BELL Academy Holds Braille Class for Children with Visual Disabilities

While most students are still on summer break, this week a special school is in session in sparks for children with visual disabilities. 

The NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy, who helps prepares blind and low vision children, ages four through 12, grow into confident and independent blind people, holds a 10 day Braille enrichment for literacy and learning.

Working with an instructor, Evie Hefty is learning Braille using ping pong balls to represent the raised dots that create the braille characters and letters. An egg carton helps with alignment.

Jeanine Mooers, National Federation of the Blind of Nevada says, "It replicates the six positions that the Braille dots go into in actual Braille."

Evie's mom, Tammie, brought her daughter to the 10 day BELL Academy this summer so she could learn new techniques. Tammie said, "She really needs to have these Braille skills, even though a lot of people think it's going by the way-side, it's not, it's a big necessity." 

Mooers is in complete agreement and says Braille is vital, even if  young person still has partial vision. "They're a lot of times encouraged to use the vision the have left which is not reliable and they wind up struggling through school."

Terri Rupp from the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada said, " I basically went through the school system learning large print, struggling, being completely ashamed of my blindness."

Rupp is now proud of who she and enthusiastic about others learning Braille early. 

One of the academy's students is her daughter Marley, who has the same optic nerve atrophy as she.  The classes last about two weeks, with a few dance breaks squeezed in for fun and mobility training.

This is the first year for the BELL Academy in northern Nevada. There are 50 like it being held across the U.S. and classes are taught at the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living in Sparks.

For more information on The NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy  visit nfb.org/bell-academy.

For more information on Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living, visit www.nncil.org.