Boy, 10, raising money to go to Braille-reading competition

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 10-year-old boy from Orange County has a special talent for reading Braille.

He's so good, he's one of only 12 vision-impaired students to qualify for a national competition in Los Angeles, but his family can't afford to go.

Princeton Elementary School is trying to raise money to help him and time is running out.

The raised dots of Braille are Ton Pham's window to a life filled with reading and writing.

"I've studied for this one, two, three, about four years," Pham said.

Pham was able to show Channel 9's Lori Brown a thing or two about Braille.

"So it's these two? I figured it out, yay. This is tough, this is not easy," said Brown.

Pham is already Florida's regional champion. Next month he has a shot to be the national champion.

The Phams need to come up with $2,500 or he won't be able to compete in Los Angeles.

"I really want to get first place, because of the reward," Pham said.

The reward starts at $250 and includes electronic Braille equipment.

Pham's latest story is about a genie.

"Every time I make a wish, that wish goes wrong. It doesn't go the way I expected it to," Pham said.

In Pham's real-life story, he doesn't need a genie, just a teacher who may be able to work some magic by selling chocolate bars.

WFTV