The Braille ProjectLearning about visual impairment and Braille

the Braille project

A senior project by Nayely Martinez

Braille: History

• devised in 1825 by Louis Braille

• based on code developed by Charles Barbier used for night writing

Braille: Cells

• each Braille character, (a cell) is made up of six dot positions

• dot positions numbered 1-6 top to bottom

Braille: Alphabet

Uncontracted Braille• Grade 1• Used by beginners• Substitutes each character

with a Braille equivalent

• i.e. the word “and”

Contracted Braille• Grades 2 and 3• Shorthand Braille• Used in books and most

printed Braille materials

• i.e. the word “and” contracted

Braille: Grades

Braille: Video

Visual Impairment: Types

Macular Degeneration•loss of central vision

•common in older people

Diabetic Retinopathy•Caused by diabetes

•Causes eye spots

Glaucoma•Has no symptoms until serious vision loss

•Caused by complex anatomical features

•Pinhole effect

Cataracts•Clouding of internal lens

•Common in older people

Total Blindness•All useful vision is lost

Visual Impairment: Anatomy

Visual Impairment: Myths

•Reality:  Only around 18% of people who are visually impaired are totally blind

Myth:  Blind people see only darkness,

nothing else.

•Reality:  Only 10% of Legally Blind people read Braille

Myth:  Most blind people are proficient in

Braille.

•Reality: Computer software can translate print into speech, magnify screen images, and enlarge text to a readable size

Myth: People who are visually impaired

cannot use print or handwritten materials.

Source: Iowa Department for the Blind

Visual Impairment: Technology

• iPhone Apps:– LookTel Money Reader ($9.99): recognizes currency

in real time– SayText (free): scans text in image and reads it out

loud– Color Identifier ($1.99 or free): identifies and speaks

specific color names • Can distinguish shades of sky (sunsets, cloudy)

– Light Detector ($0.99): emits a sound which intensifies as a light source is found and approached

Sight Loss: Everyday Issues

• Eating– Clock method

• Unemployment• U.S. currency – no tactile difference

between dollar bills– Same size– Bill folding method used

Visual Impairment: Interview

Resources

• BrailleInstitute.org• Lighthouse.org• TheBrailleProject.wordpress.com

• Alphabet Cards• Fact Sheets

Sources

• BrailleInstitute.org• gesta.org/estudos/statistics0402.pdf• who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en