Jeff Heuchert
Staff Reporter

They were the six dots that changed the world for the blind and visually impaired.

The braille system, which allows people with vision loss to read and write using characters made up of an arrangement of one to six embossed points, was devised by Frenchman Louis Braille, who himself was blind from the age of three, in 1821.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Braille’s birth, and is an anniversary agencies around the world are commemorating throughout the year. Last Wednesday, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) marked the occasion at an open house at the United Centre in Stratford.

Staff and volunteers from the CNIB’s Southwest office in London were on hand to answer questions about the many services and resources they offer, and – only fittingly – to cut a cake in celebration of Braille’s birthday.

Mary Ann Marchand, a certified vision rehabilitation teacher with the CNIB, said the open house was  also about raising awareness about the braille system.

“Not enough people know about it,” she said, noting only about 10 per cent of people with low vision know how to use the communication tool.

Marchand added she can teach the braille alphabet in 10 minutes to someone who is young and eager, but noted most people with worsening vision are older and are less likely to want to learn something entirely new.

“As our population gets older, age-related macular degeneration is a very common eye condition,” she said. “In short, it means as we get older things wear out.”

Currently, the CNIB has 420 clients in Perth County, 260 of whom live in Stratford. In addition to weekly meetings with its clients, the CNIB, in partnership with the Lions Club, holds low-vision service days once a month on the fourth Wednesday at the United Centre. There, anyone can come in and speak with staff and try some of the tools that are available to assist people with low vision, such as the latest in computer software, magnifiers, talking watches and clocks and items with large print. Some days they will also hold an orientation portion with speaker.

The CNIB is Canada’s largest supplier of consumer products for people  with vision loss, with over 1,200 products. Some items, noted Marchand, such as a colour identifying or barcode reader, can be pricey, however, government funding is available through the province’s Assistive Devices program.

A catalogue with these items is available at the low-vision service days and on the CNIB’s website, along with information about its expansive library services, which include thousands of titles in braille, talking books, descriptive videos, newspapers and magazines; and other resources.

The CNIB also provides many rehabilitation services that are designed to keep people living independently. You can learn more about these services at www.cnib.ca.