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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">This is interesting. I’ve never had a student ask for Braille who didn’t read Braille in the first place. Why would they do that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Susan Kelmer
</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Alternate Format Production Program Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Disability Services<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Division of Student Life<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#CFB87C">T</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1F497D"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">303
735 4836</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#CFB87C"><a href="http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices"><span style="color:#CFB87C">www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#CFB87C"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#CFB87C"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><img border="0" width="150" height="56" style="width:1.5625in;height:.5833in" id="Picture_x0020_1279502566" src="cid:image001.png@01DC286A.61C81820"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#0070C0"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1F497D">Due to the nature of electronic communication, the security of this message cannot be guaranteed. If you’ve received this email in error please notify the
sender immediately and delete this message.</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"> athen-list <athen-list-bounces@mailman22.u.washington.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Deborah Armstrong via athen-list<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, September 16, 2025 11:32 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list@u.washington.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Athen] So your student wants Braille<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">[External email - use caution]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Thoughts from an experienced Alternate Media Specialist. Lately I’ve encountered fake Braille readers, so am posting this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Creating hardcopy Braille is time-consuming. We all want to serve our students best, but before you start OCRing, transcribing, editing, embossing, do these things:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Figure out if the student actually reads Braille. Many folks learn basic Braille so they can take notes, track contacts and find the right elevator floor
or gender-appropriate restroom. If they are truly only able to read a little bit, Braille is completely inappropriate for academic work. If they want Braille because they are “just learning it” read on.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Find out what grade they can read. I’ve had several students who can only read grade 1 or can read grade 2 but hate UEB. Make sure you know.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">If they need to read something short in class, such as prompts for a presentation, or a list of items for an in-class activity, a limited knowledge of
Braille will hinder them less. However their main materials should be provided as documents in Word, HTML, Daisy or whatever format they prefer. I have a hearing-impaired student who has learned only grade 1, and I give her handouts for in-class reading in
Braille but everything else is a text document. She has to turn up her hearing aids to read with speech, but until her Braille is better she’s stuck with that.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Find out if they have a Braille display and if they like using it. If so, it’s way easier to give them a BRF, Daisy, Word or HTML document, depending
on what formats their display is able to read. Some have sophisticated internal software; others must be connected to a computer with a screen reader, and others do both. If they prefer hardcopy Braille, of course you need to emboss it, but check with them
first.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Math is the exception. It cannot be easily worked with on a single-line Braille display – most of them are – and you need to know if they know the Nemeth
code or the UEB math code. Many of my Braille readers cannot read Braille math.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">I also encounter students who say they know Braille but don’t know any punctuation marks, a clue they read it only when necessary. You can give them
a cheat sheet of course, but it is likely they are reading at only 30 words a minute or less. Again this could work for a short class handout, or a table of contents for an eBook, or a guide to the page numbers a student has to read each week. Even for myself
I often emboss the table of contents for a book I intend to read with speech, and I read Braille more rapidly than most.
<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">If a student doesn’t read Braille recreationally, it is likely Braille you give them for class will not be helpful. To be a fast Braille reader you must
practice. Many Braille readers didn’t know they were practicing as kids, because they just got in to reading good stories. But adults who lost their sight later do know it is practice, and if they are not doing it then they do not really read Braille.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Be sure if they want Braille that they are signed up to receive Braille for free from NLS “The national library service for the blind and physically
handicapped” which serves U.S. citizens. They offer a free Braille eReader too. Books can also be ordered five a month through “Braille on Demand” which gives them embossed copies to keep. NLS has a large collection of fiction, nonfiction and Braille music.
Don’t re-invent the wheel.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Is the material already available or in the public domain? One of my students wanted to read some Edgar Alan Poe poetry in class. I found it already
in embosser-ready format so it was easy to download and send to my embosser. <o:p>
</o:p></span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">One other interesting fact: my three most skilled Braille readers actually have Down syndrome and are in a special program we have for developmentally delayed adults. Though they read at only a third
grade reading level, they actually **CAN** read, I’ve confirmed that. They devour all the Henry Huggins, Hobbit, Dr. Seus and Magic Treehouse books I can find.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">This is better than nearly all the blind adults I serve. One of them just finished reading a biography of Helen Keller out loud to her class which sparked a very informative discussion about different
disabilities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">--Debee<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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