What is Braille?

The Braille system of writing is based on a raised-dot code, in which one to six dots placed within a six-point cell signify a letter, number, or punctuation mark. Braille characters are formed by embossing raised dots on paper, and they are read by passing your fingers lightly over the dots. 

Louis Braille, who was blinded at the age of three, invented his system in 1824 after attending the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles–a name which translates to National Institute for the Young Blind. When the school founder, Valentin Haüy, opened the doors to his Parisian boarding school in 1785, it became the first of its kind. 

Haüy's motivation to help the blind started in 1771 after witnessing a horrifyingly inhumane scene. Haüy had stopped for lunch in a Paris cafe. While there, he saw a group of blind people being paraded around in a religious street festival (known as Saint Ovid's Fair). They were given dunce caps, oversized cardboard glasses and told to play instruments, all so that they could be publicly mocked. After opening the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, Valentin Haüy became known as the “father and apostle of the blind.”

Himself a professor of calligraphy and a linguist of 10 languages, Valentin Haüy was also the first person to actually emboss paper as a way to provide easy access to books for the blind. Rather than follow in Braille’s footsteps, Haüy tried using everyday letters and a printing press. Although it was a great idea, it didn’t really catch on, and regular Braille continued strong. 

Moon Type

Moon Type 

One form of raised printing that still uses the most recognizable parts of Roman characters is called Moon Type. Moon Type, invented in 1845 by William Moon of Brighton, England, partly retains the outlines of Roman characters. As an example (also seen above), instead of using the letter ‘D’, the Moon Type alphabet uses only the curved line of the letter ‘D’. 

Moon Type is still in limited use because it is often logically easier to master for those who became visually impaired later in life.

Night Writing

The Invention of Braille

Braille was first published in 1829, and a more fleshed-out version hit the circuit in 1837. The precursor to Braille was called Night Writing and was intended for battlefield communication in the dark. Invented in 1819 by French army officer, Capt. Charles Barbier, Night Writing gave Braille his inspiration for a new, less complicated version. In 1824, when Braille was only 15 years old, he halved Barbier’s 12-dot system and came up with a six-dot “cell” system.

To help readers understand the 63 possible dot patterns represented in the six-dot cell, Louis Braille numbered the dots down the left as 1-2-3 and the dots down the right as 4-5-6. 

The Braille Alphabet

Braille’s system was immediately adopted and used by his fellow students, but it took time for wider acceptance to follow suit. The system was brought into official use in Paris in 1854. Unfortunately, this widespread adoption occurred two years after Braille’s death. It then took until 1932 for the English-speaking world to start using Braille code. Braille is now used universally.

Writing in Braille

Writing Braille by hand is done with a device known as a slate that has two metal plates hinged together, allowing a sheet of paper to be inserted between them. The top of the two metal plates, the guide plate, has cell-sized openings. The bottom plate has six shallow divots, each in the Braille dot pattern. With a stylus, a writer can press the paper against the indentations to form the raised dots. Unlike typical writing, a person using Braille writes from right to left and reads from left to right.

More reading: https://stephensplace.org/braille-reading-resources/

About Stephen’s Place

Stephen’s Place is an independent apartment community for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, located in Vancouver, WA (7 minutes from Portland, OR).

If you have a loved one with developmental or intellectual disabilities who is looking for a community to live in, please contact us for more information. 

Stephen’s Place is a private-pay apartment community due to our state-of-the-art amenities and programs. We are a nonprofit and do not profit from our community. We are private pay because we spend more than some housing communities to ensure that our residents are comfortable and can safely live their lives with independence and dignity.