According to the World Health Organization, 11.4 million Americans are completely blind or visually impaired, and one person loses his or her eyesight every eleven minutes. Between the baby boomers losing eyesight to age-related causes and improved survival rates for premature babies, these numbers are expected to increase.
A new tool in adapting to compromised sight is the Perkins SMARTBrailler. The device was developed by the Perkins School for the Blind to teach braille to school-age children and adults learning to live with blindness.
One of the first things a person with a visual disability needs to learn is how to read and write in braille, a system of raised dots that represent the letters of the alphabet. The person reads it by running his or her fingers across the lines of type. Until Perkins developed the first mechanical braille writer in the 1950's, it was necessary to place the paper in a frame, then use a stylus to create the dots by pushing through the paper just enough to create a bump, but not to tear it. The SMARTBrailler is based on the second generation of these braille writers. Making the writer tech-savvy is a screen that displays the letters in large print or in dots simulating the letters, combined with a text-to-voice synthesizer that reads the letters and words out loud. Documents and assignments written on a SMARTBrailler are stored in files that convert the braille dots to text, and a USB port allows them to be copied and moved to a computer for review by a sighted teacher. Mainstream classroom teachers and parents of children with visual impairment may learn braille alongside a visually impaired student by seeing the letters on screen as the learner types them.
The SMARTBrailler can operate off of platforms for English, French, Spanish, Russian, German, and Portuguese. It uses a Windows-based operating system to run the speech-to-text software as well as for providing the onscreen visuals. Other features include a headphone and jack, volume control, and a rechargeable battery.
While synthesized speech and audio recordings are helpful, the National Braille Press states that they are no substitutes for reading and writing, making braille the only true medium for literacy for the visually impaired. Educational materials written in braille are the only proven way for them to remain on even footing with fully sighted people. They enable visually impaired learners to learn science and math by reading and writing out the symbols and equations rather than relying on memory alone. Learning complex materials in written form helps the student to spatially experience it, leading to better comprehension.
In addition to enhancing educational opportunities, learning how to read and write in braille leads to better economic opportunities for people with visual challenges by making them more employable, resulting in a higher level of personal and financial independence.
Fran Jablway
and
Hulet Smith, OT
