The benefits of sighted people learning Braille alongside blind people

My name is Rona Smith, I left college in July 2024 and I am actively job hunting. I use Braille as my main everyday working medium. I am qualified in Braille to Level 3 standards, meaning I can teach it and can use applied Braille. I gained this qualification at the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC). I like using braille to read books for leisure, both hard copies and on a Braille display. I also use it to help with admin such as completing forms in Microsoft Word. At RNC and throughout my time at school I used Braille for studying and as my main method of reading and writing, this included hard copy created manually on a Braille writer, and digital Braille on a display. All learning materials for classes were reproduced in Braille to enable me to fully interact with lessons at school. I started learning Braille with a teacher of the visually impaired from the age of two and by the age of 10, there was no more Braille left for me to learn! This is because I knew it all and had picked up the code very quickly.

 

I believe it can be really beneficial for family members and loved ones to learn Braille alongside a blind person for a whole range of reasons. 

It might enable them to ask questions about blindness, which raises awareness and feeds curiosity. A lot of sighted people, especially siblings of a blind person are interested in Braille, because it is so different to print. If they learn a bit of Braille alongside their blind siblings, they can understand how they read and write, albeit differently to print users. This helps raise awareness of Braille in wider society, especially if the sighted siblings learn to recognise Braille on everyday items such as labels on lifts or medication boxes. They might not be able to read it fully, but they can guide their blind siblings to the Braille to help meet their accessibility needs. This could also apply to parents and other adult family members.

It could help a blind child to learn the Braille code more quickly.

 

If everyone is learning a bit of Braille at home, it may help a blind child to learn the code quicker as it might become a competitive family race to see how quickly each family member can learn Braille. When I was learning Braille, my Mum learnt a bit of it with me and when my brother was old enough, he learnt some too. My Dad did not learn any Braille, but he could recognise some of the symbols I used in later years and what they meant. For example, when I write seasonal cards, I always write From Rona in Grade 2 Braille and my Dad learnt to recognise this and which way up the labels went so he could help me stick them on the cards. This could help blind children, because the whole family can be part of something especially when making seasonal cards. Also, parents can be involved in a child’s education or daily routines by helping them read books in family story time, label their belongings such as their schoolbag and enable them to gain independence as early as possible. This helps to empower blind children and make them feel less isolated and alone in the world.

It’s a way for sighted people to support their blind friends.

This means that a sighted person may have a blind friend who uses Braille and by learning a bit of the tactile code themselves, they can show empathy and understanding of the challenges faced by their blind friends. Also, it could help them learn to appreciate the importance of accessibility in everyday life for blind people.

 

This could be beneficial to blind people particularly if they have lost their sight later in life and they are in the early days of their sight loss journey. It can also be beneficial if their friend has been blind since birth as well, because knowing that one of their sighted friends is trying to learn Braille might make them feel less alone in their sight loss journey and they will appreciate their sighted friends taking the time to learn it.

 

Knowing a bit of Braille as a sighted person can help blind people use it in practical contexts to meet their accessibility needs, for example, making spaces and materials accessible for them. If a sighted person knows some Braille and they can write it accurately, they can help stick Braille labels onto lifts or signs to make a building accessible. This reduces the risk of exclusion from public spaces and can minimise discrimination in everyday contexts for blind people.

 

Learning Braille as a sighted person could make communication and interactions with their blind friends or family members easier.

 

This is because sighted people may be able to read and recognise Braille labels on everyday household items or write simple notes for blind friends or family to read. This might be particularly beneficial for a person who is both blind and deaf as communication or interactions using speech may be difficult in this context and Braille may be the best option.

 

It can help to build confidence.

 

Showing a commitment to learning Braille is a fulfilling challenge which leads to a sense of accomplishment once a sighted person has completed it. As a sighted person progresses, they will build confidence as they read or write symbols correctly which will re-enforce their determination and motivation to continue learning Braille.

 

The message I would like to get across to others in this blog is that anyone can learn Braille, whether they are fully sighted or not. All it takes is dedication, determination, encouragement, commitment, motivation and practice like any other new skill. The more you practice your Braille code, the better you will become at learning to read and write it and the more accurate you will be.

 

Learning Braille may feel like a challenge at first and it may feel slow, but you just need to be patient and keep on telling yourself “You can do this.” Learning Braille can empower children, increase empathy/understanding and it can make a more inclusive world for blind people - so I would really encourage sighted people to learn Braille alongside their blind friends and loved ones.