What is your background?

"I have been totally blind since birth, and therefore, have been reading braille my whole life.

"I have a range of qualifications, including an honours degree in social sciences. I started work at the Scottish Braille press in November 2016."

What are your responsibilities?

"My responsibilities include working with a sighted proof reader, proof reading documents and detecting errors, ensuring a high standard of work is sent out to customers."

Debbie, who has been blind since birth, works as a braille proof reader for Sight Scotland

What does an average day involve?

"An average day of work includes, firstly, proofreading documents such as bank statements, which need to be prioritised.

"The rest of the day is varied, depending on the work we have to do. 

"Most of my day is often spent working on large documents, such as exams, or marketing materials and terms and conditions for banks."

What do you enjoy about your job?

"I enjoy working with others as part of a team. We have a close-knit team with a positive atmosphere."

Debbie, who works as a proof reader for Sight Scotland, has been blind since birth

What are some of the challenges?

"One of the challenges is proofreading large documents, which can sometimes be between 90 and 100 pages long.

"Exams are also a challenge because they often include technical braille. For example, there are lots of different symbols which are used in subjects such as Maths and Science."

What aspects that you did not expect to encounter when you started the job?

"I don’t think I really knew what to expect when I started the job. However, I guess, one aspect I did not expect to encounter was having to proof read technical braille, such as Maths and Science exams."

What new skills have you learned at Sight Scotland?

"I have learned and enhanced many skills whilst working at Sight Scotland. My braille reading has very much improved and so has my reading speed.

"The job I do has also helped me to improve my spelling and attention to detail. I feel I have also enhanced my communication skills and team working skills."

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At the Scottish Braille Press we've been producing accessible formats for over 125 years, providing people with sight loss with formats which enable equal access to the written word.

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We enable companies to communicate with blind and partially sighted customers in the format of their choice.

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