Braille is to blind people what print is to sighted people. It is the method by which a blind person can become literate.
Braille uses impressions on paper to create an alphabet, numbering system and punctuation.
Each character in braille is comprised of a maximum of six dots, three dots long and two dots wide. Motivation, level of sensitivity in the finger tips, and the ability to learn and retain new material are the key factors of success in learning braille. Diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis may cause nerve damage in the finger tips, making braille more challenging to learn. A wide dot form of braille may be useful in these situations. Wide dot braille uses slightly larger dots and has more spacing between the characters.