Hundreds of years ago in Europe, bands of blind men would roam the fields putting on “shows”, where crowds would gather to laugh at their follies and throw them a few coins. Many years ago, a wealthy young Frenchman named Valentin Hauy saw them and felt sorry for them.
He decided to spend his money helping the blind. First, she founded the Institute for Blind Youth, in Paris, where she taught blind children to read and write. In 1784 Hauy published the first book for the blind. The printed letters were raised so that the blind students could feel them with their fingers. One of Haiiy’s school pupils was named Louis BRAILLE, about whom there is a separate article. Braille perfected a better reading and writing system for the blind.
The Braille system consists of raised dots. The blind “read” the dots by touching them with the tips of their fingers. In the United States, the Perkins Institution and the Massachusetts School for the Blind were founded in Boston in 1829, under the direction of Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe. One day a little girl from a farm was brought to Dr. Howe. The girl’s name was Laura Bridgman. She had been blind since she was a baby. She was also deaf and dumb, she could not hear or speak. Dr. Howe began teaching Laura by “spelling” single words, then complete sentences, into the palm of her hand and encouraging her to respond in kind. Laura remained at the Perkins Institution for most of her life and she was the first deaf-blind person to receive an education.
There have been many others since then. The most famous is Helen KELLER, who you can read more about in a separate article. Now there are many schools and organizations for the blind in the United States. One of them is the Lighthouse, in New York City, where blind people gather and are taught. The Lighthouse also has a shop selling items made by the blind.