Building a Braille Rich Home Environment
It is common for a student to be surrounded by Braille at school, and then to not have this same access at home. It is important from parents to encourage their students to use Braille, just as much as parents of print readers encourage their children to read.
Encouraging Positive Attitudes Towards Braille
It is important for families of blind and visually impaired people to recognize the existence of negative attitudes towards Braille, and to also do the work of combatting those attitudes. It is common to hear the perception that Braille is not needed anymore because of technology, however as the Bluetooth Braille Keyboard demonstrates, technology and Braille can work together. It also would not be said to a sighted child that print is not needed because of technology.
Part of the reason that Braille is not encountered as often is that it is not being encourages as much as print is for sighted children. It is very possible that "the failure to teach blind children Braille is [an] example of ableism" (Hehir). Braille is disability specific resource, which cannot be separated from the negative attitudes towards it.
Encouraging a child to love Braille and to see the value in it is important for their future navigating the world, and for their sense of identity.
Part of the reason that Braille is not encountered as often is that it is not being encourages as much as print is for sighted children. It is very possible that "the failure to teach blind children Braille is [an] example of ableism" (Hehir). Braille is disability specific resource, which cannot be separated from the negative attitudes towards it.
Encouraging a child to love Braille and to see the value in it is important for their future navigating the world, and for their sense of identity.