Braille literacy

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.

In 1960, 50 percent of legally blind school-age children in the United States were able to read braille. There are numerous causes for the decline in braille usage, including school budget constraints, technology advancement, and different philosophical views over how blind children should be educated.

A major turning point for braille literacy was the passage by the United States Congress of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which moved thousands of children from specialized schools for the blind into mainstream public schools. Because only a small percentage of public schools could afford to train and hire braille-qualified teachers, braille literacy has declined since the law took effect.

In 1998-99 there were approximately 55,200 legally blind children in the United States, but only 5,500 of them used braille as their primary reading medium. Early braille education is crucial to literacy for a visually impaired child. A study conducted in the state of Washington found that people who learned braille at an early age did just as well as, if not better than, their sighted peers in several areas, including vocabulary and comprehension. In the preliminary adult study, it was found that 44 percent of the participants who had learned to read braille were unemployed, compared to the 77 percent unemployment rate of those who had learned to read using print.

Currently, 90 percent of employed blind people are Braille literate. Among adults who do not know braille, only 1 in 3 is employed. Statistically, history has proven that braille reading proficiency provides an essential skill set that allows visually impaired children not only to compete with their sighted peers in a school environment, but also later in life as they enter the workforce.

Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired is the largest educator of braille as well as the largest worldwide provider of distance education for people who are blind or visually impaired. Braille literacy has been a priority for Hadley since its founding in 1920, and to this day, braille courses are still the most popular. During the 2010 fiscal year, Hadley enrolled nearly 3,400 students in braille reading and writing courses alone (combined sighted and blind students). Hadley currently offers 14 braille courses taught by 11 highly trained instructors. Nine courses are focused on tactile learners, and Hadley also provides five courses for sighted individuals, including families and professionals in the field.

Hadley School has advanced the use of braille in a number of ways over the years, including being one of the first institutions to use the Thermoform Duplicator, which copies braille from paper to a Brailon (a sheet of durable plastic), and one of the first to use a computer-driven, high-speed braille printer. Hadley produces more than 50,000 braille pages each year, supplementing mass brailling done offsite. For a fee, Hadley provides braille transcription services in accordance with the Braille Authority of North America. Transcribers are certified by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.