<p>The time required to learn Braille may vary depending on factors such as age, partial/full and early/late blindness and individual differences <a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr14/fr04se22.htm" rel="nofollow">(see here)</a>, but what has come out of studies such as <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/ionefine/KauffmanTheoretPascual-Leone_2002.pdf" rel="nofollow">this</a> is that visual deprivation appears to speed up Braille learning. </p>

<p>In the study I cite, all subjects received the same degree of training, but individuals who had been blindfolded for five days performed better in a Braille discrimination task compared to sighted subjects. The authors take these results to be possibly indicative (though there are some concerns on this suggestion in the article) of neuroplastic changes <a href="http://public.psych.iastate.edu/almorris/519%20readings/Hamilton_PascualLeone.1998.pdf" rel="nofollow">(Hamilton &amp; Pascual-Leone, 1998)</a> specifically in the somatosensory and visual cortices. Visual deprivation might lead to the recruitment of visual cortex areas for tactile discrimination thus enabling for faster Braille learning.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-07T04:00:35.253Z
Thank you for the reference to the Ryles study. I have emailed her in the hopes to get the real publication. A nice lead. However, the Kaufman study is iffy, as it claims that practice does not make a difference - 'just wear a blindfold'. A bit of a PLOSone'ish conclusion. Your last sentences on plasticity are circular in nature.
AliceD
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-06T15:19:33.557Z
2014-11-06T15:19:33.557Z
Lazaros Mitskopoulos
<p>The visually deprived brain undergoes extensive remodeling due to cross-modal plasticity. This leads to increased areas of the cortex being available for other purposes such as tactile processing. Now I am wondering if there is anything known about how long it takes for the blind to learn Braille as compared to normally sighted people? </p>

<perception><learning><vision><language><plasticity>
Is there a difference between the time/effort it takes for the blind and the sighted to learn to read Braille?
AliceD
# Is there a difference between the time/effort it takes for the blind and the sighted to learn to read Braille?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-06)

The visually deprived brain undergoes extensive remodeling due to cross-modal plasticity. This leads to increased areas of the cortex being available for other purposes such as tactile processing. Now I am wondering if there is anything known about how long it takes for the blind to learn Braille as compared to normally sighted people?

**Tags:** perception, learning, vision, language, plasticity


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-11-06. Score: 3

The time required to learn Braille may vary depending on factors such as age, partial/full and early/late blindness and individual differences [(see here)](https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr14/fr04se22.htm), but what has come out of studies such as [this](http://faculty.washington.edu/ionefine/KauffmanTheoretPascual-Leone_2002.pdf) is that visual deprivation appears to speed up Braille learning.

In the study I cite, all subjects received the same degree of training, but individuals who had been blindfolded for five days performed better in a Braille discrimination task compared to sighted subjects. The authors take these results to be possibly indicative (though there are some concerns on this suggestion in the article) of neuroplastic changes [(Hamilton & Pascual-Leone, 1998)](http://public.psych.iastate.edu/almorris/519%20readings/Hamilton_PascualLeone.1998.pdf) specifically in the somatosensory and visual cortices. Visual deprivation might lead to the recruitment of visual cortex areas for tactile discrimination thus enabling for faster Braille learning.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for the reference to the Ryles study. I have emailed her in the hopes to get the real publication. A nice lead. However, the Kaufman study is iffy, as it claims that practice does not make a difference - 'just wear a blindfold'. A bit of a PLOSone'ish conclusion. Your last sentences on plasticity are circular in nature.  

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