Braille is a system that involves touch reading and writing. The raised dots represent the alphabets, numbers, and even music notes and symbols. By using Braille, people with visual impairments are provided with a means of literacy enabling them to read, write and pursue hobbies with braille materials such as hymnals, music scores and board games.

Braille, however, started as a military code… This was called ‘night code’ and was used by the French army army to communicate at night without using any illuminations or words. Louis Braille, a fifteen-year-old French schoolboy, learned about this code and developed it into the Braille system we are familiar with today.

Braille is not a language… It is a tactile alphabet that can be used to write any language such as Chinese, Arabic, English and many others. There is even a special version of Braille for mathematics, called the Nemeth Code. It can be used to transcribe math, algebra and calculus.

Braille can be read as quick as flash… With practice though. Some fast braille readers are known to skim through 400 words in a minute, whereas a sighted reader can read 300 words per minute. The secret to reading braille so quickly is using both hands and a light touch. So when one hand reads, the other is poised to start on the next line.