A young blind girl from Fivemiletown is marking the 200th anniversary of a system she uses every day.

Eryn Kirkpatrick (12) is joining with others to mark World Braille Day today, Thursday, January 4.

Though now 200 years old, Braille is as vital as ever, and made even more so because of the advances in new technology, says leading sight loss charity, RNIB NI (The Royal National Institute of Blind People in Northern Ireland).

Eryn is enjoying First Year in Fivemiletown College. She has been blind from birth because of Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, and has been an avid Braille user since starting school.

Describing how Braille aids her in learning, Eryn said: “I love reading and writing with Braille. I also love learning about all the new technology that is out there now, but I still enjoy reading story books in Braille sometimes.

“At the moment, I’m reading, ‘Just Call Me Spaghetti Hoop Boy’, by Lara Williamson, and it’s okay.

“Jackie from RNIB has taught me so much about the different assistive technology that’s out there, and it’s all really exciting.

“It’s important to me that I’m able to read the same books and do my schoolwork as well as everyone else my age. I love reading, and Braille helps me to do that,” she added.

Eryn’s mother, Evanna Kirkpatrick, said: “Ever since Eryn was born, we’ve learnt to trust that she’ll find her own way in life.

“At school, Eryn’s textbooks and work sheets are all produced in Braille for her by the teachers and QTVI staff.

“She does a lot of her schoolwork using Braille, and even though she enjoys audio books, she does like to have a hard copy book in Braille to read as well.

“It’s amazing to watch Eryn embrace assistive technology, such as the speech software JAWS on her laptop, but she still reads using Braille, too. In fact, for Christmas, Eryn asked for a Braille Bible.

“As parents, when Eryn was very young, we were worried about the future and how she would manage at school, or growing up, but she continues to amaze us with the way she approaches every problem that’s thrown at her.

“We knew that she was blind, but we didn’t really know what that would mean for her growing up, such as would she be able to read, and do all those things that children do?”

Advising other parents who may be in the same situation, Ms. Kirkpatrick said: “I’d say to other parents, have faith in our kids.

“It was important to us as parents, that from a young age, Eryn got every opportunity to learn skills that would help her progress in life.

“The QTVI staff at the school have been working with Eryn from a young age, which really helps.

“I think back to when Eryn was born, and just wish that someone could’ve told us then not to worry, and to trust that things would work out.

“We just didn’t know anyone else who was blind, and so we had no source of support or inspiration.

“Over the years, we’ve had a lot of support from Guide Dogs, the Western Health and Social Care Trust, and of course, Jackie from RNIB, who is now working with Eryn on expanding her knowledge of not only Braille devices, but other technology that can help and support Eryn now and as she progresses through secondary school.”

Jackie Brown works as a Technology for Life Coordinator with RNIB in Northern Ireland, and advocates passionately for Braille to unlock the world of literacy and numeracy for people living with sight loss.

She said: “Being totally blind, I learnt Braille as my first medium to read and write. I did all my schoolwork in Braille, and even now, I still use Braille each and every day.

“Growing up, I was acutely aware of how much Braille enabled me to do. I think it’s still so important in order to teach kids with a vision impairment, numeracy and literacy, and aspects of grammar such as spelling, learning punctuation and capitalising letters – all of which are quite difficult to teach using speech software or audio books.

“There’s no doubt that it’s easier to learn Braille when you’re younger, but it’s never too late.

“The younger a person learns to use it, the better, as far as I’m concerned,” she added.