Those with sight and hearing impairments have various systems to use in order to communicate including sign language and braille.
An early record of the idea of sign language was by philosopher Socrates who said: “If we hadn’t a voice or a tongue, and wanted to express things to one another, wouldn’t we try to make signs by moving our hands, head, and the rest of our body..?”
In Western societies it was as early as the 17th century when hand and finger movements were used to spell out words. The systems have evolved rapidly and now people with hearing impairments have the freedom to communicate as they please. The only disability is when those of us who have no such impairment have, for our shame, not learnt any sign language ourselves…
Thanks to French educator Louis Braille, people with impairments to their sight have been able to read books through the power of touch. Born in the 19th century, Louis lost his sight because of a childhood accident. He attended the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France, where he invented the system we now call ‘braille’.
In Louis Braille’s own words: “Access to communication in the widest sense is access to knowledge, and that is vitally important for us if we (the blind) are not to go on being despised or patronised by condescending sighted people. We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded we are vulnerable. We must be treated as equals – and communication is the way this can be brought about.”
We have scoured the World Wide Web for fun, practical, or educational finds for Reading Addicts either with these impairments, or who want to learn in order to communicate with our blind or deaf friends.
Here are five of the best we have come across!
“Learn to count to 10 with DK Braille Counting. Designed especially for visually-impaired pre-school children and their parents, this touch-and-feel book takes readers through a collection of tactile objects made in all sorts of exciting textures, including silky flowers, crackly leaves, and sticky worms. Each image is also printed in high-contrast colours to engage partially-sighted readers, while the rhyming counting story is printed in both braille and clear printed text to suit the needs of every child and parent.”
“This 26 piece Braille Alphabet set is 2 sided, one side upper case, another one lower case. Each piece has a Braille symbol that represents each letter in the alphabet. It is designed for ages 2 years and above. The pieces are made from sustainable rubber wood and coated with a non-toxic finish, all colours are made from vegetable dye.”
A fascinating story book about Louis Braille who invented the Braille system.
“Blinded at the age of 3, Louis Braille developed a superb memory that enabled him to do well in school. But that wasn’t enough–Louis wanted to read. Finding the alphabet impractical, he invented the raised dot alphabet, Braille, now used throughout the world.”
“Living with the use of one’s eyes can make imagining blindness difficult, but this innovative title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colours based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers. This extraordinary title gives young readers the ability to experience the world in a new way.”
American Sign Language for Dummies: “Used predominantly in the United States, ASL provides the Deaf community with the ability to acquire and develop language and communication skills by utilising facial expressions and body movements to convey and process linguistic information. With American Sign Language For Dummies, the complex visual-spatial and linguistic principles that form the basis for ASL are broken down, making this a great resource for friends, colleagues, students, education personnel, and parents of Deaf children.”
British Sign Language for Dummies: “This lively guide introduces the key hand shapes and gestures you need to communicate in British Sign Language. The illustrations depict both the actions and facial expressions used to sign accurately, while the companion CD-ROM features real-life BSL conversations in action to further your understanding. With these practical tools, you’ll become an expert signer in no time!”
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