National Academic Competition Brings Top Blind Students to Los Angeles

Top blind students from across the U.S. and Canada will be coming to Braille Institute in Los Angeles to compete in the only national academic competition for blind students in the nation.

(PRWEB) June 19, 2003 --Of all the literacy issues in America, braille literacy is the most underrated and overlooked. But literacy is as important to a blind person as it is to someone with vision. On Saturday, June 28, top blind and visually impaired students from across the U.S. and Canada will meet at Braille Institute of America in Los Angeles to test their braille skills in the only national academic competition for blind students in the U.S.
The National Braille Challenge Invitational, sponsored by Braille Institute of America, is the only national academic competition specifically designed to challenge and motivate blind students, while encouraging them to continue their study of braille, which is essential to their future success.

In this year's competition, the participants, ages 6-19, who have all placed among the top 50 in the nation in preliminary exams, will be competing for up to $5,000 in prizes. The challenging categories, such as speed and accuracy, in which the participants must transcribe a story into braille using a device called a Perkins Brailler, are designed to test their braille skills. Most of the students use some form of adaptive technology, such as braille note takers, to help them keep up with their sighted peers.

The National Braille Challenge Invitational was created to promote braille literacy as the primary literacy medium for children with visual impairments. It also serves to encourage blind students of all ages to fine-tune their braille reading skills, which will be their passport to independence in the sighted world. Studies show that braille readers make up 90 percent of the number of blind adults who gain full-time employment.

Growing up with a disability is a challenge, but in this competition the students will prove that blindness, like any hurdle, can be overcome. The event will begin at 10 a.m. at Braille Institutes Los Angeles Center, located at 741 N. Vermont Avenue, in Los Angeles. If you would like additional information on the event or any of the participants, please contact Courtney Goines, media relations manager, at (323) 663-1111, Ext. 3176.
                                                                            
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