Stories About the Importance of Braille in Everyday Life
As part of our celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, NCBI asked some Braille readers to let us know how important Braille is to their everyday lives and what they might say to Louis Braille if he were alive today. Here’s what they said:
Christine
To understand the importance of Braille in my everyday life, try and imagine a world without printed material. I read my emails using a Braille display on my computer. Before I go to choir practice I Braille the words of new hymns so that I can sing along with the others.
If I could talk to Louis Braille now, firstly I would bring him to where I work and show him my reception switchboard and computer with their Braille output. This would be so alien to him because he lived in a time when even the simplest of electronic equipment had not yet been invented. I would also like to tell him about the endless years of enjoyment and pleasure that reading novels in Braille has given me. When reading a Braille book, I can take note of the punctuation marks, the spelling of words and especially unusual names and places. Government publications arrive in the post from time to time telling me about changes or offering information. When somebody goes to the trouble of Brailling a greeting card – magic. Braille is a huge part of my very existence.
Philip
Without Braille, it would not have been possible for me to get a good education. Braille has presented me a vital tool of communication, opening a window to the world that otherwise would never have been unhinged. Because of being able to read Braille, it has been possible for me to discuss books and novels with like-minded people. Braille possesses the capacity to significantly enhance the quality of life for people who are blind and vision impaired.
Jane
I have been using Braille since I was 5-years-old, which I learned at St. Mary's School, Merrion in Dublin [a specialised school for girls with vision impairments]. I have always been an avid reader and hate to be without a Braille book or magazine. Now that I am retired I read a lot of books using Braille, particularly at night when I go to bed. When I go on holidays my suitcase contains magazines which I can read in Braille when basking in the sunshine.
To Louis Braille I would say you are definitely a genius, and thank you for making my world a happier place through reading the written word. You will always have a place in my heart.
Tom
Louis, my independence has been so much improved by your system of Braille. I can choose a CD or DVD to listen to without having to ask my sighted friends “which one is this”. I also can make sure I use my favourite sauce on my meals as I have marked the sauce bottles using Braille. My life is certainly enhanced by your system of reading and writing and I am delighted to be one of the lucky ones to have benefited from it.
John
Happy 200th birthday Louis. Thank you for your gift of literacy to blind people, which enables me express myself and keep in touch with the world. I cannot imagine what life would be like without your wonderful six-dot invention. It is the equivalent of print to me and no other format can give such independent and private access to personal correspondence. Long live Braille!
Kathleen
Braille is a very important and essential part of my everyday life from the moment I wake in the morning when I check the time on my Braille watch. I use Braille to label and keep track of tins and packets on my kitchen shelves. I also do this for my CDs, tapes and videos, or important documents to be kept for future reference. I also use my Braille electronic note taker to store all my personal phone numbers, addresses and diary entries. My electricity and telephone bill arrives in Braille in the post each month, giving me the independence and privacy to read my own bills, and it is always a special pleasure when Christmas or birthday cards arrive from friends or relatives with a message written in Braille.
I learnt to read Braille at the age of 12, and this marvelous system of communication has enabled me to gain an education, obtain successful employment and become an active and independent member of society. It has also given me many hours of pleasure and enjoyment through the many and varied Braille books I have read over the years.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Louis Braille, you have left us a wonderful legacy. Braille is the optimum means of education for those without sight, and it's all thanks to you Louis.
Eoin
I lost all of my sight when I was 9 years old. At age 5, I was introduced to Braille because my sight was beginning to deteriorate. From 9 years of age onwards I used Braille to read and write. Throughout my life, I have used Braille, in my education, in my place of work and in my everyday life.
In school, I also used Braille for both music notation and mathematical formula. If you have no sight, you can read the notes using Braille music notation. Braille also helped me to spell, that’s why I did not want to depend on audio formats only. For my inter cert exam, I used Braille to read my exam paper and then I typed the answers using a manual typewriter so that it could be read by a sighted person. After leaving school, I became a telephonist in the Health Service Executive and I used Braille to record telephone numbers and extensions so that I can refer to them quickly.
When I am in company when I can’t listen to information using audio tape or CD, I prefer to use Braille to read. For example, I have used Braille to read aloud a prayer during a wedding ceremony.
When I was travelling to Spain last year, I was given the airline emergency instructions pamphlet in Braille. If the instructions had been in audio I would not have been able to listen to it because I didn’t have my CD player with me.