The Braille Challenge® Reading, Writing & Spelling Contest

Individual teacher registration is now closed--however, there’s still time to register for a regional event in your area.

There are 38 Regional Braille Challenge events planned for 2012 throughout the U.S. and Canada from mid-January through mid-March. Click here to locate the one nearest you.

Regional Coordinators—Click HERE to submit your contest information.

Nominate Your Teacher Today for the Braille Institute Teacher of the Year!

Deadline is March 23, 2012 

Parents, teachers and administrators—take this opportunity to honor the important role your teacher of the visually impaired plays in the lives of children. Download and complete this three-page nomination form. If your teacher is selected for this national honor, he or she would be flown to LA to be honored at The Braille Challenge Finals this June. The winner will be our guest at the gala Awards Ceremony, and will be presented with a PacMate notetaker or Focus Blue 40 Braille Display, generously provided by our sponsor, Freedom Scientific. Click here to read about past awardees and nominees.

Reminder--Flexible Brailler Options This Year

Since more students are learning to braille using different models of braillewriters, this year we are allowing students to choose their preference, and use their own equipment. Options include the classic Perkins Brailler, the APH/Perkins Next Generation Brailler and the new APH Light Touch Perkins Brailler. All contests, including Speed and Accuracy, will be formatted for the smaller 8.5 X 11 paper size to accommodate a shorter line length. Students using larger sheets will simply braille shorter lines.

Braille Challenge Dates to Remember

Preliminary Contest Period: January - March 16, 2012
"Teacher of the Year" Award Nomination: Deadline March 23, 2012
Notification of Contest Results: May 1, 2012
The Braille Challenge® Finals: June 22-23, 2012

Thanks go to our generous 2012 sponsors!

Presenting Sponsor: The Braille Institute Auxiliary
Sponsors providing prizes at Preliminary Regional Events: Humanware, Seedlings Braille Books for Children, National Braille Press and Perkins Products.

 For a complete list of all of our Braille Challenge Sponsors for 2011 and 2012, please visit our Challenge Sponsors page.

What Is The Braille Challenge?

It's Braille Institute's national reading and writing contest in braille and a great way to motivate blind and visually impaired students to practice their literacy skills. Contests include reading comprehension, braille speed and accuracy, proofreading, spelling and reading tactile charts and graphs. More than 800 students from first through twelfth grades participated in the Preliminary Round last year. The top-scoring 60 came to Los Angeles in June for the Final Round—two days of competition, camaraderie and fun! For more information about The Braille Challenge, please call Christine Pak toll-free at 1-800-BRAILLE (272-4553), Ext. 1321, or send an e-mail to cgpak@brailleinstitute.org.