Teens in Flight: Gareth Brown on Braille, Tech, & More

It [BrailleNote Touch] had Wi-Fi capabilities along with all the Google apps, so I could do my assignments just like everyone else through Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides. And I could just send it to the teacher via email, and I don’t have to use any vintage USBs or SD cards or anything like that.

~Gareth Brown

Editor’s Note

Announcing Bold Blind Beauty’s Newest Feature, “Teens In Flight”

At Bold Blind Beauty, we continually strive to share stories that illuminate the diverse experiences and achievements of people on the blindness spectrum. We are thrilled to receive feedback from our dedicated audience, and we are especially moved by a recent message from Dr. Carol Scholz, who has been using our Men in Motion and Women on the Move episodes to inspire her high school students.

Dr. Scholz writes, “I have used your amazing Men in Motion and Women on the Move episodes with all of my high school students! Their lives and mine are forever changed because of these stories full of hope and encouragement through personal testimonies! I use your site every single Friday and I call it Friyay! I have my blind 10th-grade student keep a journal about the episodes he watches each week!”

This testimony highlights the profound impact our stories can have on young minds. Dr. Scholz’s commitment to integrating these episodes into her curriculum has created a unique and supportive learning environment. Her suggestion for a teen version of the featured men and women aligns perfectly with our mission to improve representation and inclusivity. A series focused on teenagers would provide a platform for young individuals to share their stories, challenges, and triumphs, encouraging their peers worldwide.

In response to Dr. Scholz’s suggestion, we are excited to introduce “Teens In Flight,” our newest feature highlighting the voices and experiences of teens on the blindness spectrum. Our first feature showcases Gareth Brown, a remarkable 17-year-old, sharing his story and insights.

Watch Gareth’s video or, for those who prefer reading, find the transcript below. Enjoy!

Stephanae McCoy
Editor-in-Chief, Bold Blind Beauty

Beyond Sight Magazine Cover

YouTube Video

Introduction to Gareth Brown

Hello everyone. My name is Gareth Brown and I’m in 10th grade, currently 17 years old, and I’m really excited to start working on this Teens in Flight section of the Bold Blind Beauty website. It’s going to be really cool. My blindness is septo-optic dysplasia, and basically I have light perception, but I can’t see any shapes or shadows or colors or anything like that.

Learning Braille: A Journey from Childhood

So now I kind of want to talk about braille. I’ve learned braille since I was really young. According to something my dad told me, he used to put, boards and nails in, a dot format so that I can learn part of the alphabet. Then in kindergarten, I learned the rest of the alphabet as well as my name. Then I also started learning braille contractions, which there are 187 of and I think that’s kind of crazy because I learned that in about four years. Then in third or fourth grade, I started learning UEB, which basically was a modern braille code that got switched around to eliminate some of the confusing contractions that were similar to others.

But yeah, so now I am a pre Unified English Braille Grade 2 reader, and very fluent in it. I think it’s important to learn Braille because, when you’re visually impaired, you never know the likelihood of you losing all of your sight. Or even if you’re fully sighted, you never know something might happen and you might lose all of it.

So if you have signs of becoming visually impaired or you’re already born visually impaired, it would be a good idea to start learning braille as soon as possible. So that way, if you lose all of your sight, you’re not completely starting from scratch. You’ve got something to work from.

Participating in the Braille Challenge

Another reason why it’s really important to learn braille is because you get to participate in the Braille Challenge. The Braille Challenge is a statewide and national wide competition. They give you different tasks that you have to do you have 25 minutes to complete. If you win, you go to the National Braille Challenge which is in California, which I’ve actually done before, I think it was like 2nd grade, and it was really fun.

Some of the tasks that they have you do like they have a reading comprehension, where you read a passage, you answer questions on it. And they’re multiple choice, so you don’t have to write anything. And then, they’ve got charts and graphs, such as a bar graph, line graph, pie chart, anything like that. And you’ll look at the whole thing, including the title, some of them might have a key.

You look all of it, and then you answer questions and it’ll give you some multiple choice questions. You also have a proofreading, which you read a paragraph, and you basically find an error, if it’s like a spelling error, contraction, misusage missing punctuation, and you have to find the mistakes in the paragraphs.

Then lastly, there’s a speed and accuracy test, where you have to listen to an audio file. And it has very specific instructions, such as, new line, new paragraph. It wants to let you know when there’s punctuation needed, what type of punctuation, it’ll spell out names so that you can get those right. You have to pay attention to every specific instruction on what it tells you to write. And you have to do it as fast and as accurately as possible in UEB Grade 2 Braille. Yeah, 25 minutes to do it as per usual.

But yeah, I went to California in like third grade and I actually won, I think, third place in that Braille Challenge. And then ever since then I’ve been placing second and third and sometimes fourth in the other braille challenges, so it has been really awesome.

The Power of Technology in Education

The next thing I want to talk about is technology. So there’s different types of technologies that I use. When I first started learning braille, I used the Perkins BrailleWriter, which is basically a big clunky device that has six braille keys. You load a piece of cardstock in it, and you’ll type on those six braille keys, and the mechanics, will poke holes up through the cardstock, and get your braille dots, it’s really cool.

And, you also have the carriage that moves back and forth. So as you’re typing it moves to the right, and then it’ll make a dinging sound when it’s at the end of the line, so you return to go to the next line.

Then in third grade I started using the BrailleNote Apex, which is when I first started being able to do assignments digitally. However, it was kind of complicated. I had to get the assignment onto the thumb drive edit it, and then I would copy the edited assignment back onto the thumb drive, give it back to my teacher. And she would download it to her computer so that she could view it, grade it, and all that kind of stuff.

Then I switch to the BrailleNote Touch, which It was really cool in that you could type braille on a touch screen because the BrailleNote Apex had a six dot keyboard on it, the buttons were like smaller, shorter, with a one line braille display that you press the button to go to the next line.

The BrailleNote Touch was similar, It had the six dot keyboard, but it also had a touch screen that you could type braille on, and I thought that was really cool. And another thing, is that it had Wi-Fi capabilities along with all the Google apps, so I could do my assignments just like everyone else through Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides. And I could just send it to the teacher via email, and I don’t have to use any vintage USBs or SD cards or anything like that.

Currently I use the iPad and Mantis. The Mantis is simpler to the BrailleNote Touch and Apex, however, it’s a lot less powerful, it can’t go on Google. But what it is, is basically a Braille display with a QWERTY keyboard on it, a keyboard that most sighted people typing on. Where it’s got all of the letters placed differently on it, and it has a 40 cell Braille display. And you hook it up via Bluetooth to a device. I hook it up to my iPad, and then I use the iPad to go on to Google and do my assignments, just as I would have on the BrailleNote Touch.

I like using technology because, I just like being independent with it. And it’s really fun to, get my assignments done, and I don’t have to, like, worry about a lot of paper and a lot of, fancy equipment because, I can just send it wirelessly, and I don’t have to give it to anyone, you know?

And I also use an iPhone with voiceover to, call people and all of that kind of stuff. You can use any technology that you prefer, it’s your choice, depending on, how sighted you are, how much braille you can read, you can use any technology you want. This is just the technology that I use, and I really like all of it.

Navigating Independence with Mobility Skills

So then, the next thing I want to talk about is mobility. I travel pretty independently throughout my school. I know all of the routes to my classes, and I use a cane. Which, it’s not like a regular, walking cane with the hook on the top of it. It’s actually a stick with a rubber handle on it, and it has a ball on the end that you roll back and forth on the ground. It will run into objects so that you know that they’re there, and you don’t have to run into them yourself, which is really good.

I also use a technique called trailing, where I repetitively tap against a wall. If that wall turns, depending on how my route works, I can either turn in the direction the wall turns, or I can turn away from the wall, or I can straight up, cross the hall.

It’s not always just walls, like, if you’re walking outside, you can trail grass lines, curb lines, or even, a crack in the sidewalk. But it’s basically tapping along a line that will tell you to keep going straight until you have to turn.

And then the way that I cross the street is using the APS signals, which basically a pole at the corner of the intersection that has a button on it. When you press the button, it’ll tell you to wait, or if you also hold the button, it will tell you what intersection you’re at. If the sign is on to cross, or if you need to wait, and then, you go and line up at your intersection with the truncated domes or the curb cut, or even the sound of the traffic, depending on which way that you’d like to line up. I personally like lining up with the curb gutter away from my parallel traffic cause I tend to veer in the streets sometimes. So, it prevents me from veering too far into my parallel. But yeah, it’ll start beeping rapidly at you when it’s time to cross.

And I think it’s important to travel independently because, you got to get to work when you’re an adult and you’re going to have to navigate your college. You’re not always going to have a para or your family around to help you and tell you where to go. So it’s important to learn how to navigate independently and my skills definitely are helping me with that.

There are different places I’ve been around Boise. I have been to Taco Bell and also Rockin Reptiles and Guido’s Pizza. I’m working on the route to Guido’s Pizza right now. It’s a long route, but I’m still working on it and I know that soon I’m going to get it because I am positive that my skills will improve.

Exploring Career Aspirations

Yeah, so then the last thing I’m going to talk about is college and career. I think it’s important to talk about college at an early age because I want to go into sound designing for video games. But believe me before I had this decision, I have changed my mind multiple times. When I was like, first grade, I for some reason wanted to be a lawyer.

But then in third grade, I wanted to be a radio DJ for Cafe Nashville, which was a national radio station that I liked to listen to. It had all of these really cool, sounds for the radio announcements. And I went and interviewed some radio stations and asked them how they do that kind of stuff, and then, yeah, that lasted for a little bit. Then in eighth grade I started wanting to be a sound designer for video games because I got lured into playing Smash Bros, and now I forever love that game. I also like to play Dice World, which I recently found. It is an accessible game for iPhones and Android, and it’s completely accessible voiceover users.

But the reason why it’s important to start looking at careers in college at an early age is so that you have plenty of time to look at your options and decide what you want. If you, like, start learning it now your junior year in high school, it’s a little harder because close to the end of your junior year, you’re going to start applying for those kinds of things. And so when you don’t know what you want, you don’t really know what you’re going to apply for. And so it’s important to start looking up, that kind of stuff as you are young.

So I’m also going to talk about the Men In Motion section of Bold Blind Beauty. I have been watching these videos, they come out once a month and basically they talk about blind or visually impaired men that are really successful. It tells us like how they became blind or if they were born blind, a little bit about their childhood it kind of talks about what they do currently with their life. I think some of them are really inspiring.

One that I really liked was from Jeff Wissel. He was born sighted, but he didn’t become blind until he was like 18 or 19. And he used to want to hide his vision loss, which, you know, I’ve personally had no reason to do because I was born blind. But I can completely understand that it could be quite embarrassing to just suddenly lose your sight. And, he was embarrassed so he tried to, hide it when he was out in the public.

But coincidentally, one of his co workers became blind and she was inspiring him not to hide his vision loss. Years later, he ended up starting a employee resource group. And I thought that was really inspiring that he’s encouraging others to, not hide their disabilities or, just accept those differences in themselves.

Message to Fellow Teens

So, the Men In Motion, the goal is to kind of inspire people that might be struggling. And that’s also the goal of this Teens in Flight section of Bold Blind Beauty, is to inspire teens to, get out there in the world, start exploring stuff. If you become visually impaired, view that as a strength, not a weakness, because, there’s lots of things you can do.

I like to personally tell myself, it’s my personal motto, just because I’m blind doesn’t mean I’m a log. I can do anything, just maybe I can’t do some things the exact way that sighted people can. We’ll have to modify it, but I can do anything, and so can all of you.

Closing Thoughts and Invitation to Connect

So, I really hope that you enjoy this video, and I’m really excited to hear what all of the rest of you teens have to say. You can, apply by emailing the director of the website. Maybe look at those Men In Motion videos and watch those. I can imagine those will inspire you. So yeah.

Also PS. I am not from Australia, but as part of my sound designing career I like talking in the accent because I think it’s cool.

So yeah, have a great day all of you and can’t wait to hear what the next session is gonna bring. So bye!

Teens In Flight Nominations

Do you know an empowering teen whose story deserves to be shared? We’re now accepting nominations for our new “Teens In Flight” series! If you have someone in mind, please email us at info@boldblindbeauty. Let’s uplift and celebrate the incredible journeys of young individuals on the blindness spectrum! ✉️ #TeensInFlight #BoldBlindBeauty #NominateNow

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Image Descriptions:

• The header, Beyond Sight Magazine cover, and YouTube thumbnail are identical and show Gareth Brown standing and smiling. The photo is overlaying the interior of an airline porthole. He is wearing a gray hoodie with the words “ENSENADA” and “MEX” written on it. Text on the cover reads “Beyond Sight | Teens In Flight | Gareth Brown, Aspiring Sound Engineer.”
• Video description: In the video, Gareth is sitting in front of an AI-generated background that appears to be the interior of a cozy cabin.
• Photo grid containing 8 photos of Gareth from baby to teen: 1) Baby Gareth explores the commode 2) Gareth with headphones is focused on a device while his dog appears to be looking for attention with its head on the back of Gareth’s neck. 3) Gareth and a buddy of his are seated in a booth at a restaurant. 4) Young Gareth is sitting at a dining room table playing with Lego Mario. 5) Gareth and his dad are posing for the camera while on a hike. 6) Gareth is posing in the snow while snowshoeing. 7) Gareth is standing in a creek on a camping trip. 8) Gareth is standing in an outdoor area with a sign that reads “Animal House” A bird is standing on Gareth’s right arm.
• GB Braille Challenge 2nd Place GC: Young Gareth with curly hair standing in front of a wooden door. He is smiling and holding two items in his hands. In his right hand, he is holding a small card that says “PIZZA” on it. In his left hand, he is holding what appears to be a small white box or container. On the door behind him, there is a sign that reads “VIP” with the words “Responsibility,” “Respect,” “Integrity”, and “Teamwork” written around it.
• Gareth creating tracks with Logic Pro: Gareth with curly hair wearing earphones, working on a computer. The computer screen displays a digital audio workstation (DAW) with a project open, showing multiple tracks in green. Gareth appears to be focused on the screen. In the background, there are other computer screens and some office or classroom elements like a white boars and bulleting boards.
• Gareth is kneeling in the grass using a device with lots of buttons on a metal easel. There are several guitars and laptop like cases nearby.
• Photo grid with 2 pictures: 1) Gareth Pre Prom Event: Gareth is standing indoors, holding his white cane. He is wearing a dark-colored hoodie with the word “ENSENADA” written on it. He has a name tag on his chest. In the background there is a large golden pole wrapped with some decorative vines. There are also some chairs and and a table visible, along with a white wall that has some framed items and a small electrical panel. The setting appears to be a room, possibly in community center or similar facility. 2) Gareth at the Capital: Gareth is wearing a dark jacket with a red lining. He is holding a white cane in one hand and appears to be examining something small in his other hand. The background includes a large, white marble column and some architectural details.
• Gareth in Basketball Jersey – Special Olympics 2024: Gareth is standing in front of red bleachers. He wearing a red sportsjersey over a dark blue shirt. The jersey has a circular logo with the letter “B” on it. He is holding a white cane with a black handle. In the background, there is a person sitting on the bleachers wearing a dark jacket.
• Gareth is onstage with other students in a school play.
• Gareth is sitting on a sofa with headphones on focused on a handheld device.