National Braille Literacy Month

January is National Braille Literacy Month! Alexandra (Allie) Futty is the Northeast Resource Center for Vision Education (NERCVE) Program Manager at the ICI. The following blog post was written by Allie.

There is a common misconception today that braille is an outdated form of literacy, and technological advances, such as computer-based text-to-speech systems, have rendered braille obsolete. This could not be further from the truth.

While technological advances have indeed greatly benefited individuals with visual impairments, braille remains a critical literacy tool. Digital devices called braille displays have allowed braille to transition into our digitally dominated times.

If one were to suggest that sighted children no longer needed to learn how to read a print book because audiobooks are available, most people would consider this a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of literacy. The same is true for children who cannot access the printed world visually. Ninety percent of employed people who are blind can read and write braille. Primary braille readers report higher life satisfaction and self-esteem than non-braille readers.

Despite these documented benefits, a crisis in braille literacy persists. Less than 10% of legally blind children in the United States today know braille and 60% of blind students drop out of school. Each year, there are fewer and fewer teachers qualified to teach braille to both children and adults.

The University of Massachusetts Boston Vision Studies program aims to change that. As one of the largest programs preparing people for careers in the field of visual impairments nationally, UMass Boston adheres to rigorous national standards related to the teaching of the braille code and braille pedagogy. With significant grant funding to offset or eliminate the cost of tuition for this highly in-demand field, we recruit students from New England and beyond to our online programs to become licensed teachers of students with visual impairments, certified orientation and mobility specialists, certified vision rehabilitation therapists, and certified assistive technology instructional specialists for individuals with visual impairments.

UMass Boston recently received a 5-year, $1.25 million dollar grant from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to offer professionals currently working in the field of visual impairments the opportunity to refresh and deepen their braille knowledge. This project is called Increasing Access to Quality Braille Instruction for Diverse Populations and is led by Dr. Callie Brusegaard, Dr. Laura Bozeman, and Allie Futty.

Recruiting a total of 80 current professionals over four years, this project has a particular focus on ensuring that teachers with the greatest likelihood of impacting rural communities, students of color, and multilingual learners are prioritized. Participants will complete a year-long, fully online professional development opportunity led by some of the top experts in braille literacy nationally. Each module will have a particular focus on culturally responsive practices in braille literacy instruction. Participants will then go on to collect data as paid participants on how the professional development impacts their braille teaching, providing invaluable research to the field of visual impairments.

Are you interested in learning more? Check out these resources about braille its importance for literacy:

Stay tuned for more from the Increasing Access to Quality Braille Instruction for Diverse Populations project!