 The children were taught how to read by a system devised by the school 's founder , Valentin Haüy . Not blind himself , Haüy was a committed philanthropist who devoted his life to helping the blind . He designed and manufactured a small library of books for the children using a technique of embossing heavy paper with the raised imprints of Latin letters . Readers would trace their fingers over the text , comprehending slowly but in a traditional fashion which Haüy could appreciate . 
