 Blinded in both eyes as a result of an early childhood accident , Braille mastered his disability while still a boy . He excelled in his education and received scholarship to France 's Royal Institute for Blind Youth . While still a student there , he began developing a system of tactile code that could allow blind people to read and write quickly and efficiently . Inspired by the military cryptography of Charles Barbier , Braille constructed a new method built specifically for the needs of the blind . He presented his work to his peers for the first time in 1824 . 
