Abstract: For almost as long as braille has existed, researchers, advocates, educators, and innovators have been influenced by assumptions or beliefs about rates of braille readership. However, despite repeated claims in the media and in advocacy materials, U.S. braille literacy statistics have proven difficult to substantiate and clarify. In this session, authors Rebecca Sheffield, Frances Mary D’Andrea, and Sarah Chatfield will discuss their systematic literature review, which began in 2015 in collaboration with Smith-Kettlewell scientist Valerie Morash. The research findings raise numerous questions, including: In the absence of current, reliable data on braille literacy, what evidence is there about the demand for braille-related innovations and research? What lessons should we take from the proliferation of unsupported claims about braille literacy rates? How has the nature of being a “braille reader" changed with the advent of technology? How might researchers approach agreeing on definitions and gathering useful data on braille readership rates?

Sheffield, R. M., D’Andrea, F. M., Morash, V., & Chatfield, S. (2022). How many braille readers? Policy, politics, and perception. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 116(1), 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X211071125

Improving Zoom accessibility for people with hearing impairments  People with hearing impairments often use lipreading and speechreading to improve speech comprehension. This approach is helpful but only works if the speaker’s face and mouth are clearly visible. For the benefit of people with hearing impairments on Zoom calls, please enable your device’s camera whenever you are speaking on Zoom, and face the camera while you speak. (Feel free to disable your camera when you aren’t speaking.)