by Penny Moss
Many people think of “connecting the dots” as a term for understanding difficult concepts or complex situations. But for the purpose of this article, connecting the dots simply describes my lifelong relationship with Braille. In this three-part series, I want to share how Braille has been an integral part of my life. I cannot imagine how I would have functioned without it. In this article, I will discuss how Braille has impacted my life through college. In the next article, I will share how I used Braille through employment. In the last article, I will talk about how I use Braille with current assistive technological devices.
In 1953, I was born two and a half months early. I developed RLF, now known as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), resulting in total blindness. I only had some light perception. I was educated in the Atlanta public schools, long before mainstreaming was recognized as a viable educational alternative. I had a resource teacher, Miss Christine George, who introduced me to Braille in kindergarten. I didn’t understand why I had to leave class to learn Braille, but Miss George continued to work with me.
When I entered first grade, I was introduced to Braille books and learned to read along with the rest of the class, which I thought was cool. In second grade, I had trouble learning to read books that had Braille on both sides of each page. But Miss George insisted I learn that skill, which I mastered after three weeks. By the time I reached third grade, I was reading at an eighth grade reading level, and was in the most advanced reading group.
During this time, I learned to use a Braille writer. My parents bought my first braille writer when I was in kindergarten, which cost $80. By the time I entered second grade, I knew Grade Two Braille, and was able to write Braille efficiently. I used to make Miss George so mad because I would write full cells over any mistakes I made. I was briefly introduced to the slate and stylus. But I hated using them because you had to punch braille characters in separate holes. Needless to say, I didn’t try to become proficient using the slate and stylus because writing with it was so slow! I could write much faster on the braille writer. At the time, resource teachers considered the Braille writer to be a replacement for the slate and stylus. I did all my homework on the Braille writer. My mother learned Braille so she could “ink in” my work for the teachers. Then in third grade, I started learning to type so she would not have to do this.
All my textbooks were in Braille, from the beginning of elementary school through high school. Most of them came from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Others were transcribed by the Mizpah Sisterhood in Chattanooga, Tenn. This group of Jewish women considered Braille transcription as their service project. I was grateful for their services, especially when I needed the current edition of a new textbook. Resource teachers brailled any assignments I needed.
Braille helped me learn concepts in geography and mathematics. In fifth grade, I was introduced to a puzzle map of the 48 states. Alaska and Hawaii had not been added to this map yet. I loved taking the map apart then putting it back together. If the states had not contained Braille labels, I would not have been able to learn their proper shapes, and could not have put them back in the right place. Braille math books made it easier to learn the correct math signs for writing math equations. My Braille geometry book contained tactual shapes of all the figures we had to learn such as right angles, parallel, and perpendicular lines. This exposure through Braille explanations and tactual learning made it easier to grasp these concepts, which served me well when I began O&M training.
I loved reading Braille books for pleasure. I thought it was so much fun to take a book to bed with me and read under the covers with the lights out, so no one else in the family would know I was up late reading. However, my sister got wise to me. If she thought I wasn’t giving her enough attention, she’d grab the bed covers off me, pull the book out from under my fingers and throw it across the room!
Once in study hall, I was so excited I was able to pass a Braille note to one of my blind friends. Imagine my horror when Mr. Heath, our high school resource teacher, came over and read the note with his eyes! I didn’t know anyone could read Braille with their eyes. I thought you could only read it with your fingers. It never occurred to me that anyone sighted would do that, especially my resource teacher!
Before I graduated from high school, I attended a summer college prep program at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind (AEB), which is now known as World Services for the Blind, located in Little Rock. While there, I was introduced to Grade Three Braille. I had to do all my work on the slate and stylus, which I hated! Although I could write Braille at 33 words per minute on the braille writer, I was only able to write on the slate and stylus at 11 words per minute. I struggled to increase my speed on the slate and stylus, but was never able to write fast.
When I entered college I was in for a rude awakening! There were no Braille textbooks, because they simply were not available. I had to learn from audio books, which was a difficult transition.
When I took statistics, I had to make up my own math signs, because there were no braille statistics books. I had to tape record my classes, because I did not have the skills to use the slate and stylus for notetaking purposes. I ended up borrowing notes from friends, then spending hours having readers dictate them so I could copy them in Braille. I did this so I would not have to laboriously take notes from the recorded classes. I would Braille papers, then type them, editing while typing. Then I paid someone else to type them, so they would not contain typographical errors. Somehow, I made it through college. I earned a concentration in social work with a minor in psychology.
In part two, I will discuss how I used Braille in employment.