IF there was just one thing which I could tell my younger self, it would be read more #Braille and get your reading speed up. #Blind Braille learners, practice makes better. Don't put it off. Read with both hands, and get that speed up. You will thank yourself later.
@TheQuinbox@NoahCarver Yeah I do wonder about this too. I am perfectly fine enough reading Braille at like 30 WPM or so; the only times I encounter Braille seems to be little public signs, so it really doesn't take me that long. I use speech for literally everything else, and am quite good at it. Unfortunately I don't know good ways to improve my reading speed and have largely fallen out of practice. I've recently obtained a Braille display, so that may help
@BrailleScreen@TheQuinbox@NoahCarver I tested at 245 wpm braille speed in high school. But that was mostly reading with one hand. But also, 30 wpm? instinctively gasps Ow, brain.
@NoahCarver@singingnala@BrailleScreen@TheQuinbox Practice. That's basically it. When I was at the Colorado center, I didn't have a Braille display, so I hadn't read Braille for years. In training, I read Braille books a couple of times a week during Braille class, and went from about 105 WPM to almost 200. I didn't even notice the speed increase, it just happened over time. Find a book you want to read, and read it.
@singingnala@BrailleScreen@TheQuinbox@NoahCarver Wait, how do you read braille with both hands? I don't think I was ever taught this. Do you mean the traditional "hold your left hand at the left margin and read with your right" technique?
@miki@BrailleScreen@TheQuinbox@NoahCarver No. So, most people interpret braille with one hand. But the old braille reading technique I was taught was to also have a guiding hand as well. So, I read braille with my left hand. My guiding hand is my right. Now, it sounds silly when a sighted teacher is saying to you, use your guiding hand. At least, it did to me as a child. But, here's the thing. Your guiding hand reenforces what your reading hand is reading so you can read faster. So, if I read with just my left hand, I'm really getting what I'm reading. But, I'm reading more slowly. Add my right hand in and my reading speed increases dramatically. So, it depends on what my goal is when reading. If I'm aiming for efficiency, I use both hands. If I'm looking for a slow stroll kind of reading experience, I use only one hand. Does that make sense y'all?
@singingnala@miki@BrailleScreen@NoahCarver Yup, and it's the exact same thing I do. I read with my left hand, and use my right as my guiding hand. When I broke my left hand though I very quickly learned that actually reading with just my right hand alone is impossibly slow, the braille actually feels backwards!
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