[Perform-talk] A good laugh in a mainstream article about Braille? Maybe we are making progress after all!

[Donna Hill]

Hi Friends,
This is an article about one of the kids who participated in the Braille
Institute of America's Braille Challenge. It's the first good laugh I've
had when reading mainstream press articles about blindness issues.

BTW, I'm trying to piggy-back on the excellent publicity campaign BIA
has put together by writing to the reporters with information about the
Braille literacy crisis and the coin which they never mention. This one
actually had a comment from the BIA acknowledging the decline, which
gave me more of a lead in.
Enjoy,
Donna
***
 From Sandiego Union Tribune:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/25/1sz25blind181816-skills-put-test-braille-challenge/?northcounty&zIndex=122151
Blind children compete among 57 in nationals

By
Lisa Deaderick,
Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. June 25, 2009

Cricket Bidleman of Point Loma won second place in her age group at
Braille Challenge in Los Angeles last weekend. She competed with 56
other blind children
from across the nation and Canada. (John R. McCutchen / Union-Tribune) -

Cricket Bidleman reviewed some work created on her Perkins Brailler
typewriter. Cricket reads a lot and plays piano, used to play violin and
collects plants.
  (John R. McCutchen / Union-Tribune)

Cricket Bidleman reviewed some work created on her Perkins Brailler
typewriter. Cricket reads a lot and plays piano, used to play violin and
collects plants.
(John R. McCutchen / Union-Tribune)

It's annoying when people ask what it's like to be blind.

On occasion, 10-year-old Cricket Bidleman would like to do what a
character from one of her favorite stories fantasizes about doing –
printing up cards
that sarcastically explain how “being blind is unrelenting blackness and
despair 24 hours a day. It's a horrible nightmare existence. I wouldn't
recommend
it. Now, please leave me alone and allow me to adjourn to my pathetic
world of darkness.”

In her family's Point Loma home, she giggled as she read that part aloud
and agreed that it's tiring to answer that question.

She's not the only one who feels that way.

Over the years, Harrison Tu has realized that he's helping educate
people, although it can get old.

“Sometimes I ask what it's like to be sighted. It just overwhelms me
that there's this whole world that you can see and know what's going on
without having
to touch it,” said the 14-year-old from Poway.

Neither of them had to worry about those kinds of annoying questions
last weekend when they took part in the annual Braille Challenge in Los
Angeles, competing
against other blind youths from across the United States and Canada.
Cricket won second place in her age group this year, making this her
fourth international
finish in the annual competition.

Hosted by the Braille Institute, the competition started nine years ago
with the purpose of getting kids to practice their skills.

“We noticed that Braille literacy has been on the decline for the past
few decades . . . and we thought a contest would be fun (and) we wanted
it to be
academic and based on the skills these kids need,” said Nancy Niebrugge,
director of the competition.

After preliminary qualifying this year, 57 youths in first through 12th
grades made it to the finals, where they competed in areas including
speed and accuracy,
proofreading, spelling, reading comprehension, and chart and graph
reading. These exercises reinforce skills such as note-taking, editing
or memorization.


Harrison, who was born blind, has competed for the past seven years and
likes the social aspect of the Challenge. That's an important element of
the program,
Niebrugge said. When they know they're in a situation with a lot of
other blind people, the children are more open with one another.

Cricket is a bit of a Challenge superstar.

Not only has she consistently competed on the international level, she's
also won first and second place in her age group over the past four years.

“I think that's probably as outstanding a performance as we've seen,”
said Niebrugge.

Cricket, adopted from China by Cliff and Sally Bidleman when she was 3,
is 3 feet 10 inches tall. She has round cheeks and is quick with a
giggle. She also
keeps a busy schedule.

The staff at the orphanage named her Xiao Jiu, which means “little
nine,” because they wanted her to achieve to the highest degree, and
nine is the highest
Arabic numeral, her mother said.

Cricket plays piano, used to play violin and take ballet, reads a lot,
and likes botany, collecting orchids, palm trees and spearmint plants.

“I use some of the leaves for my tea,” she said about the spearmint.
“But I mostly like black tea.” With lots of milk, her mother added.

Fortunately, there's plenty of time for the usual kid stuff. For her
birthday last year, her older brother, Tucker, made her a set of Braille
Pokémon cards
so she could play with him and her younger sister, Scout. (Scout was
also adopted from China, a year before Cricket.)

To prepare for the competition, she practiced typing in Braille,
pounding out letters on the metal machine.

“It does tend to make a racket,” she said, with a giggle.

She likes competing because of the prizes – a trophy, a $1,000 savings
bond, a PAC Mate, which is like a Braille laptop – and because, “well, I
need practice,”
she said.

Lisa Deaderick is a Union-Tribune news assistant.

Lisa Deaderick:
(619) 293-2503;




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