“I need braille” filled the subject field of an email inquiry. The request was for braille copies of a wedding invitation, reception invitation and reply card. My new client was to be married soon and wanted her friends to have invitations in a form they could read.

When the recipient received the invitation, she assumed it was in print and put it aside without opening it. Her reader was coming soon and would read it to her. The reader arrived the following week, opened the envelope, glanced at the contents and handed it back. It was braille, and she couldn’t read braille. What a happy surprise it was for the braille reader to read her mail independently and privately.

The braille didn’t stop with the invitation. The thoughtful bride-to-be also asked me to braille two copies of the wedding ceremony program and the words for hymns that were sung. She dressed up the braille programs with lovely ribbons and displayed them alongside similarly decorated print programs to be handed out as guests arrived.

For minimal effort and at nominal cost, we can prepare braille invitations and similar items for your special event. It will be appreciated more than you may realize.

January is National Braille Literacy Month. January was selected for the honor because it is the birth month of Louis Braille, the Frenchman who at age 16 created the raised dot method of reading and writing for those who are blind.

Those of you who have eyes that see, imagine for a few minutes how your life would be if you had no access to print. You could not read books, newspapers, restaurant menus, street signs, maps, utility bills, or your personal mail. You would have no way to jot down a grocery shopping list, an address or a phone number. You would not be able to write a letter and share your private thoughts without engaging someone to help you. Your only access to information would be through what others choose to tell you or by listening to the radio, TV and other electronic devices.

Braille makes all of these things available to those whose eyes do not see. Virtually anything in print can be put into braille.

How can you help your braille-reading friends?

A little bit of braille can make a big difference. For a nominal cost, we can help with all of these ideas and many more.

Please let me know how I may be of help.

Thank you to all who requested a free 2013 braille calendar. Your response has been so enthusiastic that we have run out of calendars.

You can still order a calendar in time for the New Year by contacting the producer of the calendars directly. Here is information to make your request by Mail, Fax, or E-mail:

Mail
American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
18440 Oxnard Street
Tarzana, CA 91356

Fax
1-800-343-3219

E-mail
calendars@actionfund.org

Best wishes for a joyful month of December.

2013 braille calendars are here for free distribution to braille readers. The calendars are provided by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, Tarzana, California.

The comb-bound calendar measures a handy 6 by 6 1/2 inches. There is a page for each month. Major holidays are listed at the bottom of the appropriate page.

Additional free services provided by the American Action Fund are a Children’s Lending Library, pre-school through high school, available in the U.S. and Canada and a Newspaper for Deaf-Blind Adults, sent internationally.

Request a Free Braille Calendar
To request a calendar, you may use the comment feature at the end of this blog post, or call Carolyn’s Braille Services at 425-778-8428.

To protect your privacy, please don’t post your mailing address in the comment. I will email you to ask for a mailing address soon after I read your request.

Calendars will be sent FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND to those eligible for this mailing privilege.

I have long wanted to prepare a little booklet called “Survival Braille.” It would contain practical, easy-to-do ideas for a person who is losing vision. Here are two examples of the hints such a booklet might contain.

A Little Braille Can Go a Long Way

My senior citizen student was making good but slow progress working her way through the braille alphabet. She was rapidly losing vision and had little useful sight remaining. She liked to cook. Her biggest challenge at the moment was identifying spices. She brought her spice bottles to our private tutoring session and expressed her frustration.

The Solution
Together we devised short abbreviations for each spice and brailled labels that we placed on the bottles. Because we planned and carried out this activity together, she could readily read the labels. Once again, she felt confident she used the right spices for her recipes.

This quick and practical use of a little bit of braille sparked her desire to learn more. Soon she was brailling short thank you notes and get well cards for others in her support group.

Don’t Eat the Fishing Worms

You don’t have to be an expert braille reader to label items around the house and make life a little easier. For some situations, you don’t need to use braille at all. Here is a story about another of my senior citizen students.

This student was doing well with her beginning braille lessons. Getting organized in the kitchen was taking a little longer. She bought cottage cheese, margarine and sour cream that came in similar-feeling containers; all resided in the refrigerator. To determine the contents, she opened the lid, dipped in her finger and scooped up a taste until she found the one she wanted.

One day as she was about to taste test, her senses of touch and of smell told her not to. The container she had selected held her husband’s fishing worms!

The Solution
We put a single rubber band around the cottage cheese, two rubber bands around the margarine, and three around the sour cream. Note that the items are arranged alphabetically as the number of rubber bands increases. From then on, if she found an unmarked container in the refrigerator, she moved it to her husband’s section of the refrigerator for him to discover. As her braille skills increased, we gradually moved to braille to help keep her kitchen in order.

Share Your Tips and Shortcuts

Do you have ideas that help smooth out the rough spots when vision is failing? Please share with us so others may benefit from your experiences. Use the comment section below, call Carolyn at 425-778-8428, or email carolyn@cmbrailleservices.com. Perhaps together we will write that “Survival Braille” booklet.

Carolyn’s Braille Services has 2012 braille calendars for free distribution to braille readers. The calendars are provided by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, Tarzana, California.

The comb-bound calendar measures a handy 6 by 6 1/2 inches. There is a page for each month. Major holidays are listed at the bottom of the appropriate page.

Additional free services provided by the American Action Fund are a Children’s Lending Library, pre-school through high school, available in the U.S. and Canada and a Newspaper for Deaf-Blind Adults, sent internationally.

Request a Free Braille Calendar

To request a calendar, you may use the comment feature at the end of this blog post, or call Carolyn’s Braille Services at 425-778-8428.

To protect your privacy, please don’t post your mailing address in the comment. Do remember check your email address for accuracy. I’ll email soon to ask for a mailing address.

Calendars will be sent FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND to those eligible for this mailing privilege.