Des Moines Register article on Iowa Braille Challenge

IOWA DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND
Braille Challenge Article
 
The following article was featured in the Des Moines Sunday Register 01/24/2010:
 
Young Braille Students Meet for State Contest
By Andrea Melendez
 
Thirteen Iowa visually impaired and blind students gathered Saturday in Des Moines for a series of tests that measured their skills using and understanding Braille.
 
But for students like Tyler Juranek and Annabelle Costanzo, both 13, it was a day of hanging with kids who dig what you dig.
 
The teens talked about texting, computers and kids at school who annoy them.
 
The cell phones and computers Juranek and Costanzo use read their texts and online pages out loud to them.
 
Both students are long-time tech geeks. Juranek said they have to be: It’s their lifeline to the sighted world.
 
So, too, is Braille, said the students.
 
“I don’t know how I would survive without Braille,” said Costanzo, of Polk City. “My whole education depends on Braille.”
 
The Iowa students met at Callanan Middle School to compete for one of 60 spots at a national Braille Institute of America contest in California later this year. Students will find out in May who will move on to compete nationally.
 
Caption for a picture that accompanied the article read: Annabelle Costanzo of Polk City competes in the 2010 Iowa Braille Challenge at Callanan Middle School in Des Moines.