In the early times, when a child was blind, he was doomed to be illiterate for the rest of his life. This is not the case anymore in this modern age. Today, blind children enjoy an almost equal opportunity with children without disabilities, as far as education is concerned. From the time the Braille method of communication was refined from the original concept introduced by its first developer Charles Barbier, this system of reading and writing has helped in educating numerous blind people. In the United States alone, around 50 percent of blind children who are in the school-age range in 1960 learned reading with Braille. The prevalence of Braille system as the major method of communication for blind children increased through the succeeding years.
More blind people became literate because of Braille method that it came to a certain point when the blind started to attend regular school to attain further education through Braille. However, according to a 2007 report from the American Printing House for the Blind, the usage of Braille has declined dramatically. Varied reasons are attributed to this decline, foremost of which are the constraints in the budget for schools as well as lack of support for technology. Aside from these setbacks, the continuing debate on the proper method of instruction for blind children has likewise contributed to the decline of Braille usage. The need for trained Braille teachers is also not met as public schools are short of funds to finance the training of their teachers.
With the advent of computer technology, Braille system has been revolutionized so that more young people now turn to software materials that aid the blind with text reading. Some portable device that integrates Braille in its technology is fast gaining popularity among blind readers. Technology however comes with high cost and not every blind people may be able to afford the price.