Braille is still relevant – a Tribute to Louis Braille

4^th January is birthday of Mr. Louis Braille (1809 – 1852). He is the inventor of script Braille – a written script for people with vision impairment and those who are deaf and blind.

Though there is so much advancement in Technology, still Braille plays a key role in the lives of people with vision impairment and deaf blind. We see there are several arguments like “well, there are now computers that could replace Braille” or “audio books would be handy and there is no need of Braille” and so on… Correct, there are several alternatives but nothing could replace Braille. Here are some benefits of Braille:

• Braille is the only form that helps anyone with visual disabilities to learn spellings; by listening to audio book, there is perhaps no way to learn spelling and using computers one has to read character by character but that wouldn’t be as pleasant as reading a physical book
• Braille is the only medium that one can use even at noisiest places; Braille displays could be handy
• Having headphones all the time into ears may cause health issues, again, Braille displays would be handy
• For deaf-blind users, Braille would be the only option either for reading physical books or using computers and mobile devices
• Practically speaking, Braille helps immensely to create awareness among mainstream world. When we demo using Refreshable Braille display, participants often get a wow experience

There are a lot of advantages than above! Lets pay a tribute to Louis Braille.