Welcome to National Braille Week 2024, and this year is extra special because we're also celebrating 200 years since Louis Braille invented braille, if you'd like to read more about that, check out my blog post What Is Braille?
But first, let's here from a Twitter friend of mine on why braille is important to him.
Hello there, I am Tim and I have an eye condition called Cone Dystrophy, it is cause by a spelling mistake in my genes and cannot be corrected. I was diagnosed with it about 10 years ago and it has slowly being progressing, with my level of vision deteriorating. It impacts my central vision and colour perception.
I work in IT and spend a lot of time in online meetings. Early on I found that I wasn't able to listen to my screen reader while on Teams calls, but I was ok with using my eyes at the time. I knew the day would come where I couldn't make do with my eyes so when I heard about an online braille course run by the Braillists Foundation, I jumped at the opportunity.
At the time I had to order the Fingerprint Course from RNIB that provided the physical braille to read and then join a weekly Zoom call where we went through the material together. This has now changed and I recommend checking out the Braillists course for beginners. In eight short weeks, I was able to recognise the alphabet and on my way to being able to read braille.
When my birthday came around, my best friend sent me a letter in braille, it meant the world to me. This was before Dotty About Braille. He working at a school that had recently been supporting a blind pupil, he used the embosser to create the letter and then sent it to me in the post. My friend loved me, he had taken the time to find out how to send a letter in a format new to me, but knowing it would support me and encourage me to keep going with my braille journey. As a man in his 40's, I am not ashamed to say that it still brings a tear to my eye.
Sadly my friend was diagnosed with cancer and passed away within six weeks. It was a big shock to us all, but he left me with a letter I treasure and will always be able to read, regardless of how bad my vision becomes.
My wife has learnt enough braille to emboss birthday and Christmas cards for me. She also embosses the kids messages so I get to read them independently, which it means the world to me. I can enjoy them without needing to ask others to read them. I now encourage my friends and family to send me braille cards, Dotty About Braille provides an easy way for them to do that.
Take the time to send your loved ones cards in braille and they will cherish them, knowing you are meeting them in their world of touch. If you would like to know more about my sight loss journey, head over to my website.
Oh I felt emotional reading that! Thanks so much Tim for sharing your story.
Would you like to be featured on my blog sharing why you love braille? Get in touch!