Blind youth test Braille skills in annual competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              Contact:       Shoshana Hebshi

Feb. 7, 2011                                                                                                          515.281.1338
 
 
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 12
WHERE: Callanan Middle School, 3010 Center St., Des Moines, IA
 
Blind and visually impaired youth from across Iowa will come to Des Moines on Saturday, Feb. 12 to test their Braille skills in the annual Iowa Braille Challenge.
 
The Challenge, a state-level competition part of the National Braille Challenge, will test students’ Braille reading, comprehension and writing. They will compete with others their age in these categories, and those with the highest scores will have a chance to compete at the national competition this summer in Los Angeles.
 
The Challenge not only motivates students to develop their Braille skills, it also promotes Braille literacy to the general public. At a time when only 10 percent of blind and visually impaired children learn Braille, highlighting the benefits and confidence that come with Braille proficiency is as important as calling attention to standard literacy rates among sighted American youth.
 
“Those who compete in the Braille Challenge are demonstrating their competency in reading, writing and comprehension, as well as showing the public that they can be as academically successful as their sighted peers with the honing of their Braille skills,” said Gail Stricker, a librarian at the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which is co-sponsoring the Challenge with the Iowa Braille School.
 
The Library, a division of the Iowa Department for the Blind, provides Braille textbooks and other school materials to blind and visually impaired students throughout the state.
 
“Each year, the Braille Challenge gives us an opportunity to highlight those who are excelling academically in our state and celebrate the importance of Braille in our society,” said IDB Director Karen Keninger—a Braille user since childhood. “There are measured links between Braille literacy and future academic and professional success. Those who are not taught Braille and must rely on limited vision and inefficient methods for reading and writing are being sorely undercut.”
 
Braille, named after its creator, Louis Braille, uses a system of raised dots to form letters and words.  These Braille dots are read with the fingertips and provide blind and visually impaired students a system of reading and writing which is comparable to print.
 
In 2010, 13 students participated in the Iowa Braille Challenge. Two went on to Los Angeles where one finished in third place in her division. Organizers are expecting greater success this year, as 16 students are registered and more than 100 supporters are expected to attend. For more information on last year’s Challenge and about Braille, go to: http://idbonline.org/newsroom/braille-our-minds.
 
For more information about this project or the Iowa Department for the Blind and its services for blind and visually impaired Iowans, contact Shoshana Hebshi at (515) 281-1338 or Shoshana.Hebshi@blind.state.ia.us
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