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Math Expressions

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From: John E. Brandt
Date: Jun 4, 2008 12:30PM

Apart from the whole issue of markup and accessibility, it is my
understanding that math expressions, or equations generally present unique
challenges to people with blindness or visual impairments in that they (the
equations) are hard to represent in Braille as well as in digital formats. I
have been working with folks from our state's agency that provides books and
services to the blind and visually impaired and this is apparently a very
common and long-term complaint.

There is a student in one of our state colleges who is a Math/Science major
and apparently quite a bright individual with aspirations for advanced
graduate training in this field. Trying to get advanced calculus texts for
him in Braille, or any format, is apparently nearly impossible and, if
available, extremely expensive since much of the translation needs to be
done by hand and with special tools.

I only share this because the issue of accessible markup is but a relatively
recent subset of a larger issue that has been around for some time.

Perhaps there are others on this list to have more experience with folks
with blindness and visual impairments who can contribute more on this.

John E. Brandt
Augusta, Maine USA
www.jebswebs.com