40% of Visually Impaired Adults Have Braille Skills 'Below Basic'

National Institute of Korean Language 'Braille Usage Ability Survey'
"Need for Systematic Education for Adults Confirmed"

Among ten adult visually impaired individuals who use Braille, four are found to have difficulties in reading and writing.

The National Institute of the Korean Language released the results of the '2023 Braille Usage Ability Survey' on the 18th. The survey was conducted from September to November last year on 301 visually impaired individuals aged 20 to 69 with severe disabilities, evaluating their Braille dictation, reading, fluency (the ability to read smoothly and naturally), and comprehension skills.

According to the results, 39.6% of adult disabled individuals have Braille usage abilities classified as 'below basic.' Among them, 9.7% are 'below basic level,' experiencing difficulties in using documents and other tasks. Those at the 'excellent' level, who use Braille conveniently, accounted for 14.9%, while 45.4% were at the 'average' level, able to use Braille adequately.

Braille usage ability was found to be better among younger individuals. Additionally, those with congenital visual impairment performed significantly better than those with acquired visual impairment. For the latter group, the combined percentage of 'below basic level' and 'basic' grades was 48.9%, which is 19.2 percentage points higher than the former group’s 29.7%.

A representative from the National Institute of the Korean Language stated, "This is the first detailed survey examining the Braille usage ability of adult visually impaired individuals," adding, "It confirmed the need for systematic education targeting adults."