When I was young, I was given the chance to learn braille. After about 5 years of learning it, they quit teaching me. Maybe it was because I still had vision? Maybe it was because my vision was stable? Or maybe it was because I had other things I needed help with and braille no longer was one of them? I don't know why they quit teaching me braille, but they did.
My vision stayed relatively stable for years, only bouncing around a little bit, heck I was even able to get a drivers license when I was 16, so why would I need braille? Why is this even an issue? Well, it became an issue to me when I was 17..
My vision is going away now...I no longer have that drivers license I got when I was 16. I have no peripheral vision anymore..my acuity is past the legally blind mark (20/200), and I can no longer see the big "E" on the eye chart. I have a hard time seeing colors, my eyes go through these phases of burning, and at random times, I will see nothing but spots in my right eye. You see, I have Albinism...HPS albinism to be exact, and with it, I shouldn't loose my vision, but I am...and they don't know why.
Now I see the importance of braille. I wish I knew the importance of braille back in sixth grade when they quit teaching me it, maybe I would have fought harder to keep it.
I have gone and tried to reteach myself. I remember up to dot5's, my alphabet, a few contractions, and numbers. Knowing those won't get me far, I want the whole code!
I wish I had my whole code, I feel that it would help me so much in school! I WILL learn my code though!
I took braille for granted when I was learning it. I never thought it would be as important as it really is, and I never want to see a child quit learning this valuable skill. I didn't think I would loose my sight, and I don't want to see another child struggle with school after they quit learning!
Even though you have some vision, you never know what will happen in the future. I went from having 20/70 vision, to where I am now, and its only been about 2 years!
Don't give up, you won't regret learning this!!
Hi! My name is Jillian and I am in college and also legally blind. Your blog has caught my interest because some of your posts sound like me, a year or so ago. Halfway thru school I decided to do a blind rehabilitation program, one of your posts you had written about pros and cons of going. If you would like to chat feel free! I totally understand where your coming from with all the frustrating eye stuff. :) if you'd like you can email me at jilliandaigle@gmail.com
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