Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Learning Braille (self.Blind)
submitted by scarlettoharabegonia
My 14 year old son is visually impaired due to CVI. His preferred learning media is visual, using CCTV to isolate and enlarge text and images. He is also proficient with audio tools, including screen reading tools.
We just repeated his functional vision and learning media assessments, and the recommendations were for direct training in braille.
For those of you who transitioned from visual to tactile learning media, how long did it take you to learn braille?
Our school district does not have a TVI who can teach braille, so they offered us 10 hours of compensatory time. This does not seem to be nearly enough instruction time. But what would be reasonable?
We just repeated his functional vision and learning media assessments, and the recommendations were for direct training in braille.
For those of you who transitioned from visual to tactile learning media, how long did it take you to learn braille?
Our school district does not have a TVI who can teach braille, so they offered us 10 hours of compensatory time. This does not seem to be nearly enough instruction time. But what would be reasonable?
SoapyRiley 2 points 1y ago
I’m 36 and it took me a month to really know the alphabet by feel. Then I got my Braille display so I could read books and had to learn punctuation. By the third month I was reading just fast enough to be able to enjoy a storyline, but still very slow. 7 months later I still have trouble with understanding names from non-English cultures and long words. Again, very slow, but I don’t use it every single day for any period of time. Technical information is still beyond my Braille reading skills. If your son has really good tactile sensitivity already, 10 hours might be enough to learn the alphabet. Maybe. If he practices another 2 hours after school and on the weekends. I would worry about burnout trying to do too much on top of keeping up with regular school work. You won’t know until he starts feeling the letters how fast he might become a proficient reader. If he finds the letters really easy to read, and he really dedicates himself to practice, he could be close to his print reading speed by the new year. If it takes more time to develop tactile sensitivity, then it could be next school year before he gets that far. And some people don’t put in enough practice to ever get that kind of proficiency.
KillerLag 2 points 1y ago
https://hadley.edu/workshops/braille
10 hours isn't much, but you can also try distance learning from Hadley to supplement.
There are a variety of factors for learning Braille, with one of the biggest components being how much practice someone puts in. Learning the letters and basic punctuation can be quick if someone puts in a couple of hours of practice a day. Getting the tactile sensitivity initially could take longer though.
10 hours isn't much, but you can also try distance learning from Hadley to supplement.
There are a variety of factors for learning Braille, with one of the biggest components being how much practice someone puts in. Learning the letters and basic punctuation can be quick if someone puts in a couple of hours of practice a day. Getting the tactile sensitivity initially could take longer though.
scarlettoharabegonia [OP] 1 points 1y ago
10 hours is their opening offer. I can counter with whatever he needs.
But I don't need know if he needs a few hours a week for a semester or a three day course.
But I don't need know if he needs a few hours a week for a semester or a three day course.
ThisBlindChickReads 3 points 1y ago
Learning Braille is learning a new language. If he is more of a visual learner there is no way to know how he will take to tactile. I have a sighted almost 14 yr old and at their age they already have so much pressure. I would lean toward a semester and ask for a re-evaluation at the end of the semester and keep as much added pressure off of him as possible to learn a new language in such a short time. He is a kid and although he might learn quickly, his mental health may be more protected if he is given time to learn this new language at his own pace. My personal experience in trying to learn Braille myself is that 10 days seems short and mentally exhausting. I wish the best to you and your son💜 It is clear that you are a great advocate for him. Losing vision can get overwhelming at times but handling things together can make the journey easier 💜
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