Neighbor News
Visually Impaired Youth Participate In Braille Competition
Children and teens competed in the only academic competition of its kind in North America for students who are blind or visually impaired.
NEWTON, Mass. (February 12, 2020) – On February 1st, dozens of students from across New England and New York who are blind and visually impaired participated in the 20th Annual Regional Braille Challenge held at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA. The Braille Challenge, now in its 20th year, is the only academic competition of its kind in North America for students who are blind or visually impaired.
Regional winners include:
- Benjamin Silva, Apprentice group – Marlborough, MA
- Hannah Gevers, Freshman group – Arlington, MA
- Prasha Parajuli, Sophomore group – Dartmouth, MA
- Alan Quan, Junior Varsity group – Westford, MA
- Paige Drury, Varsity group – Glastonbury, CT
The competition, a national program of the Braille Institute, encourages blind and visually impaired children in grades 1 to 12 to hone their braille skills, which are essential to success in the sighted world. Students’ skills are measured in Braille reading comprehension, proofreading, graph and chart analysis, spelling, and speed and accuracy. The top 50 students (10 in each category) with the highest scores across North America will be invited to the annual Braille Challenge Finals competition in Los Angeles, held on the campus of the University of Southern California on June 26 and 27.
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The Carroll Center for the Blind was one of 53 regional host sites for this year’s challenge, and celebrated hosting the challenge for the 20th year.
A total of 21 students who use Braille participated in the competition, and other students did activities such as solving Braille riddles as part of a center-wide celebration of the communication method.
Find out what's happening in Newtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
About the Carroll Center for the Blind
Established in 1936, the Carroll Center for the Blind empowers those who are blind and visually impaired to achieve independence and to lead a fulfilling life. The nonprofit organization provides services for individuals of all ages including vision rehabilitation services, vocational and transition programs, assistive technology training, educational support, services for seniors, and an optical shop. For more information, visit www.carroll.org.
