worked to fashion a system of reading and writing that would be less limiting than the Hauey method. Braille learned of a “night writing” system used by soldiers to communicate through touch in the dark. The system was too complicated to be used as such, but by 1824 Braille developed a method of his own based on the system initially designed for soldiers. The Braille system of reading and writing went on to revolutionize literacy for blind individuals.