Main Menu Adaptive Equipment Eye Disorders Eye Exams Eye Surgery History News Research & Clinical Studies Eye Diagram Glossary   Our Other Sites Bookstore Directory Other Resources Statistics Vision Health Resources Search All Sites Site Map Resource Links Third Party Links Braille Braille is not a language, but a code which represents a language, such as English, Spanish or French. Braille consists of a series of raised dots which can be read with the fingers. It was invented by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman, in 1829, to help people who are blind or whose eyesight is not sufficiently good enough for reading printed material. Braille is comprised of a rectangular six-dot cell (2 dots horizontally by 3 dots vertically), with 63 possible combinations using one or more of the six dots. There are two types of Braille, Grade 1 and Grade 2. Grade 1 Braille expresses every letter to form a word, while Grade 2 Braille uses contractions and short-form words.There are 189 different letter contractions and 76 short-form words used in Grade 2 Braille. Braille is read by moving the hand or hands from left to right along each line. Both hands are usually involved in the reading process, and reading is generally done with the index fingers. The average reading speed is about 125 words per minute, but greater speeds of up to 200 words per minute are possible. The History Of Braille Louis Braille, The Inventor of Braille The Braille Alphabet National Library Service Books for the Blind Web-Braille All brands and product names are trademarked or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright of syndicated content belongs to it’s respective author or news organization. Original content (including "look and feel") Copyright © 2001-2006  •  Vision Loss and Blindness Resources  •  All rights reserved.