PUBLIC LAW 109–247—JULY 27, 2006
120 STAT. 583
(8) Braille adopted the Sonography method instantly but soon recognized that the basis in sound and the large number of dots—as many as 12—used to represent words was too cumbersome. (9) By the age of 15, and using a blunt awl, the same sort of tool that had blinded him, Braille had developed what is essentially modern Braille, a code that uses no more than 6 dots in a ‘‘cell’’ of 2 columns of 3 dots each to represent each letter and contains a system of punctuation and of ‘‘contractions’’ to speed writing and reading. (10) In contrast to the bulky books consisting of large embossed letters, Braille books can contain as many as 1000 characters or contractions on a standard 11-by-12-inch page of heavy paper, and to this day Braille can be punched with an awl-like ‘‘stylus’’ into paper held in a metal ‘‘slate’’ that is very similar to the ones that Louis Braille adapted from Barbier’s original ‘‘night writing’’ devices. (11) Also a talented organist who supported himself by giving concerts, Braille went on to develop the Braille representation of music and in 1829 published the first-ever Braille book, a manual about how to read and write music. (12) 8 years later, in 1837, Braille followed that publication with another book detailing a system of representation of mathematics. (13) Braille’s talents were quickly recognized, and at 17 he was made the first blind apprentice teacher at the school, where he taught algebra, grammar, music, and geography. (14) He and two blind classmates, his friends who probably were the first people to learn to read and write Braille, later became the first three blind full professors at the school. (15) However, despite the fact that many blind people enthusiastically adopted the system of writing and reading, there was great skepticism among sighted people about the real usefulness of Braille’s code, and even at the Royal Institute, it was not taught until after his death on January 6, 1852. (16) Braille did not start to spread widely until 1868 when a group of British men—later to become known as the Royal National Institute for the Blind—began publicizing and teaching the system. (17) Braille did not become the official and sole method of reading and writing for blind United States citizens until the 20th Century. (18) Helen Keller, a Braille reader of another generation, said: ‘‘Braille has been a most precious aid to me in many ways. It made my going to college possible—it was the only method by which I could take notes on lectures. All my examination papers were copied for me in this system. I use Braille as a spider uses its web—to catch thoughts that flit across my mind for speeches, messages and manuscripts.’’. (19) While rapid technological advances in the 20th Century have greatly aided the blind in many ways by speeding access to information, each advance has seen a commensurate drop in the teaching of Braille, to the point that only about 10 percent of blind students today are taught the system. (20) However, for the blind not to know Braille is in itself a handicap, because literacy is the ability to read and the ability to write and the ability to do the two interactively.
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