Writing for the Blind

29 Writing for the Blind Imagine how scary the world would be if you could not see. Blind people live in a different world. They cannot do things for themselves in the same way that most people can. Imagine now, being unable to read a book. Other kids can read, but you cannot see the words. You hear about great storybooks. You pick them up and feel them in your hands, but you cannot read them. Many years ago, a three-year-old boy named Louis Braille was playing in his father's workshop in France. The young Louis was playing with a sharp tool called an awl. He accidentally poked himself in the eye with the awl. Soon, germs got into his wounded eye and spread to his other eye. In a few days, Louis was completely blind. His life would never be the same again. Louis was an intelligent boy, but he could no longer learn at his school. Luckily for him, when he was ten, he won a scholarship to attend a school for blind boys in Paris. Still, he was unable to learn. The school had fourteen books with special raised letters, but they were nearly impossible to read.

Louis was discouraged. . . until one day, a soldier came to visit. The soldier knew a special code that was used in war. It was called “ night writing" . It had twelve raised dots. Using these special dots, soldiers could pass secret coded messages without speaking. They ran their fingers over the dots and figured out the meaning of the words even in total darkness. Young Louis realized that this could be a way for blind kids to read. The night writing code was too difficult, so Louis simplified it. He reduced the number of dots from twelve to six and made many other refinements. Still, his special code was not accepted by the adults. Louis did not give up. He worked on this special alphabet his entire life. After his death, his ‘dot reading' code caught on. It was soon being used everywhere to teach blind children to read. They could now use their hands to feel the letters, which gave them a new freedom-to read! Today, this reading code is named after young Louis. It's known as Braille.