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-JJJ. AUSTHALIA
FOR PRESS 31 OCTOBER 1978
FIRST BRAILLE COMPUTER BOOK
I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity to
receive the first Braille book produced in Australia
by means of a computer.
The Royal New South Wales Institute for Deaf and Blind
Children, which has for over a century so lovingly and
effectively served the deaf and blind children of
New South Wales and the has achieved another first.
Recently, there has been considerable debate and controversy
over technological change and its effects in the community.
But computers are at the forefront of current improvements
of technology and the development of the Institute's computer
system is a good example of the benefits that can flow from it.
The computer system you have installed has revolutionised the
capacity, speed and accuracy of the production of Braille.
It is a great breakthrough for the blind in this country.
For many years now there has been an acute shortage of reading
matter for the blind. The computer system will increase the
amount of available reading matter.
Previously, only one text out of several set for the Si hool
Certificate could be translated into Braille for study
by blind children. Now the computer will be able to translate
all the set English texts into Braille and I commend the
Institute's intention to sell its Braille reading material at
no profit to agencies and to Government bodies such as the
New South Wales Department of Education.
The computer will help blind people overcome some of
the limitations imposed on them by their handicap, facilitating
their ability to acquire an education necessary for employment
and to participate fully in the life of the community.
While its main use at present will be to provide Braille
reading matter, I understand that there is a possibility of
using the system to teach mathematics, science and music very
effectively to the blind.
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I am sure that the production of Braille books by computer
will be the first step in a series of important and
exciting developments in the application of computer
technology to assist the blind.
Voice communication with the computer would similarly open
up a number of possibilities for handicapped children
and adults.
I understand that the computer services staff includes a
blind proof reader and that the computer will be used to
assist in the training of other blind persons as
programmers. This is an important step in training the
blind for entry into the workforce.
The Institute's achievements in assisting the blind, of
which the installation of a computer is an outstanding
example, are made possible through the support of many
sections of the community including governments, sporting
bodies and the general public. Many hours of effort and
dedication have gone into this worthwhile project.
I would like to again extend my congratulations to the many
people involved, and wish the Institute every future success
in its use of computer technology to assist the advancement
of its work. I should also say that a major responsibility
rests on all of the community not just to support innovations
such as this computer but also to make greater efforts to
understand the blind and the difficulties they face.
This requires some changes in community attitudes. We have
to rid ourselves of the misconception that the blind are
helpless or that they can perform only a limited set of
tasks. This misconception unduly limits the opportunities
the blind have to gain maximum independence and it all
too often unfairly debars them from gaining employmentthey
want and can perform.
Our object must be to give blind people the independence they
want and can achieve. We have to recognise that although
the blind are handicapped with respect to sight their
interests are the same as other people's, and that they want
the maximum control over their own lives. It is through
a general community acceptance of these facts, that the
advances promised by this computer can be fully realised.
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