Power Grid Blog
Are Smartphones Threatening the Future of Braille?
February 15, 2012 | AAPD Power Grid Blog Team
by Jenna Lenskold, AAPD Communications Intern
With apps that unlock cars, tell you the song that is playing on the radio, and can read the barcode of a product to tell you the price, it sometimes makes you wonder if there is anything that Smartphones cannot do. With technology advancing more and more every day, hundreds of apps have been created to make everyday tasks even easier. For people in the disability community, these apps tend to be very beneficial. Some have been created specifically for children with autism whiles other apps are great learning tools in general. It could even be argued that texting is extremely helpful for the deaf community because now talking on the phone is not the only form of instant communication.
Recent investigation has shown that Smartphone use among people with vision impairments is extremely high. Those who are completely blind tend to use Smartphone apps to do many everyday tasks, such as reading bills before paying. Ronaldo Terrazas, who was interviewed for this article, explained that being able to wave his Smartphone camera over a bill and have the amount read aloud made him feel confident that the cashier or waiter was giving him the correct amount of change back. Text to Talk apps, where the Smartphone reads aloud text messages, emails, or any other text on the screen are also vitally important to people with vision impairments. Apps like these are becoming the common way to get jobs done.
While these apps are convenient and make life easier, a startling realization is coming to the surface. As more people turn to technology, laptops, and Smartphones for daily needs, braille is becoming less common. Braille, the alphabet of raised dots that the blind read with their fingers, is still being taught in schools, but many people say that once they become acquainted with laptops, they rarely use the braille alphabet. This leads to people forgetting braille altogether; in fact, one statistic showed that only one in ten people who are blind can read braille.
As the world continues to move towards using more technology, the use of braille may continue to decrease. While some people argue that there will always be some need for braille, others believe that technology has now become the new language for people who are blind.
To read more on this issue, click here.
