If your child or student is blind, you may be wondering whether or not they need to learn braille. Read on to find out more about how braille works, why it's important, and where to find braille resources.

Below you'll find information on...

• What is Braille?
• Why Learn Braille?
• Articles About Braille
• Books and Pamphlets About Braille
• Braille Instruction
• Braille Literacy Organizations
• States with Braille Literacy Laws

What is Braille?

Braille is a system of touch reading for the blind which employs embossed dots evenly arranged in a cell. Each cell contains six dots, three high and two wide. By selecting one or several dots to emboss (so they can be felt by touch), 63 different characters can be formed. To aid in describing these characters by their dot or dots, the six dots of the cell are numbered 1, 2, 3, downward on the left, and 4, 5, 6, downward on the right.

American literary braille, as officially approved, comprises two levels. Uncontracted braille is in full spelling and consists of the letters of the alphabet, punctuation, numbers, and a number of composition signs that are special to braille. Contracted braille consists of uncontracted braille PLUS 189 contractions and short-form words, and should be known as "English Braille." There are also other specialized braille codes that use the same arrangement of dots. Currently these are: Nemeth Code Mathematics and Science Notation, Braille Code for Columned Materials and Tables, Braille Code for Chemical Notation, Braille Music Notation, and Code for Computer Braille Notation.
(Excerpted and edited from Braille Authority of North America)

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Why Learn Braille?

Braille instruction benefits students who are functionally blind in the following ways:

• Braille allows reading and writing skills to be developed.
• Because literacy is based on the ability to read and write, braille is the only media available for obtaining literacy for people who use their tactile sense as the primary means of gathering information.
• Braille allows the student who is functionally blind to have the same "written" materials in the classroom as sighted peers.
• Braille allows for instruction in correct written language usage such as structuring sentences, spelling, formatting paragraphs and editing.
• Braille allows the selection of a book or magazine for the pleasure of reading independently at any time or place without additional equipment.

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Articles About Braille

• Blindness.growingstrong.org
  This website has many articles about the importance of braille, sources and tips about braille instruction, and information about emergent readers.
  http://blindness.growingstrong.org/ed/literacy.html
• Braille Information Center
  A Canadian site with information and resources about braille.
  www.cnib.ca/en/living/braille/Default.aspx

• International Braille Research Center of the National Federation of the Blind
  www.Braille.org/papers/index.htm
  A site with various collected articles.

  Articles include:

  • A Primary Reading Program for Beginning Braille Readers
  • A Study of Braille Reading
  • A Study of Braille Reading: Patterns of Hand Activity in One-Handed and Two-Handed Reading
  • Automated Training and Braille Reading
  • Braille Reading and Left and Right Hemispace
  • Braillists, Braille Technology, Braille Readers and Braille
  • Investigative Approaches to the Study of Reading Braille
  • Patterns of Response in the Perception of Braille Configurations
  • A Universal Computer Braille Code for Literary and Scientific Texts
  • Tactile Acuity, Aging, and Braille Reading in Long-Term Blindness
  • Transfer of a Complex Perceptual Skill
  • A Critical Evaluation of the Historical Development of the Tactile Modes and Reading and an Analysis and Evaluation of Researches Carried Out in Endeavors to Make the Braille Code Easier to Read and to Write
  • Variables Influencing the Identification of Single Braille Characters
  • Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness
    • May-June 1996: Special Edition on Literacy
    • Ensuring High-Quality Instruction for Students in Braille Literacy Programs
      Source: Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, Nov 2000, Vol. 94 Issue 11, p 677, 18p
      Author(s): Koenig, Alan J.; Holbrook, M. Cay
      Abstract: This study used the Delphi research method to gain a consensus among 40 professionals on the appropriate levels of instructional service to address the needs of students with visual impairments in 12 areas of braille literacy skills. These resulting recommendations are general guidelines for educational teams to follow in designing braille literacy programs, but must be tailored to address the individual needs of each student.
      AN: 3857465
      ISSN: 0145-482X
    • The Impact of Braille Reading Skills on Employment, Income, Education, and Reading Habits
      Source: Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, May/Jun 96, Vol. 90 Issue 3, p 219, 8p, 1 chart, 4 graphs
      Author(s): Ryles, R.
      Abstract: Compares the outcomes for congenitally legally blind adults in the United States, who learned to read Braille or print as their original reading medium. Reading skills; Employment; Income; Education; Reading habits.
      AN: 9606204214
      ISSN: 0145-482X

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Books and Pamphlets About Braille

• Reference Section
  National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  The Library of Congress
  Washington, DC 20542
  Phone: (800) 424-8567
  Web: www.loc.gov/nls/index.html
  Braille: Into the Next Millennium
  A 600-page anthology of articles by international braille experts.
• American Foundation For The Blind
  11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300
  New York, NY 10001
  Phone: (800) AFB-LINE (800-232-5463)
  Email: afbinfo@afb.net
  Web: www.afb.org/store/default.asp
  • Beginning with Braille: A Balanced Approach to Literacy
    by Anna M. Swenson
  • Braille Literacy: A Functional Approach
    by Diane P. Wormsley, Ph.D.
  • Building Blocks: Foundations for Learning for Young Blind and Visually Impaired Children
    by Betty Dominguez, Joe Dominguez
  • Burns Braille Transcription Dictionary
    by Mary F. Burns
  • Foundations of Braille Literacy
    by Evelyn J. Rex, Diane P. Wormsley, Ph.D., Robert L. Baker, Alan J. Koenig, Ed.D.
  • Guidelines and Games for Teaching Efficient Braille Reading
    by Sally S. Mangold, Myrna R. Olson
  • Instructional Strategies for Braille Literacy
    edited by Frances Mary D'Andrea, M.Ed., Diane P. Wormsley, Ph.D.
  • Braille Literacy: Issues for Blind Persons, Families, Professionals, and Producers of Braille
    by Susan Spungin, Ed.D.
  • Foundations of Education, Second Edition (set)
    edited by M. Cay Holbrook, Ph.D., Alan J. Koenig, Ed.D.
  • Foundations of Education, Second Edition Vol II: Instructional Strategies for Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments
    edited by M. Cay Holbrook, Ph.D., Alan J. Koenig, Ed.D.
• BANA, (Braille Authority of North America), Publications
  Order from:
  American Printing House for the Blind
  1839 Frankfort Avenue
  PO Box 6085
  Louisville, KY 40206-0085
  Phone: (800) 223-1839
  Fax: (502) 899-2274
  Email: info@aph.org
  Web: www.brailleauthority.org/publications-area.html
  • English Braille, American Edition, 1994; Revised 2002
  • Braille Formats: Principles of Print to Braille Transcription, 1997
  • Nemeth Code for Mathematics & Science Notation, 1972 Revision
  • Addendum 1 to the Nemeth Code for Mathematics & Science Notation, 1972 Revision: Ancient Numeration Systems
  • Braille Code for Chemical Notation, 1997
  • Computer Braille Code: 2000 Revision
  • Computer Braille Code: Flowchart Design for Applicable Braille Codes Supplement, 1992
  • Guidelines for Linear Braille Format, 1987
  • Music Braille Code: Learning the Nemeth Braille Code: A Manual for Teachers and Students Ruth H. Craig, 1987
• National Braille Association
  3 Townline Circle
  Rochester, NY 14623-2513
  Phone: (585) 427-8260
  Fax: (585) 427-0263
  Email: nbaoffice@nationalBraille.org
  Web: nationalBraille.org
  Sells a variety of code books, manuals, and reference charts in print and braille.
• National Braille Press
  88 St. Stephen St.
  Boston, MA 02115
  Phone: (800) 548-7323
  Fax: (617) 437-0456, fax
  Email: orders@nbp.org
  Web: www.nbp.org
  • Sells a variety of books, manuals, and reference charts in print and braille.
  • Individual Braille Transcription Services List is a free list of transcribers throughout the U.S. who will take on smaller braille transcription jobs. Updated annually.
• National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  Phone: (800) 424-8567
  Fax: (202) 707-0712
  Email: nlsref@loc.gov
  Web: www.loc.gov/nls/index.html
  Provides code books and braille instruction manuals to registered students and transcribers.
• National Federation of the Blind
  1800 Johnson Street
  Baltimore, MD 21230
  Phone: (410) 659-9314
  Fax: (410) 685-5653
  Web: www.nfb.org
  • The World Under My Fingers
  • The American Action Fund's Twin Vision Dictionary of Braille Problem Words
  • Braille: A Code for Success: A comprehensive tutorial for the National Literary Braille Competency Test compiled by the International Braille Research Center in cooperation with the National Federation of the Blind and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped with the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration.
  • The Bridge to Braille: Reading and School Success for the Young Blind Child by Carol Castellano and Dawn Kosman
  • Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students
  • Braille: A Birthday Look at Its Past, Present, and Future
  • Braille: A Renaissance
  • Braille: A Survival Skill for All Blind People
  • Braille: An Overview - History, Problems, Technology, and Future Prospects
  • Braille Contractions, Are They Really So Hard?
  • Braille Literacy: Issues for Consumers and Providers
  • Braille: Pedagogy, Prejudice, and the Banner of Equality
  • Braille Reading Speed: Are You Willing to Do What It Takes?
  • Braille: What Is It? What Does It Mean to the Blind
  • Building Braille Reading Speed: Some Helpful Suggestions
  • Can Braille Change the Future?
  • Choosing your Braille Embosser
  • Literacy: The Key to Opportunity
  • Model Braille Bill
  • Nemeth Code Reference Sheet
  • Of Braille and Honeybees
  • Of Literacy, Braille, and the Oddities of Semantics
  • Reading by Touch: Trails, Battles, and Discoveries by Pamela Lorimer
  • She Makes Braille Look Easy
  • What Is the Chance for Braille?
  • Why Not Braille?
• Exceptional Teaching Aids
  20102 Woodbine Avenue
  Castro Valley, CA 94546
  Phone: (800) 549-6999
  Email: exteaching@aol.com
  Web: store.exceptionalteaching.net
  • Children with Visual Impairments: A Parent's Guide
  • Braille Codes and Calculations by Pesavento
• The Foundation for Blind Children
  1235 E Harmont Dr
  Phoenix, AZ 85020
  Phone: (800) 322-4870
  Web: www.seeitourway.org

• From Amazon.com
  • Specification for Selecting a Vocabulary and Teaching Method for Beginning Braille Readers by Hilda Caton
  • Working With Braille
    by Barry Hampshire
  • Communication Skills for Visually Impaired Learners: Braille, Print, and Listening Skills for Students Who Are Visually Impaired
    by Randall K. Harley, Mila B. Truan, Larhea D. Sanford
  • Reading by Touch
    by Susanna Millar
  • Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing
    by Wilma H. Miller
  • The Secret Code (Rookie Readers)
    by Dana Meachen Rau, Bari Weissman (Illustrator)
  • Instructor's Manual for the New Programmed Instruction in Braille
    by Larhea D. Sanford
  • Handbook for Learning to Read Braille by Sight by Schubert
• Garlic Press
  1312 Jeppesen Ave.
  Eugene, OR 97401
  Phone: (541) 345-0063
  Web: www.garlicpress.com
  • Braille for the Sighted
    by S. Harold Collins

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Braille Instruction