vb960310.htm

Perceptions of Braille Usage by Legally Blind Adults

F.K. Schroeder

Abstract: In this qualitative research, case study interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth examination of the meaning of braille in the lives of eight legally blind adults. Issues of self-esteem, self-identity, and the "stigma" of being a person with a disability were found to be integrally intertwined with the subjects' expressed feelings about braille.

Since the 1980s, membership organizations of blind people, parents of blind children, professionals in the field, and producers of braille materials have decried the nationwide decline in the use of braille and in braille literacy and have called for the increased availability of braille materials and greater access to braille instruction by blind children (Jernigan, 1988; Rex, 1989; Spungin, 1989; Stephens, 1989; Pierce, 199 1; Wittenstein, 1994). Although there are no national data on illiteracy among people who are blind, the American Printing House for the Blind's annual registry of legally blind students has noted a consistent decrease in the percentage of legally blind students who use braille (Kirchner, 1988). Specifically, in 1963, according to APH data, 51 percent of legally blind school children in graded programs, in public and residential schools combined, used braille as the primary reading medium, and another 4 percent read both braille and print. APH data show that percentages of braille users have declined steadily, reaching a low of 9.45 percent in 1994. The 1995 data record the percentage of braille users at 9.62 percent. Similarly, an early study (1979) by the National Library Service (NLS) (cited in Skilbeck, 1990) also noted the rapid downward trend in braille usage: from 52 percent in 1963 to 18 percent in 1978.

Although these statistics show a severe decline in the proportion of braille readers, no empirical studies have been conducted to determine whether this decline constitutes a problem. The purpose of the study presented here was to find out whether legally blind adults consider this situation a problem.

Literature review

Not only is there no empirical evidence of whether legally blind adults perceive the decline in braille usage to be a problem, but there is a dearth of research on the use of braille by legally blind adults. For example, only three studies (Heger, 1964; NLS, 1983; Mack, 1984) have been conducted on the role of braille in the lives of blind adults who learned and use braille. These studies concluded that braille was useful for the majority of legally blind adult braille readers. However, since none of the studies examined how legally blind adults who were not taught braille as children function in their daily lives, no comparisons of the perceptions of adult braille users and nonusers can be made. Furthermore, studies (Hughes, 1979; Lindecker, 1981; Tuttle, 1974) that compared the efficacy of braille reading to reading in other media, such as compressed speech, normal recordings, and the Optacon, have supported the use either of other reading media or of braille in conjunction with these other media.

Finally, there have been no systematic studies on the link between braille usage and the employability or self-sufficiency of legally blind adults, although some studies have peripherally addressed this issue (Kirchner, McBroom, Nelson, & Graves, 1992; NLS, 1983). These latter studies found that the level of braille usage among the legally blind employed population was high compared to most estimates for the general legally blind population.

Despite the dearth of systematic studies in this area, there is much anecdotal evidence that braille plays a significant role in the lives of legally blind adults. Individuals have reported that the use of braille enhances their lives and that they would not be as functional without it (Caton, 1991; Huebner, 1989; Smith & Balin, 1989). However, no study has asked legally blind non-braille readers whether the lack of braille presents a problem in their lives or whether they are satisfied with the media they use. Furthermore, no study has examined the differences between the functioning of legally blind adults who use braille and those who do not. The study presented here addressed this gap in the literature.

Method

To obtain information on the perceptions of legally blind adults about braille, the researcher used a qualitative research method: in-depth case-study interviews of eight legally blind adults. In the interviews, which were conducted in 1993, those who were taught braille as children were asked whether they still use braille in their daily lives and to what extent, those who were not taught braille as children were asked to describe the reading and writing methods they use, and both the braille users and non-braille users were asked about their employment, social-leisure activities, and activities of daily living.

Since the researcher explored the type and extent of instruction that these legally blind adults received in reading and writing during their school years, the study focused on individuals who were legally blind at some point during their education (kindergarten through 12th grade) and who had completed high school. In addition, because all eight persons were under age 45, the study was limited to essentially one generation of legally blind adults.

SUBJECTS

The study used purposive, theoretical, or judgmental sampling, which is common in qualitative studies (Tesch, 1990). The researcher began the study by interviewing seven individuals (four braille readers and three non-braille readers). However, as insights and information accumulated and he developed working hypotheses, an additional subject was added (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The original seven persons were selected on the basis of several characteristics. A main objective was to study legally blind adults who have a range of experiences with braille: advanced braille readers, beginning braille readers, functional braille readers, and non-braille readers. Because another area of interest was the relationship between reading medium and the amount of remaining vision, the eight persons who were chosen had various amounts of vision at the time of the study and at different stages of their lives. Finally, these individuals were selected on the basis of their educational experiences, such as having attended schools for the blind or public schools with or without special education support.

All four braille readers who were initially selected had college degrees and worked in professional jobs. Of the three non-braille readers, only one had a college degree, and she was working at a nonprofessional job. In addition, the three non-braille readers included two who had attended schools for the blind and one who had attended public school. Therefore, an additional non-braille reader was added who was college educated, worked in a professional job, and had attended public school from kindergarten through 12th grade. Table 1 presents a summary of the demographic information on all eight subjects.

PROCEDURE

The researcher audiotaped all the interviews and produced verbatim transcripts. The interviews lasted from 1 hour, 45 minutes, to 3 1/2 hours. The number of pages of the transcribed interviews ranged from 57 to 92. An analysis of the data, following procedures suggested by Delamont (1992), Glaser and Strauss (1967), Lincoln and Guba (1985), and Miles and Huberman (1984), included coding the data and developing themes using the "constant comparative" method described by Glaser (1978). After the interviews were coded, Ethnograph (a software package) was used to manage and sort the data (Tesch, 1990). The program produced versions of the original data documents with marked and coded segments and printed out new documents in which all segments relevant to one category were grouped together.

TABLE 1 ****

To ensure reliability and validity, the researcher used procedures suggested by Goetz and LeCompte (1982), Lincoln and Guba (1985), and Merriam (1988). He took data and interpretations back to the subjects and asked if the results were plausible and used peer examination to ensure internal validity. Since reliability in the traditional sense cannot be applied to qualitative research, Lincoln and Guba (1985, p. 288) suggested that researchers should think about the "dependability" or "consistency" of the results obtained from qualitative data. To ensure the confirmability and dependability of the research, the researcher used the technique of "leaving an audit trail," so other researchers can "authenticate the findings of a study by following the trail of the researcher" (Merriman, 1988, p. 172).

Finally, since external validity in the traditional sense cannot be applied to qualitative research, Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggested that researchers should think about the transferability of the results obtained from qualitative data. Merriam (1988) described three ways that a researcher can improve the generalizability or transferability of qualitative findings: 1) provide a "rich, thick description," so anyone who is interested in transferability has a basis on which to make this judgment; 2) establish the typicality of the case, that is, describe how typical an individual is compared with others in the same class, so readers can make comparisons with their own situations; and 3) conduct a crosscase analysis, that is, an analysis across multiple cases that builds an integrated framework.

Analysis

This section summarizes the important themes and findings that emerged from the analysis of the case studies. In general, the analysis indicated that the braille problem should be viewed more expansively than simply as a literacy issue. An in-depth examination of the meaning of braille in the lives of these eight legally blind adults found that issues of self-esteem, self-identity, and the "stigma" of being a person with a disability were integrally intertwined with the subjects' reported feelings about using braille.

The data revealed striking differences among the attitudes toward braille that the subjects expressed. For some, braille seems to represent competence, independence, and equality, so the mastery and use of braille played a central role in the development of their self-identities as persons who are capable, competent, independent, and equal. Others, for whom braille does not play a significant part in their lives, had relatively neutral attitudes toward braille. Explanations of these differences were found in the literature on the development of self-esteem and healthy self-concepts by individuals with disabilities, growing up with a disability and dealing with the "stigma" of disability, self-acceptance and group identity, and the development of the disability rights and independent living movements (Eckart, 1988; Goffman, 1963; Wright, 1983; Shapiro, 1993).

Not only did braille have positive emotional connotations for braille readers, but their emotional attachment to braille went beyond its utility as a communication tool: Braille was tied to their self-esteem, independence, and feelings of competence. Rosenberg's (1979) and Harter's (1978) theories on the development of self-esteem stress the necessity of perceived competence for the development of self-acceptance and self-worth. In addition, Eckart (1988) found that children with disabilities are more well adjusted and have higher self-esteem when they are encouraged to develop various skills. The equation of competence in skills with self-esteem helps explain the strong emotional tie to braille expressed by those who mastered this skill. Braille may help make them feel competent as blind people.

The data also revealed that the subjects who reported neutral attitudes toward braille had several characteristics in common. They all have some remaining vision; described themselves as sighted persons with visual problems, rather than as blind persons; and avoided visual tasks to some extent. Goffman's classic work on stigma and Wright's work on the attitudes of persons with physical disabilities help explain some of these reported attitudes.

Wright (1983) described a stage of development in which people with disabilities try to conceal their disabilities and act as if the disabilities do not exist. During this stage, these persons internalize the idea that they should live up to the "normal" standard and devalue themselves if they cannot.

Goffman (1963) stated that the experience of stigma leads individuals to hide signs of their differences and attempt to pass as normal; this behavior was evident in three of the four nonbraille readers in this study. Wright also described the consequences of this behavior for self-acceptance and coping with a particular disability. She explained that the attempt to live by the standard of "normal" performance and to conceal the disability does not allow the person to clarify what he or she can and cannot do.

Thus, "covering" or "passing" can forestall modifications necessary to cope with the disability. Three of the four subjects with remaining vision (and, to some extent, all of them) appeared to cope by using their vision (passing behavior), but when their vision was not sufficient to function, they did not readily modify the situation (modification forestalled). As Goffman (1963) explained, they were busy renegotiating their identities in each new situation to avoid being found out. As a result, modifications were forestalled for those who were perceived as less severely disabled, whereas the more severely disabled individuals (in this case, the totally blind subjects) learned to cope with the physical limitations of their particular disability; that is, they learned braille.

THE EFFECT OF MINORITY GROUP IDENTIFICATION

Another important finding was that the subjects who had strong positive views about braille viewed themselves as blind people. This finding held true even for Amy, a non-braille reader who had a significant amount of remaining vision. Wright's (1983) theories of self-acceptance and group identification help explain this finding. Wright stated that during the stage of self-acceptance, people with disabilities come to take pride in themselves and begin to associate and identify with others who have disabilities. She also noted that it usually takes a critical life event to move a person out of the stage in which he or she does not want to associate with other people with disabilities.

Events came together to motivate two subjects, Mary and Jack, to learn braille. A critical life event (further loss of sight) caused them to rethink the way they viewed their disability (from being sighted people with visual problems to being blind people); they then internalized an identification with blind people as a group and began to associate with blind people. Amy, it is interesting to note, did not learn braille, perhaps because she has enough vision to get by and to pass as normal and thus continues to "forestall modifications" to accommodate her lack of vision. However, it is her identity as a blind person and her association with blind people that appear to cause her to view braille positively, as evidenced by her expressed desire to learn it.

The disability-rights and independent-living movements and the move from a medical model to a minority-group view of disability explain why some of the subjects identified themselves as blind persons, rather than as sighted persons with visual problems, and reported emotional ties to braille. These movements redefined independence as the control that an individual with a disability has over his or her life using what ever modifications are necessary. It is a shift away from the medical model, which focuses on an individual's deficits or deviation from the "normal" standard of performance.

Thus, as individuals with disabilities redefine what it means to have disabilities, they go beyond the stigma imposed by society that they have often internalized and begin to overcome their need to hide their disability or to pass as nondisabled (Frank, 1988; Scheer & Grace, 1988; Shapiro, 1993). They begin to display their disabilities and embrace the symbols associated with them. Five of the subjects identified themselves as blind persons and seem to have moved beyond the "stigma" of being blind.

As this discussion has indicated, the issue is not just whether a particular person does or does not need or use braille. Identity, self-esteem, and the "stigma" attached to being blind all have implications for the issue of whether the decline in braille usage is a problem.

Implications for school administrators

The study began with an inquiry into the beliefs and attitudes of legally blind adults about the role of braille in their lives. As the analysis showed, the print-versus-braille question appears to be a subset of the broader issue of self-identity. The purpose of this section is to raise a number of policy issues for school administrators to consider.

The data, together with the literature, suggest that braille is more than a tool or means of literacy for the legally blind people who use it; it may be part of their identities as competent persons with disabilities. Therefore, the policy issue for school administrators is not simply the choice between braille and print. There are more complex issues, such as braille as a symbol of independence and of competence and braille as a means of self-acceptance and group identity.

In many respects, the issue of braille versus print hinges on school administrators' acceptance of a particular paradigm of disability. The medical model, with its emphasis on deviation from the norm, casts the issue of braille versus print in terms of the practical benefit that either medium may have for making an individual child more "normal." In contrast, the disability-rights or independent-living paradigm poses the print-braille decision in terms of the self-esteem and overall self-identification of legally blind children as members of a minority group. The medical model, which includes the assumption that it is desirable for disabled people to perform more like nondisabled people, is the model that people without disabilities most readily understand and accept (Shapiro, 1993; Wright 1983). The disability-rights and independent-living paradigm, initiated by people with disabilities, embodies the assumption that to be different is to be no less competent or valuable.

Administrators of programs for blind students need to be watchful that their programs are not limited by professionals' reactions to the stigma of disability. As the history of education of children with disabilities in this country clearly shows, educators have had a strong desire to make these children appear normal and to help them to pass as nondisabled. Teachers of deaf students tried to mold them in the image of the hearing world, and teachers of blind students thought of and treated their students as "seeing" persons (Barraga, 1976; Shapiro, 1993).

This may not be a healthy approach for the development of the self-esteem and self-confidence of children with disabilities, nor the best way to grapple with necessary modifications. As Wright (1983) noted, by passing or behaving as if a disability does not exist, a person does not move to a stage of self-acceptance as an individual with a disability and, hence, modifications to a particular disability are forestalled. Therefore, school administrators and teachers of children who are blind may well be advised to try to understand their personal conceptions of disability and how these conceptions may lead them to promote particular educational strategies. They should be watchful for the emergence of a hierarchy in their programs that promotes the idea that the more like "normal" a student is, the better off he or she is.

By viewing the education of children with disabilities from the minority perspective, rather than from the medical model, that is, viewing the disability as a social issue, not as a medical issue, school personnel may facilitate students' adjustment to and acceptance of their blindness. The importance of adult role models for children who are blind should not be underestimated. The literature supports the proposition that role models need to be available to help children see how adults who are blind cope with the stigma attached to disability and move beyond it to a feeling of pride and self-worth (Wright, 1983).

Perhaps exposure to successful blind adults who identify themselves as blind and who are comfortable with their blindness is a necessary component in deciding whether students-both children and adults-should be taught to read print or braille. Exposure may be necessary to develop the awareness that alternative means of functioning exist.

Most legally blind persons have some remaining vision. However, when their vision is not sufficient to function in the activities of daily living, it would be desirable that the use of alternatives comes naturally to them. Instead, as this study showed, individuals who do not identify themselves as blind people devalue activities when they do not have sufficient sight to perform them visually, but those who may be considered more disabled because they do not have remaining vision more readily look for nonvisual ways to accomplish tasks.

The analysis indicated that identity as a blind person is crucial to whether a legally blind person will seek to learn braille. Legally blind children who regard themselves as blind may find that braille facilitates and intensifies group identification and thus leads to the development of self-confidence and self-esteem. As a symbol of blindness, braille may well strengthen group identity and a sense of normalcy, despite different means of functioning. Children who do not regard themselves as blind may reject braille because of its relationship to blindness. Because they view themselves as sighted people with visual problems, the introduction of braille may well assault the very fabric of their identities because these children identify with the majority and disassociate themselves from the minority. Therefore, the issue of identification with the group may need to take precedence over the issue of the appropriate learning medium, at least at first.

Implications for research

As a qualitative study, this investigation sought to uncover in-depth information about the functioning of legally blind braille readers and non-braille readers. Important insights were gained on the issue of self-identity and self-acceptance, but the nature of the investigation limits the generalizability of these findings. One difficulty the researcher experienced was identifying non-braille-reading legally blind adults who were college educated and working in professional jobs and who met the other criteria of age and onset of blindness before graduation from high school, despite assistance from the state rehabilitation agency for the blind in identifying subjects. It is generally assumed that among legally blind people there are highly literate individuals who use print and highly literate individuals who use braille and, perhaps, some who use both. However, on the basis of the researcher's experience, the field's assumption about the number of fully functional print-reading legally blind adults should be questioned-especially in light of the findings of earlier studies that legally blind braille readers are employed at disproportionately higher rates than the legally blind population as a whole (Kirchner, McBroom, Nelson, & Graves, 1992; NLS, 1983). Therefore, researchers may wish to conduct quantifiable studies of the degree to which legally blind print readers successfully compete in higher education as well as in professional and nonprofessional employment compared to braille readers.

Conclusion

Educators (both teachers and school administrators) have a moral responsibility to consider the effects of their educational practices on blind children's perceptions of themselves as whole blind persons or as defective sighted persons. To view the print-versus-braille controversy as simply a technical question that requires more precise assessment instruments is to disregard the most important role of educators. If educators do not help children define themselves as competent blind people, then inevitably they will allow society to define the value of blind children for them. The braille literacy question is fundamental to the willingness to assert a legitimate role for blind people in society. Educators cannot allow their best practices to guide them to a condition in which blind children are well trained but incapable of conceiving a first-class role for themselves in society.

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Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D., commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Switzer Building, Room 3028, Washington, DC 20202; E-mail: Fredric-Schroeder@ed.gov.