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SALT LAKE CITY — An annual competition in vital literacy areas like comprehension, spelling and reading speed drew students from across the state Friday for a full day of testing.
What made this competition unique is that every test was administered in Braille.
The 12th Regional Braille Challenge was hosted Friday by the Utah Foundation for the Blind in the Utah State Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired Building, 250 N. 1950 West.
Forty blind and visually impaired students, ages 6-19, competed in a total of five different Braille challenges, including proofreading and tactile graph and chart reading. Competitors were sorted by age, grade and ability into one of several divisions. Winners from each division were recognized at an awards ceremony at the end of the day.
“It’s a chance for these kids to come and show us what they can do,” said Tony Jepson, executive director of the Utah Foundation for the Blind. “It’s a lot of fun.”
The Braille Challenge is a national initiative designed to promote holistic Braille literacy. According to the Braille Institute, which sponsors the challenge, less than 10 percent of all visually impaired people can read and write proficiently in Braille.
“Literacy is fundamental,” Jepson said. “We want (competitors) to have a fun time, but our intent is to help them improve their Braille skills and become really literate.”
It's a chance for these kids to come and show us what they can do. It's a lot of fun.
–Tony Jepson, executive director of the Utah Foundation for the Blind
Nine-year-old Orem student Elizabeth Ware competed in her second Braille Challenge Friday. Born blind, Elizabeth has studied Braille since she was a toddler. She is also learning to read visually after recovering partial vision through a series of surgeries.
After beginning at the Utah School for the Blind, Elizabeth now attends her neighborhood public school while working closely with Braille services.
“Most people don’t know or understand Braille, so it can be kind of a lonely thing when you have to do this extra school work every day," said Elizabeth's mother, Mary Kay Ware. "It can be nice to come here and see you’re not alone."
Jepson, too, emphasized the challenge's social benefits. For blind students in public schools, he said, the competition is a rare chance to meet their visually impaired peers.
But if solidarity is motivational, competition may be even more so.
"It’s been good to have this competition because it gives Elizabeth something to prepare for," Ware said. "Not just to have goals for goals' sake — it gives her something where she can actually compete. It’s motivating to her.’”
Elizabeth hopes to advance to the next division by next year's Braille Challenge, which she already plans to attend.
Allison Oligschlaeger is currently studying English and Arabic at the University of Utah while completing an internship with the Deseret News. Contact her at aoligschlaeger@deseretnews.com.
