Factors Associated with Proficient Braille Skills.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with having proficient braille skill, with a specific interest in employment status.

Method: Survey data were collected in 2021 and 2022 from 449 employed and unemployed people with low vision and people who were blind, all of whom were legally blind. Proficient braille skill was the dependent variable in two logistic regression models (full sample model and totally blind only model) that included age category, age of blindness onset, sex, education level, non-visual disability, level of vision loss, assistive technology (AT) skill level, and employment status as independent variables.

Results: We found that people who (a) experienced visual impairment at a younger age, (b) were blind or had less functional vision, (c) were younger, (d) were female, (e) had higher self-reported AT skill, and (f) were employed were more likely to have proficient braille skills.

Discussion: Multiple variables were related to proficient braille skill, some anticipated based on previous research (younger age of blindness onset, less functional vision, employment) and some unexpected (younger age, being female, greater AT skill). Although employment had a small association with proficient braille skill for the entire sample, it had a stronger association for people who were totally blind. Higher rates of proficient braille skills among people between the ages of 21-30 may be a consequence of laws passed in the 1990s.

Implications: With easy access to braille in the form of refreshable braille technology, it is more important than ever that people with visual impairments of all ages have the opportunity to learn braille. Additional resources for learning braille as well as support and encouragement are needed, particularly for youth and adults who acquire vision loss.