A Boost For Braille

Findings show more Braille users are employed

NEWSWEEK

May 27 issue - Next month's National Braille Challenge, held in San Diego,
pits top blind students against each other in areas like Braille reading
comprehension
and proofreading. The contest calls attention to the brightest kids, but
also to the importance of Braille literacy among visually impaired youth.

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Only 10 percent of the country's 57,000 legally blind children say that
Braille is their first choice for getting information; 40 years ago more
than half
read the code. (Blame the drop on talking technology and mainstreaming blind
kids into public schools-a change generally lauded.) The problem: children
who don't learn Braille are more likely than literate peers to be unemployed
later on. About 70 percent of blind adults are out of work. Of the 30
percent
with jobs, 85 percent know Braille. Says a Braille Institute VP, "It's
probably the single greatest predictor for a child's success."

Karen Springen

       © 2002 Newsweek, Inc.


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