Essentially Braille

05/28/2026

ESSENTIALLY BRAILLE REPAIRS BRAILLERS AND SOME TECH DEVICES

Tonya Drew attended her first KCB convention before COVID. She became a KCB life member in 2019, and was an early KCB tech grant recipient. Tonya provides braille transcription services through her business, Essentially Braille; she has been an exhibitor at the KCB state convention several times.

Tonya and her husband Benjamin have now added braillewriter and electronics repair to their business. Since the KCB 2025 state convention last November, Benjamin has serviced several Perkins braillers for KCB members. His work has been exceptional and his charges are very reasonable. Benjamin also repairs some tech devices such as notetakers.

For more information about repair services available from Essentially Braille, contact Benjamin and Tonya at 502-706-5007.

Essentiallybraille.com

Custom Braille Your Way

05/27/2026

I’m truly concerned about something.

I learned Braille in 2013, and it completely transformed how I read, write, and process information. Thirteen years later, I’m genuinely worried because Braille is slowly disappearing.

According to the RNIB in the UK, only about 7% of registered blind and low vision people now use Braille.

This decline didn’t happen for just one reason. Traditional Braille books are extremely bulky — one ordinary textbook can take up an entire shelf, making them very impractical to carry or store. That’s why refreshable Braille displays were created to solve the bulkiness problem. However, even basic Braille displays are expensive, often costing between $500 and $4,000, while advanced multi-line devices like the Monarch cost between $15,500 and $18,000. Because of these high prices, the majority of blind people simply cannot afford them.

Beyond technology, there are other serious challenges. There is a significant shortage of qualified teachers who can actually teach Braille, especially in mainstream schools. Many blind children are now integrated into sighted schools where Braille instruction is not given enough priority or time. Producing physical Braille books is also very costly, so they are not always available when needed.

Additionally, many children are diagnosed with vision loss later in life, which makes it much harder for them to learn Braille properly at the best age.

As a result, many people have moved completely to voice assistants and screen readers because they are faster and more convenient. Even though technology was meant to support Braille, it seems to be contributing to its decline instead.

This is a serious issue that affects literacy, independence, and opportunities for blind people.

Is this the future we want for the next generation of blind people? Should Braille be allowed to die like this?
— Seeing Beyond Sight

EssentiallyBraille.com

05/26/2026

Do you like to shop local? How about support your local community?

Essentially Braille puts proceeds back into the blind community. We purchased from other blind and visually impaired business owners.

When people purchase transcriptions, repairs, anything from Essentially Braille, you are supporting a visually impaired business owner. And, depending on where you live you’re supporting local. It’s a win – win situation.

essentiallybraille.com

Custom Braille Your Way

05/25/2026

Dear Sighted People,

If you work in a doctor's office and you hand me a paper form, whoever is with me has to read every single question out loud. In your waiting room. In front of strangers.

"Any changes in your sexual health?"

Out loud. In public. Because you handed me a paper.

Accessible intake forms exist. Use them.

05/22/2026

The idea that Braille is "useless" or "obsolete" is a common misconception, usually driven by a misunderstanding of how technology and literacy intersect. When people or organizations make this claim publicly, it usually stems from a few specific (though deeply flawed) perspectives:
​1. The "Technology Replaces Literacy" Fallacy
​The most frequent argument is that text-to-speech (TTS) software, audiobooks, and voice-activated AI have made tactile reading unnecessary.
​The Flaw: This mistakes information consumption for literacy. Listening to an audiobook is not the same as reading. Relying solely on audio leads to significant drops in functional literacy, affecting a person's understanding of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and structural formatting.
​2. Misconceptions About Cost and Efficiency
​Public statements against Braille sometimes focus on the economics of production. Traditional paper Braille books are bulky, expensive to print, and logistically difficult to distribute.
​The Flaw: This completely ignores the revolution of refreshable Braille displays and digital Braille technology. Modern tech hasn't replaced Braille; it has made Braille more portable, immediate, and accessible than ever before.
​3. Lack of Familiarity and Cultural Bias
​Because the sighted public rarely interacts with Braille beyond elevator buttons or restroom signs, there is a general lack of awareness about its systemic importance. Publicly dismissing it often reflects a broader societal bias that prioritizes fast, cheap, or sighted-centric design over genuine, independent accessibility.
​Why the Claim is Fundamentally Wrong
​When people publicly devalue Braille, they actively harm educational and professional outcomes. In reality, Braille is a critical foundation for independence:
​Employment and Income: There is a direct, undeniable statistical correlation between Braille literacy and employment. The vast majority of blind individuals who are successfully employed are Braille readers.
​True Independence: Audio cannot replace the independence of reading a restaurant menu, labeling household items, managing a professional presentation, or studying complex subjects like math, science, and music.
​Cognitive Development: For young learners, tactile reading stimulates the brain's reading networks in ways that auditory learning simply cannot duplicate.
​Public claims that Braille is useless typically rely on short-sighted views of technology or cost-cutting arguments, failing to recognize that Braille is literacy, and literacy is a fundamental human right.

Borrowed from Dee Ann Hart

Custom Braille Your Way

05/21/2026

Blindy Girl Rule #47: The wet floor sign is not your friend. It never was.

You've got your route. You know this store. You're basically a local legend in this aisle. And then CLACK the wet floor sign has materialized directly in your path like it had an agenda.

You are allowed exactly five seconds of rage. Then you collect yourself, fix your face, look unbothered, and keep moving like that sign had it coming.
We don't talk about it.
—Blindy Girl

essentiallybraille.com

05/20/2026

Enjoy blogs? Check out our Braille blog on

Custom Braille Your Way

05/19/2026

I’m truly concerned about something.

I learned Braille in 2013, and it completely transformed how I read, write, and process information. Thirteen years later, I’m genuinely worried because Braille is slowly disappearing.

According to the RNIB in the UK, only about 7% of registered blind and low vision people now use Braille.

This decline didn’t happen for just one reason. Traditional Braille books are extremely bulky — one ordinary textbook can take up an entire shelf, making them very impractical to carry or store. That’s why refreshable Braille displays were created to solve the bulkiness problem. However, even basic Braille displays are expensive, often costing between $500 and $4,000, while advanced multi-line devices like the Monarch cost between $15,500 and $18,000. Because of these high prices, the majority of blind people simply cannot afford them.

Beyond technology, there are other serious challenges. There is a significant shortage of qualified teachers who can actually teach Braille, especially in mainstream schools. Many blind children are now integrated into sighted schools where Braille instruction is not given enough priority or time. Producing physical Braille books is also very costly, so they are not always available when needed.

Additionally, many children are diagnosed with vision loss later in life, which makes it much harder for them to learn Braille properly at the best age.

As a result, many people have moved completely to voice assistants and screen readers because they are faster and more convenient. Even though technology was meant to support Braille, it seems to be contributing to its decline instead.

This is a serious issue that affects literacy, independence, and opportunities for blind people.

Is this the future we want for the next generation of blind people? Should Braille be allowed to die like this?
— Seeing Beyond Sight

Custom Braille Your Way

05/18/2026

One of the most common questions I hear is:

“How do blind or visually impaired people cross streets independently?”

The answer surprises a lot of people: most blind travelers are not relying on vision to cross safely. Instead, they use a combination of training, listening skills, orientation skills, and environmental cues.

Here are some of the techniques blind and visually impaired travelers may use when crossing streets independently:

1. Listening to Traffic Patterns: The sound of parallel traffic moving in the same direction is often one of the biggest cues that it is safe to begin crossing.

2. Alignment Techniques: Travelers learn how to line themselves up correctly at intersections using sidewalks, curb ramps, tactile cues, and traffic flow.

3. White Cane Skills: The white cane helps detect curbs, changes in pavement, obstacles, and provides important feedback about the environment.

4. Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS): Some intersections have audible or vibrating crossing signals that provide additional information when it is safe to cross.

5. Environmental Awareness: Blind travelers are constantly gathering information from sounds, textures, echoes, landmarks, and traffic movement to stay oriented.

6. Problem Solving and Judgment: Every intersection is different. Independent travel involves constantly analyzing traffic patterns, timing, and safety conditions.

7. Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Training: One of the most important parts of safe independent travel is proper Orientation & Mobility training. Certified O&M Specialists teach blind and visually impaired individuals how to safely analyze intersections, cross streets, maintain orientation, use mobility tools effectively, and make informed travel decisions. These skills can dramatically improve independence, confidence, and safety when navigating the community.

Not every blind or visually impaired person travels the same way; people may use different techniques depending on their level of vision, hearing, experience, and comfort.

Independent travel is a skill, and like any skill, it can be learned, practiced, and improved over time.

By blind on the move

Essentiallybraille.com