Resources and Information for Parents About Braille

Learning Braille

The following are resources that teach the braille code. Please contact individual organizations and companies for detailed information and/or prices.

• New Programmed Instruction in Braille, 2nd Edition by Ashcroft, Henderson, Sanford, and Koenig. Available in print, using simulated braille (i.e., ink print pictures of the dots). Also the NPIB Companion Reader in embossed braille, to practice reading along with the NPIB program. Often used in university programs.
  
  SCALARS Publishing
  P.O. Box 382834
  Germantown, TN 38183-2834
  Telephone: (901) 727-0001
  Fax: (901) 737-2882
  
  
• Braille Codes and Calculations, by Pesavento. Available in print, with simulated braille. Teaches literary braille and basic Nemeth code. Often used in university programs.
  
  Exceptional Teaching Aids
  20102 Woodbine Avenue
  Castro Valley, CA 94546
  Telephone: (800) 549-6999
  E-Mail: exteaching@aol.com
  Web site: www.exceptionalteaching.com
  
  
• The Braille Tutor, by Kapperman, et al. Computer assisted instruction and refresher course (DOS only) designed for sighted people who have access to a computer and wish to learn braille.
  
  Association for Education & Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER)
  4600 Duke Street, Suite 430
  Alexandria, VA 22304
  Telephone: (703) 823-9690
  
  
• Braille Through Remote Learning online braille course. Accessible through Windows, DOS, or Macintosh computers. Offers three levels of courses.
  
  Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
  923 Broad Street, Suite 100
  Durham, NC 27705
  Telephone: (919) 286-1911
  E-Mail: gotwals@shodor.org
  Web Site: www.brl.org
  
  
• Braille transcribers’ courses through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Offers correspondence courses in braille transcribing and proofreading for literary braille. Eligibility requirements for the transcribing course include U.S. citizenship or residency, and a high school diploma or equivalent. To become a certified transcriber, one must go through the NLS course, which may take a year or more to complete the 18 lessons. Courses are also available in Nemeth code and music braille.
  
  National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  Washington, DC 20542
  Telephone: (800) 424-8567.
  Web site: www.loc.gov/nls
  
  
• Just Enough to Know Better, by Eileen Curran, was designed specifically for parents of blind children who are learning braille. It is not intended to teach all the rules of the literary braille code, but it does introduce all the Grade 2 contractions and points out some common exceptions.
  
  National Braille Press Inc.
  88 St. Stephen Street
  Boston, MA 02115
  Telephone: (617) 266-6160 or (800) 548-7323
  
  
• Braille Reading for Family Members, a correspondence course offered free of charge through the Hadley School for the Blind. This course uses Just Enough to Know Better as part of a self-study program for parents or family members of blind or visually impaired children who wish to learn braille.
  
  Hadley School for the Blind
  P.O. Box 299
  Winnetka, IL 60093
  Telephone: (800) 323-4238
  Web site: www.hadley-school.org

Books & Videotapes for Parents

Each of these resources offers valuable information about braille literacy.

For these and other titles of interest to parents of young children who are blind or visually impaired, see Braille Literacy and Education in the AFB Press online bookstore.

• Instructional Strategies for Braille Literacy, edited by Diane P. Wormsley and Frances Mary D'Andrea
• Beginning with Braille: A Balanced Approach to Literacy, by Anna M. Swenson.
• Children with Visual Impairments: A Parents’ Guide, by M. Cay Holbrook
• Understanding Braille Literacy (video)

AFB Press
American Foundation for the Blind
11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300
New York, NY 10001
Telephone: (800) 232-3044
Web site: www.afb.org/store

• The Bridge to Braille, by Castellano and Kosman. Gives an overview of reading and writing with braille for young children, and how parents can promote early literacy.
  
  National Federation of the Blind
  1800 Johnson Street
  Baltimore, MD 21230
  Telephone: (410) 659-9314
  Web site: www.nfb.org
  
  
• Personal Touch: Braille for Lifelong Enrichment. This video is available free on loan from the Hadley School for the Blind (see address above).
  
  

Other Sources of Information

• DOTS for Braille Literacy This free newsletter is produced three times a year, and includes information about new braille products, strategies for teaching, and resources for teachers, parents, family members and anyone interested in braille literacy. Available in print, braille, on disk, and via e-mail.
  
  DOTS for Braille Literacy
  American Foundation for the Blind
  100 Peachtree Street, Suite 620
  Atlanta, GA 30303
  Telephone: (404) 525-2303
  Fax: (404) 659-6957
  E-Mail: literacy@afb.net
  
  
• The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) sells a variety of code books, and braille transcription manuals for literary braille, Nemeth code, computer braille, music braille, grade three braille, and Spanish and German braille codes. They also sell the official code book for the braille rules, English Braille American Edition, 1994.
  
  American Printing House for the Blind
  1839 Frankfort Avenue
  Louisville, KY 40206
  Telephone: (800) 223-1839
  Web site: www.aph.org
  
  National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
  P.O. Box 317
  Watertown, MA 02471
  Telephone: (800) 562-6265
  E-Mail: apvi@perkins.pvt.k12.ma.us
  Web site: www.spedex.com/napvi
  
  
• http://www.az.com/~dday/ Website maintained by a parent who home schools four of her children, including two who are blind. Includes many suggested activities and resources.
  
  
• http://home.earthlink.net/~vharris/index.htm Website with ideas for teaching braille and locating products and services.
  
  
• http://www.tsbvi.edu Website for the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which includes information about instruction for children who are blind or visually impaired, including the National Agenda for Children and Youth Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.
  
  
• brlhelp-afb@igc.topica.com Electronic mail list that discusses resources, information, questions and answers about braille literacy. To subscribe, send a message to brlhelp-afb-subscribe@igc.topica.com and you will be added to the list.