Twenty blind and visually impaired students from Hillsborough, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties will meet in the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge to test their Braille skills. The challenge, sponsored by Braille Institute of America, Inc., serves to encourage blind children of all ages to fine-tune their Braille skills. This is part of a national academic competition for blind students in the United States. Participants will compete in 5 categories requiring them to transcribe, type, and read Braille. Students’ Braille skills are evaluated in several areas – reading comprehension, Braille spelling, tactile chart and graph reading, proofreading, and Braille speed and accuracy.
Michael Long, 14, of Wesley Chapel listens to an audio recording before transcribing it in the Braille Speed and Accuracy competition, which is part of the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge at Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind. "I don't think I did real well," said The Thomas E. Weightman eighth grader, who mainly uses his laptop now. "Now if it was a keyboard typing competition I would have had a chance."
Matthew Dowell, 14, of Apopka goes over his work in the Proofreading competition during one of five tests in the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge.
A lot of the parents used the Braille machines to type notes to their children while they were competing in the West Central Florida Regional Braille Challenge. Eric Miller of Lithia gives his son Jon, 8, a kiss on the cheek after typing out how much he loved him and how proud he was that he's learned braille, as well as wishing him good luck today.
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