Beyond Sight Education Professionals

As the month comes swiftly to an end, I can’t forget to talk about braille literacy month! 😎🎉

Braille comes in different formats such as traditional (paper) or digital (using a device), but there are also many varieties such as alphabetic, literary, and Unified English Braille.

The biggest passion I have when it comes to braille is to spread the truth AND the law:

Sec. 300.324 (a) (2) (iii)
“In the case of a child who is blind or visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP Team determines, after an evaluation of the child’s reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child’s future needs for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child.”

Pictured above: “Braille Literacy Month BSEP acronym standing for Beyond Sight Education Professionals.”

Blindness is completely misleading. Most people think that being blind means that someone “can’t see.”

That’s just simply not the case, in every case.

Being visually impaired is an entire spectrum. It could have to do with your level of visual acuity, blurry or blind spots, your ability to see light or be sensitive to it, and even nothing to do with the health of the eyes at all — but the brain. Can you imagine that every single condition in this low incidence field is different?

Blindness isn’t one size fits all, but it is definitely a variable spectrum. We can’t wait to share more about the conditions, tools, and curriculums there are out there today to give our field the best chance at independence!

The picture on the right side shows the visual acuity of a person with 20/20 vision, 20/200 vision, and 20/400 vision. It’s a great way to capture how vision could be affected for some individuals out there with no field loss.