Blindness and Braille

I've been thinking a lot lately about blindness, and the ways that we experience the world around us. Along the way I've found some great resources on the net, which initially surprised me. How on earth do people with limited vision use the internet? Well, turns out there are oodles of programs to help.
There's some great info on how to make your web presence more blind-user-friendly here...
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=57&TopicID=167

Including this article especially for bloggers.
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=57&TopicID=167&DocumentID=2757

Part of this exploration has included learning about braille , which I was surprised to find many blind people can't use anyway. The literacy rate amongst the blind is much lower that the sighted, and because braille is a letter translator, one must still learn how to use whatever language it's written in. This means that braille is hardly a universal blind language, so what is already a relatively small community is further split by language barriers.
There's a braille translator here that includes options for different languages...
http://libbraille.org/translator.php

You can see or print the braille alphabet here...
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/braille/index.html?id=MMZmMSzT
and they'll even send you a free card.

All this thinking about braille of course led to incorporating it into crafts, with some interesting results. I love the tactile nature of braille- even for someone who is not trained to read it by touch, the sensation of bumps and the knowledge that it can impart information is a little exciting.

I made some recycled innertube Braille cuffs for etsy...

as well as train pennies and lighter cases, which are interesting enough to work on but not quite ready to sell.

I also found some great blogs...
http://tactiletheworld.wordpress.com/
http://blindinsight.blogs.com/ <---- cute baby warning!

and acquired a newfound appreciation for my own sight. Sometimes now I look around and think about how the world would seem to me if I couldn't see it- what sounds and smells would mean to me, and how my life would change. For now, I'm thankful for the colors and shapes that make up my reality.