Changing the Public's Attitude toward Braille: A Grassroots Approach

Abstract

This study addressed the effect of casual exposure to braille on the attitudes toward blindness and the use of braille of three groups of sighted university students: students in two sections of a general linguistics course for language arts teachers, one taught by a blind instructor (Group 1) and the other taught by a sighted instructor (Group 2), and students in an English composition class (Group 3). Overall, the respondents in Group 1 expressed the most positive attitudes toward blindness and toward braille. These results suggest that individual readers of braille can positively affect attitudes toward braille.

Human rights and visual impairment

“…For print, use of enlarged print, masking to reduce visual clutter and coloured acetate overlays to enhance contrast or reduce glare are useful techniques (Special Education Technology British Columbia 2008). Braille still occupies a critical role as it promotes competence, independence and equality (Schroeder 1996), and will remain useful to personal and professional lives of people with visual impairment (Wells-Jensen, Wells-Jensen & Belknap 2005). For teachers who are visually impaired, such as Botle, reading cannot be avoided.…”

Reading Media Used by Higher-Education Students and Graduates with Visual Impairments in Greece

“…There is no doubt about the value of braille in the personal and professional lives of people with visual impairments (Hatlen & Spungin, 2008;Spungin, 1996;Wells-Jensen, Wells-Jensen, & Belknap, 2005). Nevertheless, computers and assistive technology are often cited as the means to overcome limited access to information and other environmental barriers for nonprint readers (Gerber, 2003).…”

“…The "braille literacy crisis" has been widely discussed by professionals and censured by consumer groups (Johnson, 1996;Rex, 1989;Ryles, 1996). In the face of the low rate of braille literacy and its possible implications for the future use of braille, braille readers and advocates have argued for the increased use of braille in all areas of life (Wells-Jensen et al, 2005).…”

Consciousness, context, and know-how

“…Indeed, though literate individuals posses a great deal of know-how when it comes to reading English, linguists have long known that much of it is not necessarily readily translatable to propositional knowledge or to other modalities (Reber & Lewis, 1977). This is likely one reason why a disturbing large an increasing number of literate people who become blind do not learn to read in braille (Wells-Jensen, S., Wells-Jensen, J., & Belknap, 2005). It is, in fact, somewhat difficult to learn to read in braille, even when you were a good or excellent reader before losing your vision.…”