Braille Literacy

Let’s talk about Braille Literacy. According to the National Federation of the Blind, fewer than 10% of blind adults are braille readers.1 This statistic seems to be the most recent study done. Which is both saddening and terrifying.

There are two reasons cited for this terrible trend in braille literacy. The first is that there are not enough qualified teachers to teach children braille. We really can’t help with that in the least. The second reason is that there aren’t very many qualified transcribers. That is a problem we can fix.

In 2016, the United States made a change in the braille code that we use to translate and reproduce books into braille. We went from English Braille American Edition to Unified English Braille. While this wasn’t a huge change for transcribers or readers, it made many books previously transcribed obsolete and unwanted.

Reproduction of materials into braille is costly. Our goal through our member-based program is to bring that cost down. One of the reasons that reproduction of braille materials is costly, is that not very many people are experienced enough to do it well. Most of this comes down to time doing it. There are so many things that you learn in your first year producing braille materials. Many newly certified braille transcribers have a hard time finding work because of this lack of experience.

The program consists of two memberships: a Braille Transcriber membership, which will help to get the experience needed to get work elsewhere; and a Braille Reader membership that will allow a reader to check out a certain number of books at a time, much like a library. A second perk to the Braille Reader membership is that quarterly they will be allowed to request a book be transcribed by our Transcribers.

The way this will help to enhance braille literacy is by access. I used to work in a school, and after you have to pay for the required materials: math book, English book, history book, etc. There is very little budget left for pleasure reading books. So many school districts and programs have woefully inadequate selections.

Having raised readers, I know that the best way to encourage reading is to give them access to everything. This way they can find what they like, and keep reading. You like biographies? Here’s everyone from Benjamin Franklin to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and everyone in between. You like Magic Treehouse? Here’s the whole set, and when you’re done with that, let’s start on the Time Warp Trio! This is really easy when your children read print.

When your child doesn’t read print, a braille book can cost anywhere from $25.00-$1200.00. A small children’s book like the one pictured above will cost close to $200.00 to have produced. Some books are already available, but those still cost $60.00 or more per copy. If your child wants to read what the other kids in class are reading, you’re on the hook for hundreds of dollars per book.

That’s where we come in. Not only will we be transcribing relevant titles to school-aged kids; we’ll be giving new transcribers the experience they need to excel in braille transcription. For the kids, they’ll get titles they really want to read, and with the membership fees to offset transcription costs; the only real costs that we will have will be production. This will make us able to transcribe books at a fraction of the cost of normal braille transcription. We will also be able to reuse titles at no extra cost. If a member wants to keep a book for their own library, we can easily emboss a new copy for the library to lend out.

There are many other programs that produce a few titles quarterly, or offer a great range of books at the adult level. But if we’re going to get kids reading, we need to give them books that excite them. Books that they can talk to their friends about. One of the most isolating things about having a disability is not being able to relate with peers. One of the big ways kids relate is through shared experiences, and reading is one of the many things that they experience. I’ve watched children open up and start talking when someone asks about a book they’ve enjoyed. So being able to share those things with peers is important.

I remember the first time I read Robert Frost and Pablo Neruda. I travel a lot for work lately, so I have taken to listening to books while I drive. It isn’t the same. Having something read to you, through either a person’s voice or a digital voice, isn’t the same as reading it yourself. There is a trend and attitude lately that there is no reason to teach braille readers braille. They can use screen readers, and audiobooks. While that is true, I don’t enjoy the poetry of Emily Dickinson or even Shel Silverstein when it is read to me. I enjoy reading and interpreting it myself. I expect that most people do as well when they really think about it. Please remember, that ANY person that can’t read for themselves is illiterate. Just because it can be read to us, doesn’t take away from the necessity to be ABLE to read it yourself.

So that is my passion. Braille literacy. It may seem like such a little thing to most people, but I think that it opens up new worlds, and new ways of thinking for those that choose to go on the journey. I also believe that it should be available and accessible to everyone in a way that they can connect with.

1 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; accessed June 21, 2021, https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/braille_literacy_report_web.pdf