Braille in Real Life

Braille literacy changes lives every day. Click on the titles below to read personal stories, news articles, and inspiring true accounts of braille's lasting impact.

Perkins Braille Instructor is Teacher of the Year

Perkins braille teacher, Rosalind "Roz" Rowley, was named 2010 Teacher of the Year at the National Braille Challenge. Roz graduated from Perkins in 1964 and has taught at the school for nearly 40 years. Read more about Roz, her teaching strategies, and watch her award nomination video.

Braille in Real Life: A Personal Account of Braille Literacy’s Impact

In Gayle Unplugged, the director of Adaptive Technology, a Division of Perkins Products, shares her thoughts on a variety of topics. In this entry, Gayle Yarnall tells how she learned braille as an adult and describes specific ways in which it changed her personal and professional life for the better.

NewView Oklahoma Video: The Importance of Braille Texts 

Watch this video from the nonprofit organization NewView Oklahoma about the importance of braille literacy and access to braille textbooks. This video includes shots of braille users writing with the Next Generation Perkins Brailler.

Irreplacable Braille, Indispensable Lions

LION Magazine takes a closer look at the impact of declining braille literacy rates and tells the story of what organizations like Perkins and Lions International are doing to reverse this trend. 

One Teacher's Story: Making Braille Literacy Possible

When Perkins Secondary School reading teacher Roz Rowley realized one of her brightest students was having difficulty learning braille, she wanted to understand why. The reason: dyslexia. She turned to the most widely used learning tool for dyslexic students, The Wilson Reading System. Learn how she adapted this system for students who are blind.

"Braille: A Special Gift" 

Timothy Vernon, a patron of Perkins' Braille & Talking Book Library, was one of three winners in the Library's essay contest, "How Braille Made an Impact in My Life." Vernon is featured in our bi-monhtly e-Newsletter called Perkins Insight. Learn how Vernon uses braille to compete professionally and enrich his personal life. Also read the full text of his essay and fellow essay winners: Perkins Secondary student Samantha Lylis and Peabody High School Student Kayla Bentas.

Braillers to Baghdad

When Perkins heard about the Al Noor School for the Blind in Baghdad, a school with 60 students and only 10 braillers, we knew we had to help. In October 2008, Perkins Products donated 20 Perkins Braillers® and Perkins' Braille & Talking Book Library donated a 72-volume English braille Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. CNN video captured this inspiring story. Seeing the impact of the donation, Perkins Products sent a second shipment in August 2009.

A Boost for Braille

The Boston Globe visits Perkins' campus. Find out what Perkins is doing to promote braille literacy as the number of braille literate school-age children who are blind in the United States continues to decline. 

Technology Hurting Braille

The Metro West Daily News examines the impact of modern technology on declining braille literacy rates.

Some Favor Braille over New Technology

Honoring the bicentennial of Louis Braille's birth, this news story outlines the lasting relevance of braille literacy in an age of increasing technology.  

Perkins Braillers Making a Difference in Africa and India

In many developing countries, inadequate education for children who are blind results in large numbers of blind adults dependent on families who are already struggling. Increasing braille literacy internationally is one way to help reverse this trend. In this story, learn how two Perkins Brailler manufacturing plants are working to do just that.