Jaden H. has a positive outlook on his blindness. At 14 years of age and blind since birth, Jaden certainly faces challenges. But he also has talent, intelligence, a contagious smile, and support from the Braille Institute community. And to Jaden, there’s also the uniqueness factor.
“The life of a blind person is fun and interesting,” says Jaden, who is tall for his age at 5’8”. “It’s amazing to have a different life than sighted people. It’s fun to be unique.”
Having joined the Braille Institute Youth Program in 2020, Jaden has participated annually in Braille Challenge, the international competition for youth that helps them hone their braille literacy skills, which Braille Institute launched in 2000. Jaden is also a regular at Cane Quest, our Orientation & Mobility (O&M) program for students from pre-K through 12th grade with low to no vision.
Through the Youth Program, Jaden has taken many fun excursions throughout Southern California. He’s also made close friends. “It’s perfect for me as a blind person to go places where I get to socialize with other blind kids, where I get to learn and have fun at the same time,” he says. As for Braille Challenge, he notes, “It’s important, because I get to show off my braille skills and get to see where I can improve. It’s a competition, but it’s also fun.”
One of Jaden’s primary recreational outlets is singing. According to his mom, he began singing at the same time he started to speak. For the past several years, Jaden has competed in the Orange County Arts & Disability Festival, singing pop tunes. In early 2025, he began taking weekly voice lessons at PopRock Academy, a music school in the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles. “I’ve learned proper breath control and how to feel the emotion in the songs I sing,” he says. Over the summer, Jaden tied for first place in a school competition.
While Jaden dreams of becoming a pop star, he also hopes to attend college, and is considering the Berkeley School of Music in Boston. He learned about the school through a former Braille Institute Youth Program member who graduated from Berkeley in 2025 and has spoken to Jaden’s cohort. “I’d study anything related to music,” he says.
Jaden describes himself as a tech nerd, and is just starting to teach himself how to write computer code. Technology plays a big part in his life. He uses a screen reader; a digital braille note-taking device; the Be My Eyes mobile app, which connects him to a sighted volunteer for live video help; and a peer-to-peer platform that enables him to chat with other teenagers who are blind.
Still, there are daily hurdles to overcome. When asked to name his biggest obstacle, Jaden replies with one word: “People.” To explain, he cites the sighted people who don’t give him the right of way on sidewalks or who don’t understand how to communicate with people who have a visual impairment as particular sources of his frustration. Jaden recalls the time that he was working with an O&M instructor to see if he could walk to a Starbucks by himself. While he was about to cross an intersection, the driver of a car began honking at him. “Then she began trying to tell me what to do through a closed window.”
Despite the difficulties of learning how to live independently, Jaden is excited about trying out the Access transportation system—the shared ride paratransit service. “Maybe I’ll go to the mall. This is my chance.”
Jaden looks forward to continue to participate in Braille Institute youth activities, in Braille Challenge, and in Cane Quest. “Braille Institute is a really fun place where you can go and learn fun stuff,” Jaden says. “You get to socialize with other blind people of different ages. You get to do fun field trips. I went to a bowling alley with Braille Institute twice. It was really fun, even if I had bad aim.”
