When Julia's daughter was just 20 months old, she and her husband began to introduce her to braille labeling toys, books, and even her nursery furniture. We wanted her to get used to the feel of the braille cells at a very young age so that it would be natural to her. Julia first enrolled in Hadley in 1998, when her daughter, who has bilateral hypoplasia of the optic nerves, was just an infant. I want her to have every opportunity to learn and enjoy the world. While Julia has learned a great deal from her Hadley courses, she and her husband also feel they learn from their daughter.
Braille remains a priority in the household.
I know that braille will not be her only tool for communication. She will have the benefit of untold technological devices that may be developed in the future. Still, knowing braille gives her what sighted children have the connection between words and symbols. There will be many times in her life when having braille may help her. I want her to be able to enjoy the private pleasure of sitting alone, quietly, with a book.