There’s been a raging online debate going on among some of the online communities for people with albinism about whether children with albinism should be taught Braille.
I do hope to blog about that topic later – I just don’t have the energy for it now.
I will say that I very much wish I’d had the opportunity as a child. I wasn’t introduced to Braille until adulthood. I learned both grades 1 and 2 Braille in about six weeks at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Learning the code is the easy part though. It’s building the speed that takes time and can be done through nothing but sheer practice.
I did use Braille my freshman year of college, but then got sick. At the time I didn’t know I had HPS – only that I was constantly sick and very fatigued. Because my speed wasn’t quite up to my print speed, I abandoned it. Had I been able to keep it up just a few months more I think I would have nailed it down.
Later in college I took Braille lessons again. The problem was I knew the code. I didn’t need lessons. I needed time to practice and it was hard to come by.
I dream of being able to read a book myself, not through an audio book, and be able to read and read until I feel like stopping – not because I’m getting a headache or am tired of holding a magnifier or sitting in some strange position – but because I just want to stop.
I don’t read as much as I’d like. And now that I have some flexibility, I feel I can revisit this issue and try again.
Wish me luck!
I do hope to blog about that topic later – I just don’t have the energy for it now.
I will say that I very much wish I’d had the opportunity as a child. I wasn’t introduced to Braille until adulthood. I learned both grades 1 and 2 Braille in about six weeks at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Learning the code is the easy part though. It’s building the speed that takes time and can be done through nothing but sheer practice.
I did use Braille my freshman year of college, but then got sick. At the time I didn’t know I had HPS – only that I was constantly sick and very fatigued. Because my speed wasn’t quite up to my print speed, I abandoned it. Had I been able to keep it up just a few months more I think I would have nailed it down.
Later in college I took Braille lessons again. The problem was I knew the code. I didn’t need lessons. I needed time to practice and it was hard to come by.
I dream of being able to read a book myself, not through an audio book, and be able to read and read until I feel like stopping – not because I’m getting a headache or am tired of holding a magnifier or sitting in some strange position – but because I just want to stop.
I don’t read as much as I’d like. And now that I have some flexibility, I feel I can revisit this issue and try again.
Wish me luck!
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