October is Blindness Awareness Month
From Rick Hansen Foundation (https://www.rickhansen.com/news-stories/blog/blindness-awareness-month-freedom-enjoy-little-things)
It is an opportunity to learn about these experiences and consider how everyday life can be more accessible and enjoyable.
Blindness is a spectrum. Some people have no sight, while others have some usable vision. People use different tools, including magnification, screen readers and Braille. Their access needs and preferences vary.
What is Braille?
From Braille Literacy Canada (https://www.brailleliteracycanada.ca/en/braille)
Braille is a system of tactile reading and writing utilized by those who are blind (or who have very low vision). Developed in the 1820s and 1830s, the system is named after its creator, Louis Braille, a young French student who lost his vision due to an unfortunate childhood accident.
How Braille was Invented
From Ted-Ed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyfxQ6sdaIE)
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Canadian Connection -- Edwin A. Baker
From Historica Canada Heritage Minutes (https://www.historicacanada.ca/productions/minutes/heritage-minute-edwin-a-baker)
After losing his sight during the First World War, Edwin A. Baker co-founded the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. His determination and resilience carried forward to other blinded Canadians, empowering them to live independently.
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Canadian Connection -- Roland Galarneau
From The Canadian Encyclopedia (https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/roland-galarneau)
Roland Galarneau was born with only 2 per cent of his vision. He received his primary education at the Institut Nazareth in Montreal, one of the first institutes in Canada to teach Braille. Galarneau found a job as a janitor for the federal Department of Public Works. To further his education, he signed up for night classes in engineering at the University of Ottawa. He also taught himself to do mechanical work, and he was promoted to machinist at Public Works.
In 1952, Roland Galarneau built a microscope that allowed him to read engineering materials and instructions letter by letter. He referred to this as the “greatest moment” of his life because it was the first time he could read print. Galarneau called this invention the “roloscope.” This experience inspired him to try to increase Braille usage, and in the early 1960s he had the idea to develop a computerized machine that would convert Latin-alphabet texts into Braille. He thought that if Braille became easier and cheaper to produce, more people would read it and more up-to-date texts would be published.
In the late 1960s, Galarneau invented the Converto-Braille, a computerized printer capable of transcribing text into Braille at 100 words per minute. This was a landmark innovation for people with visual impairments, as it increased their access to textbooks and other written information. Galarneau developed faster versions of the Converto-Braille in the 1970s. The company he founded eventually adapted the machine into software for IBM computers in the 1980s. This software was a precursor of the Braille software used today.
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Learn the Basics of Braille
From Braille for Sighted Classmates (https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/braille-sighted-classmates-and-family-members/)
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How Braille Works -- Grade One Braille in One Lesson
Guide Dogs
Seeing eye dogs—more formally known as guide dogs—are highly trained working dogs that help individuals who are blind, Deafblind, or have low vision navigate their environments safely and independently.
What do Guide Dogs Do?
- Obstacle Avoidance: They guide their handlers around physical obstacles on the ground and overhead.
- Curb and Stair Detection: They stop at changes in elevation, such as curbs, steps, and staircases.
- Traffic Negotiation: They help cross streets and navigate through moving environments.
- Intelligent Disobedience: They are trained to deliberately disobey a handler's command if following it would put the handler in danger (e.g., stepping into oncoming traffic).
Learning Commons
Students are enjoying feeling Braille and making their own messages in Braille! Check out a book from our display that features characters who are blind or with low vision.
Read. Learn. Grow.
