Perkins Spotlight
Timothy Vernon: Braille & Talking Book Library Essay Contest Winner
Timothy Vernon was three years old when he started learning braille.
While his classmates began to recognize printed letters in the alphabet, Vernon followed along with his fingers feeling the raised dots representing his A B C’s.
Twenty-two years later, Vernon uses braille every day to access the same information as his coworkers, friends, and family members who are sighted.
(Continued from Perkins Insight eNews)
“I think Braille allows for independence,” says Vernon, a customer service representative for NSTAR Electric and Gas.
Indeed braille literacy has enriched Vernon’s personal and professional life in many ways. In an essay entitled “Braille: A Special Gift,” Vernon describes in detail the impact Braille has made on his way of life.
Vernon was one of three winners in Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library’s essay contest honoring the 200th birthday of the braille code’s inventor, Louis Braille. The astonishing impact of Braille’s contribution lives on and Vernon proves the reading system is just as relevant today – even with incredible advances in technology.
At NSTAR staff meetings Vernon takes notes on a PacMate, an accessible pocket PC equipped with a refreshable braille display allowing Vernon to review everything he jots down by gliding his fingers over the display as quickly as his sighted coworkers can flip a page in a notebook. On his desk, Vernon keeps a list of extensions in braille.
“I don’t think that people who have called are even aware that he is a person who is blind,” said Vernon’s supervisor, Pilar Loyola. “He’s very polite, calm, and very smart. I think the system he has and his knowledge of braille has helped tremendously in his daily routine.”
Vernon recognized the advantages of braille fluency early on, as he was able to share stories with other children in Mansfield public schools and complete homework assignments independently. Later he mastered braille codes for mathematical and scientific notation and made the Dean’s List each semester at Fitchburg State College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications Media.
The braille system is available to individuals like Vernon thanks to another young man who had an insatiable thirst for knowledge – Louis Braille. Born in France in 1809, Braille was blinded in an accident when he was three years old. But he would refuse to let his loss of sight stifle his intellectual and creative vision – he excelled in school and received a scholarship when he was 10 to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris.
By the age of 15, Braille had improved upon a system of tactile reading and writing – originally developed for soldiers to write and read messages at night. His interpretation led to the raised dot reading system we know today as braille. An accomplished pianist, he also laid the foundation for braille representation of music – another contribution Vernon can appreciate in the 21st century.
An avid music lover himself, Vernon uses braille labels on his extensive CD collection. He loves transcribing new songs into braille so he may learn the lyrics and music along with fellow members of the Southeastern Massachusetts Festival Chorus.
“It’s a great way to be out in the community and to meet people,” Vernon commented about his participation in the choir.
For seven years, Vernon has proclaimed scripture passages at his Catholic Church. The scriptures are provided in braille by the Xavier Society for the Blind and Vernon transcribes the prayers and bulletin announcements each time he reads. Vernon said he feels lucky to know the braille code and be able to share his knowledge with others.
Vernon receives braille magazines and the latest best sellers from the Braille & Talking Book Library. He said braille offers a type of independence that technology alone cannot.
“Braille is something you can take with you anywhere. If you want to sit outside in the summertime under a tree with a book you don’t have to worry about carrying technology,” Vernon said.
Statistics prove, Vernon noted, that people who are blind and know braille have a much higher rate of employment than non-braille readers.
“I think it’s a combination of the technology and braille that allows for equal access for information and to compete in a sighted world,” Vernon concluded.
You can read all the winning essays online.
- Read Timothy's essay here.
- Read Perkins Secondary Student Samantha Lylis' essay here.
- Read Peabody Veteran Memorial High School Student Kayla Bentas' essay here.
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