Author: April Ogden, Founder and CEO, It’s Your Outcome

Insights from It’s Your Outcome Career Coaching

Every January 4th, we pause to recognize Louis Braille Day, celebrating the life and legacy of the boy who gave millions of blind and visually impaired individuals access to literacy and independence. Louis Braille’s story is one of courage, ingenuity, and resilience—an inspiration for how a single idea can transform the world.

Picture this: A classroom in Paris, 1821. Blind students sit in silence, their hands resting on their desks, waiting for what comes next. Into the room strides Captain Charles Barbier, a French Army officer. He speaks of a system called “night writing,” invented to help soldiers send secret messages in the dark without exposing their positions to the enemy.

The students lean forward as Barbier demonstrates, running his fingers across raised dots and dashes. Among them is a young boy named Louis Braille, just 12 years old. Blind since the age of 3 after a tragic accident in his father’s workshop—where an awl slipped and pierced his eye—Louis lost vision in both eyes when an infection spread. But his blindness never dimmed his curiosity or determination.

For Louis, Barbier’s system isn’t just interesting—it’s revolutionary. He begins to dream of how this tactile code could transform the lives of blind individuals, opening up a world of words, stories, and possibilities.

What happens next is nothing short of extraordinary. Louis doesn’t just dream—he creates. And in doing so, he forever changes the way the world sees blindness.

How Braille Was Born: A Timeline of Transformation

• 1819: Captain Barbier invents “night writing” to help French soldiers communicate silently during battle. The system uses a 12-dot grid to encode phonetic syllables. While innovative, its size and complexity make it impractical for widespread use.
• 1821: Barbier presents his system to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth. A young Louis Braille, captivated by its potential, begins to imagine how it could be adapted for blind readers and writers.
• 1824: By age 15, Louis Braille reworks the system into a compact six-dot format. His invention is simple, elegant, and revolutionary, allowing blind individuals to read and write efficiently using just their fingertips.
• 1829: Braille publishes his first book detailing the tactile system. Despite its brilliance, educators resist adopting it, claiming blind individuals don’t need their own system of communication.
• 1854: After decades of advocacy, Braille’s system is officially recognized in France. Today, it is a universal tool of literacy for blind individuals.

5 Myths About Braille: What You Didn’t Know

1. Myth: Braille is a language.

Fact: Braille isn’t a language—it’s a writing system. It can represent any language, as well as numbers, punctuation, and even music.

2. Myth: Braille is outdated.

Fact: Far from outdated, Braille continues to be a cornerstone of accessibility. It’s used on signs, in education, and in technology, such as refreshable Braille displays, bridging the gap between the tactile and the digital.

3. Myth: Only blind individuals use Braille.

Fact: Teachers, parents, and friends of blind individuals also learn Braille to communicate and support their loved ones.

4. Myth: Braille is hard to learn.

Fact: Learning Braille is comparable to traditional reading and writing—it requires practice but is intuitive and rewarding.

5. Myth: Braille books are too bulky.

Fact: While Braille books are often larger, technology like digital Braille readers has made accessing information more convenient than ever.

Did You Know?

Breaking barriers takes more than skill—it takes determination. April Ogden’s journey is proof that expertise and perseverance can shatter even the highest barriers to inclusion.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an inclusive employer,  has a history of hiring visually impaired and blind individuals through residential long-term vocational rehabilitation programs like Lions World Services for the Blind. These programs provide comprehensive training in skills such as Braille literacy, computer proficiency, and job readiness. A key part of the hiring process requires individuals to demonstrate:

• High reading and writing speed in Braille
• Exceptional accuracy
• Proficiency in Grade 2 Braille (which includes contractions and abbreviations for faster reading and writing)
• Expert knowledge of assistive technology tools and their usage

April Ogden broke the mold when the IRS hired her. She made history as the first visually impaired person hired outside of a residential long-term vocational rehabilitation program. April learned Grade 2 Braille but focused her career on using assistive technology to complete everyday digital tasks.

During her tenure with the IRS, she participated in a first-of-its-kind training program, called the “Super Group,” where she mastered complex tax laws with remarkable success. Her outstanding performance earned her an offer for an additional position in capital gains and losses. Instead, she chose to pursue her education, completing her undergraduate degree and later earning a Master’s in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling.

Her journey not only paved the way for others like her but also demonstrated how the power of inclusion can transform workplaces and lives alike.

After her time at the IRS, April became an assistive technology instructor, where she trained others on tools and devices that improve accessibility and independence.

Her proficiency in technology and Braille

 laid the foundation for a career focused on inclusion consulting and empowerment.

Understanding Braille Levels

Braille is built on a six-dot system, arranged in a rectangular cell with two columns and three rows. Each dot is assigned a number (1 through 6), and different combinations of these dots represent letters, numbers, punctuation, or entire words. As proficiency increases, the system evolves to include abbreviations and shorthand.

1. Grade 1 Braille: Focuses on the basics, using single Braille cells to represent individual letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. This level is ideal for beginners learning to read and write.
2. Grade 2 Braille: Introduces contractions, which combine multiple letters or entire words into single cells or shortened sequences. This level allows for faster reading and writing and is the most commonly used form of Braille for everyday purposes.
3. Grade 3 Braille: A shorthand system that incorporates additional symbols and abbreviations for personal notes or advanced applications. It is less standardized and used primarily by experienced Braille users for informal writing.

The simplicity of the six-dot system, combined with its flexibility, is what makes Braille so effective. It empowers users to read and write efficiently, regardless of their level of proficiency.

Braille in the Digital Age: A Legacy of Innovation

The principles of Braille—accessibility, inclusion, and independence—have evolved alongside technology. Tools like screen readers, voice-to-text software, and web accessibility standards are the digital counterparts of Braille’s mission to break barriers. Just as Louis Braille envisioned a world where blind individuals could fully participate, today’s innovations push for a future where accessibility is embedded in everything we do.

Honoring Louis Braille’s Legacy

Louis Braille’s story is a reminder that innovation often begins with a simple idea—and the courage to believe in its potential. On this Louis Braille Day, let’s commit to breaking barriers in our own lives.

👉🏾 How can you create inclusion today?

Share this story. Start a conversation about accessibility in your workplace. And most importantly, celebrate the power of tools—whether tactile or digital—that bring us closer together.

Together, we can honor Louis Braille’s legacy by building a future where everyone belongs.