Braille Makes a Comeback

Technology, once seen as heralding the end of the communication method, is instead making it easier for students to learn it.

Los Angeles

The 65 students from around the country who came here this summer to show off their Braille prowess represent an elite group of an already-small number.

Only about 26,000 of the 6.7 million students who receive services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act were classified as visually impaired in 2006, making it one of the rarest of the disability categories that are tracked. A smaller number, about 1,500, are classified as deaf and blind, a separate disability category under the IDEA.

Though definitive numbers are hard to come by, far fewer than half of all students with visual impairments are believed to be Braille readers. And a still-tinier slice can read Braille with such fluidity that they are chosen for the all-day Braille Challenge, sponsored by the Braille Institute here, which tests students in spelling, proofreading, reading comprehension,...