Blind 10-year-old boy first Sask. student to qualify for Braille Challenge Finals

The first Saskatchewan student has qualified for the Braille Challenge Finals, after only 50 people were chosen from more than 1,000 who competed across the world.

Ten-year-old Isaiah Gauthier, who was born visually impaired, has tested extremely high on braille spelling, proofreading and speed. He lives with his family in Martensville, just north of Saskatoon.

Recently, the whole family was floored when they got the call from a woman in Los Angeles saying that he qualified for the finals. 

"We just thought, 'Oh, he's a Top 10 Canada, exciting.' And she said, 'No, he's not the Top 10 Canada, he's actually the Top 10 internationally,'" said Isaiah's mother Renelle Gauthier.

"So Isaiah and I looked at each other and … we were very silent. I think our jaws were on the floor for about five minutes."

The qualifying 50 students scored the highest in braille literacy out of nearly 1,100 participating students from across the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.

"When I got the call, I just felt it was something I worked to achieve and I did my best at it," Isaiah said.

The 10-year-old, who won in a regional braille competition earlier this year, didn't know there were international finals. 

"And so I was surprised but really happy at the same time. I like entering in braille contests because it's fun and it's fun to try and see how you'll rank," said Isaiah. "And it's fun to try and see, like, do I need to push myself even harder?"

Braille is a tactile writing system based on a 63-character code. Braille symbols represent letters of the alphabet, and in contracted braille, symbols can represent words. Isaiah, who began learning braille in kindergarten, uses machines to help him read and write.

Renelle said the woman who called from Braille Challenge Finals with the exciting news was very impressed with Isaiah. 

"She said, 'We know Isaiah's name here and we're very excited to meet him.' And so that was really exciting."

Both Isaiah and his mother say they want to use this success to advocate for better resources for the blind. 

"One of the things I would really like to see grow more in Canada and Saskatchewan is, you know, we have to believe in the learning and the growth and all of the aspirations that is part of [being] a child, including sports and leisure," Renelle said.