Christine Faltz

I have been blind since birth and have always loved to read. Both of my children are also blind, and I have been doing whatever I can, by any gentle, loving, and legal means necessary, to introduce them both to the power of reading and learning. My arsenal for promoting early literacy, pre-braille readiness, and development of compensatory tactual skills is extensive and includes many books published by National Braille Press, especially those with high-quality tactile pictures such as Humpty Dumpty and Other Touching Rhymes.

I love braille and cannot possibly express how much I prefer braille as the medium for both pleasure reading and information gathering. Law School, without a doubt, would have been absolutely brutal without knowing how to read, and braille has been central to keeping track of the myriad details of daily life, as a mother and an attorney. I access the Internet using speech, I order my groceries and other merchandise, correspond and handle documents, among many other tasks, but I would absolutely love it if I were able to use braille more often -- like many, I work better actively reading than passively listening. I know I'm dreaming, but I really believe that we're on the way to a much more accessible world for blind people as technology improves and becomes more compact, quicker, and less costly.

“Law School, without a doubt, would have been absolutely brutal without knowing how to read...”