January is recognized as Braille Literacy Month. In honor of this, we have compiled a brief historical narrative, statistics about braille literacy, a list of blind and low-vision authors, and resources for learning more about the braille system.

The braille system was created by the Louis Braille for visually impaired individuals to read, write, and perform math and science. Braille is not a language itself, but rather a tactile alphabetic system that can be integrated into almost any language. Braille is relatively modern, first being adapted and developed during the 1800s. Raised-point writing existed as a precursor to braille, yet it was cumbersome and difficult for people to read and write. At the young age of fifteen, Louis Braille took Charles Barbier’s written code invented for military messages to be easily read at night or without lighting and created what we know today as the braille system.

The building block of each braille letter is composed of two parallel rows of three vertical dots. Sixty-four combinations can be made from these six dots, including letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and even whole words. Braille can be written in two versions, contracted and uncontracted. Most braille students learn uncontracted braille before contracted braille, which is written in shorthand or abbreviated terms.

Braille Stats & Facts

• The American Printing House for the Blind estimates that only 8.5 percent of all blind or visually impaired schoolchildren identified as braille readers, meaning the braille literacy rate has dropped over 40 percent since the 1960s.

• 90 percent of the estimated 85,000 employed adults who identify as blind are braille-literate.

• The rate of unemployment for adults who identify as blind is 70 percent.

• According to The Guardian, only 7 percent of existing books are available in formats that aid visually impaired readers—and less than 1 percent of published books across the globe are available in braille.
• A Braille E-Reader exists and functions similarly to a computer screen panel, but at a pricy $2,500 it’s hardly affordable to much of the general public.

   

   

  Please consider utilizing the following websites to learn more about braille, braille literacy advocacy, and how to support blind and visually impaired writers:

• Paths to Literacy has a thorough blog post and resource guide on how students with disabilities can write.

• Learn about tools for handwriting and printing for blind or visually impaired students and writers on Paths to Literacy. 

• The American Foundation for the Blind has a book club where blind and low vision authors share their stories. This page has both options to listen to a recording of the conversation or download a transcript.