World Braille Day: Co Fermanagh schoolgirl Eryn Kirkpatrick, who has been blind since birth, shares her love of using Braille

Twelve-year-old Eryn Kirkpatrick from Fivemiletown, who has been blind from birth due to a congenital condition, optic nerve hypoplasia, is an avid Braille user since starting school.

Eryn, who is enjoying first year in Fivemiletown College, said: “I love reading and writing with Braille. I also love learning about all the new technology that is out there now but still enjoy reading story books in Braille sometimes. At the moment I’m reading ‘Just Call Me Spaghetti Hoop Boy’ by Lara Williamson and it’s ok.

"Jackie from RNIB (The Royal National Institute of Blind People) has taught me so much about the different assistive technology that’s out there and it’s all really exciting. It’s important to me that I’m able to read the same books and do my schoolwork as well as everyone else my age. I love reading and Braille helps me to do that.”

Eryn’s mum, Evanna Kirkpatrick, said: “Ever since Eryn was born, we’ve learnt to trust that she’ll find her own way in life. At school, Eryn’s textbooks and work sheets are all produced in Braille for her by the teachers and QTVI (Qualified Teachers of Children & Young People who are Visually Impaired) staff.

"She does a lot of her schoolwork using Braille and even though she enjoys audio books, she does like to have a hard copy book in Braille to read as well. It’s amazing to watch Eryn embrace assistive technology like the speech software JAWS on her laptop but still read using Braille too. In fact, for Christmas, Eryn asked for a Braille Bible.”

Evanna added: “As parents, when Eryn was very young, we were worried about the future and how she would manage at school or growing up but she continues to amaze us with the way she approaches every problem that’s thrown at her.

“It was important to us as parents, that from a young age, Eryn got every opportunity to learn skills that would help her progress in life. The QTVI staff at the school have been working with Eryn from a young age which really helps.

"I think back to when Eryn was born and just wish that someone could’ve told us then not to worry and to trust that things would work out. We just didn’t know anyone else who was blind and so had no source of support or inspiration.

"Over the years, we’ve had a lot of support from Guide Dogs, the Western Health and Social Care Trust and of course Jackie from RNIB who is now working with Eryn on expanding her knowledge of not only Braille devices, but other technology that can help and support Eryn now and as she progresses through secondary school.”

Today is World Braille Day, marking the anniversary of the birth of the inventor of Braille, Louis Braille (1809-52), the French man who himself became blind at the age of four.

Though now 200 years old, Braille is as vital as ever, and made even more so because of the advances in new technology, says leading sight loss charity RNIB NI.

The Braille system is based on variations of six dots, arranged in two columns of three. Variations of the six dots represent the letters of the alphabet, punctuation, numbers and groups of letters. Louis Braille’s system has been adapted to almost every known language.

Jackie Brown works as a technology for life coordinator with RNIB in Northern Ireland and advocates passionately for Braille to unlock the world of literacy and numeracy for people living with sight loss.

She said: “My love of Braille began when I started at a school for children with a visual impairment at the age of four.

"Being totally blind, I learnt Braille as my first medium to read and write. I did all my schoolwork in Braille and even now, I still use Braille each and every day.

“Growing up, I was acutely aware of how much Braille enabled me to do. I think it’s still so important in order to teach kids with a vision impairment numeracy and literacy.

"Aspects of grammar like spelling, learning punctuation and capitalising letters, all of which are quite difficult to teach using speech software or audio books.

“There’s no doubt that it’s easier to learn Braille when you’re younger but it’s never too late. There are so many reasons why Braille should be offered as part of the curriculum.”

Jackie added: “I love shared books and often read to my grandchildren. I visit schools across Northern Ireland and work with students with a vision impairment and support them with their learning of Braille and other assistive technology.

“I support them with learning Braille, but also other assistive technology like screen readers and Braille displays that turn text on the computer screen into refreshable Braille dots that they can read just like Braille on a page.

RNIB has 10,400 Braille library master-files it can produce a book from. It also has electronic Braille master-files for braille music scores and various maths and science books and codes, as well as maps. RNIB also transcribes magazines into Braille and TV guides are the most popular.

For more information call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or email [email protected]

Visit the RNIB website at rnib.org.uk/northernireland