Re: the Personal Computer was the greatest thing ever invented for the Blind
- From: "Tom Lange" <trlange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:28:21 -0700
Hi,
I've used Optacons since 1978, when I was hired by IBM as a programmer trainee.
The Optacon was the only way that I could read my 3270 display terminal at the
time; the Talking Terminal wouldn't read the APL characters that I used to
write code. I agree with the statement that the Optacon really helped me to
see how things are laid out both on paper and on screen, which is a huge help.
While screen readers have been a godsend, I have definitely noticed a decline
in blind people's ability to spell the written word, and I blame this on the
de-emphasis on Braille in our educational system. It appalls me that only 10
percent of blind people in the U.S. read Braille, and, if it were up to me, I
would make Braille education mandatory, unless it could be demonstrated that a
student has a physical limitation that prevents him/her from reading Braille.
90 percent Braille illiteracy is, to my mind, nothing short of obscene. You
can talk about lack of manpower to properly teach it, lack of funding, et
cetera et cetera, but what that says to me is that there's a callous disregard
by the government for the literacy of blind people in this country, and that
makes me furious. Surely I can't be the only one who feels this way.
Tom
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