Teaching inspires a revolutionary innovation, the BrailleDoodle, to spread Braille Literacy and Touchable Art worldwide.
VALHALLA, NY, UNITED STATES, May 19, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The TouchPad Pro Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, has been recently established in Westchester County, NY. Now, this foundation is ready to make some exciting announcements. The TouchPad Pro Foundation mission is to speed the development and distribution of the BrailleDoodle to children who are blind or low vision (BLV)around the world. The Foundation will also be instrumental in providing the BrailleDoodle to children who may not be able to afford it.
A Crisis in the Blind Community
* Only 32% graduate from high school.
* Fewer than 16% achieve a Bachelor’s degree.
* Unemployment numbers remain steady at around 70%.
* About 1 in 3 live below the poverty level.
This significant discrepancy between sighted people and those who are blind is unacceptable. Another surprising figure is that under 10% (In India, about 1%) are learning or know braille. Yet, 85% of those employed are braille literate! During the pandemic, braille instruction has been nearly impossible, but this has pointed out a great need worldwide.
It is Time For a Change
These appalling statistics inspired Daniel Lubiner to invent the BrailleDoodle. Mr. Lubiner is a 25-year veteran teacher of students with disabilities and a teacher of the arts for BLV students. Now he is leading a diverse team including engineers, mobility specialists, and educators both with and without sight.
The BrailleDoodle is an accessible take on the Etch-a-Sketch that allows the blind to touch what they are drawing. A simple plastic ‘Braille Sleeve’ slips over the device and acts as a stencil, creating dozens of braille cells, giving instructors the ability to teach braille remotely.
We Are In Development!
We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with Creative Engineering of New York to develop The BrailleDoodle. Thanks to some generous donors, Phase One of development has begun! We will have a Proof of Concept Prototype within months.
To produce the BrailleDoodle by the thousands, we have aligned with WORTH Trust, an NGO in Vellore, India, WORTH Trust has been training and employing ‘differently-abled’ persons for nearly 60 years. They have since expanded to employ hundreds of people in manufacturing. In addition for the last 25 years, WORTH Trust has been the sole assembler of the world-renowned Perkins Brailler.
Other Great Developments
The BrailleDoodle is part of an extensive 5-year, multimillion-dollar grant proposal in cooperation with leaders from NYU, Lighthouse Guild, NY City College, Rutgers, and research scientists from the NYU Langone Medical Center.
A team of NYU Graduate students from Tandon School of Engineering centered their semester project on improving and testing the BrailleDoodle Prototype.
Dr. John-Ross Rizzo joined our team as Chief Scientific Advisor. (Physician, Scientist, and NYU Professor, with multiple patents and over 130 publications)
Jacqueline Becker, a Braille Specialist, states, “As a TVI for over 33 years, I am very excited at the prospect of being able to work with the BrailleDoodle. I look forward to using it!” Mr. Lubiner continues, “Please take a moment to visit TouchPadProFoundation.org and consider supporting this worthy cause.”
Daniel S Lubiner
TouchPad Pro Assistive Technology
+1 973-699-3327
email us here
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