Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone devices. Braille can be written using a slate and stylus, a braille writer, an electronic braille notetaker or with the use of a computer connected to a braille embosser.
Louis Braille was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system named after him, braille, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtually unchanged to this day.
Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind.
The subject of blindness and education has included evolving approaches and public perceptions of how best to address the special needs of blind students. The practice of institutionalizing the blind in asylums has a history extending back over a thousand years, but it was not until the 18th century that authorities created schools for them where blind children, particularly those more privileged, were usually educated in such specialized settings. These institutions provided simple vocational and adaptive training, as well as grounding in academic subjects offered through alternative formats. Literature, for example, was being made available to blind students by way of embossed Roman letters.
Visual or vision impairment is the partial or total inability of visual perception. For the former and latter case, the terms low vision and blindness respectively are often used. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment – visual impairment may cause the individual difficulties with normal daily tasks including reading and walking. In addition to the various permanent conditions, fleeting temporary vision impairment, amaurosis fugax, may occur, and may indicate serious medical problems.
The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) is a free library program of braille and audio materials such as books and magazines circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States and American citizens living abroad by postage-free mail and online download. The program is sponsored by the Library of Congress. People may be eligible if they are blind, have a visual disability that prevents them from reading normal print, or a physical disability that keeps them from holding a book. Library materials are distributed to regional and subregional libraries and then circulated to eligible patrons. In total there are 55 regional libraries, 32 subregional libraries, and 14 advisory and outreach centers serving the United States and its territories: the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
The Catalan Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, with headquarters in Barcelona, is a non-profit organization, registered in the Registre d'Associacions de la Conselleria de Justícia de la Generalitat de Catalunya with the number 14,965 and declared of Public Utility by the Ministerio del Interior on December 29, 1997.
William Allen Hadley (1860–1941), was an American educator, academic administrator, and advocate for the blind. He was the founder of the Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka, Illinois.
Braille technology is assistive technology which allows blind or visually impaired people to read, write, or manipulate braille electronically. This technology allows users to do common tasks such as writing, browsing the Internet, typing in Braille and printing in text, engaging in chat, downloading files and music, using electronic mail, burning music, and reading documents. It also allows blind or visually impaired students to complete all assignments in school as the rest of their sighted classmates and allows them to take courses online. It enables professionals to do their jobs and teachers to lecture using hardware and software applications. The advances in Braille technology are meaningful because blind people can access more texts, books, and libraries, and it also facilitates the printing of Braille texts.
A sighted child who is reading at a basic level should be able to understand common words and answer simple questions about the information presented. They should also have enough fluency to get through the material in a timely manner. Over the course of a child's education, these foundations are built on to teach higher levels of math, science, and comprehension skills. Children who are blind not only have the education disadvantage of not being able to see: they also miss out on the very fundamental parts of early and advanced education if not provided with the necessary tools.
Samuel M. Genensky was an American computer scientist, best known as an inventor for devices to assist sight-impaired persons. He was also well known for his advocacy on behalf of the blind.
The Braille Institute of America (BIA) is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Los Angeles providing programs, seminars and one-on-one instruction for the visually impaired community in Southern California. Funded almost entirely by private donations, all of the institute's services are provided completely free of charge. The organization has seven regional centers: Anaheim, Coachella Valley, Laguna Hills, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara, as well as outreach programs at more than 200 locations throughout Southern California. It is a member of the Braille Authority of North America.
The Cleveland Sight Center (CSC) is a non-profit organization that provides services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Founded in 1906, it is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and serves around 10,000 clients annually in Northeast Ohio. The organization also has radio-reading and community outreach programs that benefit a larger number of individuals.
Mitra Jyothi established in 1990, is a charitable trust registered under Indian Trust Act based in Bangalore. Its aims to support the visually impaired through various programs it offers. These programs include Talking Book Library, Computer Training Center, Independent Living Skills, Braille Transcription Center and Job Placement. It received State Award in 2010 from the Directorate of Disabled Welfare and Senior Citizens, Government of Karnataka for its exemplary service for persons with disabilities. Mitra Jyothi is also a member of the DAISY Forum of India (DFI). DFI is a forum of Not for profit organizations from India who are involved in production of books and reading materials in accessible formats for persons who cannot read normal print.
The Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB) is a consortium of specialized schools in Canada and the United States whose major goal is improving the quality of services to children who are blind and visually impaired.
Alternative formats include audio, braille, electronic or large print versions of standard print such as educational material, textbooks, information leaflets, and even people's personal bills and letters. Alternative formats are created to help people who are blind or visually impaired to gain access to information either by sight, by hearing (audio) or by touch (braille).
Richard Kinney was an American educator and school administrator. Blind at age six and deaf by age twenty, Kinney was the third deafblind person in the United States to earn a college degree. Kinney published four volumes of poetry and was president of the Hadley School for the Blind from 1975 until his death in 1979.
The Josefina C. Bignone Rehabilitation Institute for visually impaired and blind people provides rehabilitation services for sight-impaired people in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The institute is funded by the Municipal Direction of Disability and by the Ministry of Public Health. It was founded in 2001. The institute aims to promote eye health prevent, detect and treat eye diseases.
Geraldine Jerrie Lawhorn was a figure of the American deafblind community, a performer, actress, pianist, then instructor at the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. At 67 years old, she became the first deafblind African American to earn a college degree in the United States of America.
Joshua A. Miele is an American research scientist who specializes in accessible technology design. Since 2019, Miele has been Principal Accessibility Researcher at Amazon Lab126, a subsidiary of Amazon that works on hardware products. Miele previously conducted research on tactile graphics and auditory displays at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in California for fifteen years. He has been blind since early childhood.
