A place to visit deceased family and friends is important to those who experience death. These places provide a sense of comfort and closure that help us mourn and move on with time. The blind or visual impaired have a hard time locating a grave without help. There are many ways of personalizing a gravestone in the modern world. Braille is becoming a popular option for the blind and those that have blind family members. There are dozens of conditions and diseases that cause blindness or visual impairment. That doesn’t mean that the impaired should have a hard time visiting the deceased.
What Is Braille?
Most people believe that braille is a language. Braille is actually a system of raised dots that read with the fingers of people who are blind or impaired. Braille can read with the eyes by someone who is not blind or does not have low vision. Used throughout the world in many native languages. This system of raised dots provides a means of literacy for all. This is despite vision impairment or the ability to perform everyday activities.
A group of blind students created Braille. They had expectations to read books that featured raised print. These formative books were difficult to produce and read. This made a student at the National Institute for Blind Youth yearn for an expanse of materials. That student’s name was Louis Braille, who was born in 1809. While attending the institute, Braille experimented with an alphabet. This alphabet could read with the fingertips. He adapted the tactile code known as “night writing”. Charles Barbier created and used this to send military messages. Sonography was the precursor of braille. This new system consisted of symbols formed within units of space known as braille cells. Each cell used is to represent a letter, number, punctuation mark, or a whole word.
What Is a Braille Headstone?
Many plaques and memorial markers feature both written letters and numerals. As well as braille to accommodate people of varying abilities. If you aren’t blind or impaired, it is possible to add a braille inscription to the headstone you choose.
Raised braille markings will make it more convenient for the blind or those with low vision to visit. At the final resting place of Helen Keller, you can find a plaque that have her name in braille. No matter what material you use, it is important that the braille message represents the tactile message. Routed-out braille consists of creating cavities and leaving raised, rounded dots. Raster braille is the preferred process for producing signage. It gets used on a variety of materials. Materials such as acrylic, aluminum, brass, laminate, plastic, steel, wood, and much more. An engraving professional will be able to transcribe your message. As a result, it does not matter which material you use.
If you have any questions about braille headstones, please contact Legacy Headstones. We can help with more information or further assistance.