The benefits of Braille

Greetings! I'm Scott Savoy, managing editor at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Well, March is speeding along and Spring is almost, just almost here!
Today, I am pleased to introduce an editorial by our president Donna J. Jodhan. In her editorial, Donna discusses the benefits of learning Braille.
I wish you a great weekend.


+++++++++++++++
The benefits of Braille
By Donna J. Jodhan

Some may argue that the need for learning Braille may be on the way out given the evolution of access technology and its ability to efficiently interact with the more popular electronic formats. This may be true but as someone who grew up in the world of Braille so to speak, it is my humble opinion that we need to keep Braille in our focus for the time being.

Braille has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember and even when I had enough vision to read large print I still kept on using it and boy am I lucky that I did so. Because when I lost most of my vision a few years ago, it was Braille that helped me to cope.

I use Braille to label my CDs, jars and cans, and file folders. Some may argue that I could use the more modern and progressive labelling devices such as the pen friend to do this and this is true but here is my retort to this. You do not need batteries to use Braille; you need batteries to use the pen friend and other similar labelling devices. Whenever I want to make sure that I have written down an important phone number, email address, or something similar correctly, I use Braille. I can use Braille whenever I want to and I do not have to depend on electricity to write down my information.

Whenever I need to give a speech, I use Braille notes to help me along. If I need to access something in a hurry, I use Braille. So there are my arguments for the benefits of Braille.

I strongly believe that Braille needs to be a part of the curriculum of Blind and partially sighted kids who do not have enough vision to use large print. True it is that it may be difficult for older persons to learn Braille if they lose their sight at an older age but at the end of the day, there is a definite place for the continuing use of Braille.


Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca