Why are blind children not taught braille at an early age? Why do they not take advantage of their local braille library?
After spending three months interviewing families with blind children, I have realized that braille is oftentimes not taught to young children because adults believe it is too hard of a language to learn. Some sighted parents feel that they would have to learn braille first before teaching it to their children. So what is stopping sighted parents from learning braille if it could help their child in the end?
The answer is not as easy as one would hope. Braille is challenging to learn, so parents tend to put it off. Braille is unique in that one must learn 189 letter contractions in addition to different alphabets for upper and lower case. However, there is a light at the end of the braille tunnel; the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
In the redesign of my children’s space within the library, I hope to create a space for children and parents to learn braille while simultaneously engaging the children’s other senses. Currently the library has very few patrons and I intend to bring the Maryland State Library for the Blind into the foreground for being a valuable source for parents with blind children.
3 responses so far ↓
Ellen Lupton // December 8, 2008 at 11:26 am
You definitely catch my attention with your opening question, and you do a good job explaining the daunting nature of the problem. Perhaps you haven’t explained as well why it’s important for blind children to learn braille. Can they learn it without their parents’ help? How will the new children’s room help them?
When you say “The answer is not as easy as one would hope,” I think you mean that the solution to the problem is not as easy as one would hope.
mt // December 16, 2008 at 2:11 pm
So, one of the reasons why it’s important for children to learn braille is so that they can be more independent as adults. For example, a company around us prints braille invoices for companies that have visually impaired customers so that they can take care of bills on their own. But, if a blind adult cannot read braille then this won’t be as valuable.
mt // December 16, 2008 at 2:12 pm
sorry, their website is http://www.brailleworks.com