BADIE: Benefits of Audio Description In Education
For Immediate Release - Contact: Joel Snyder, Director, Audio Description Project
[email protected] - (202) 467-5083
WASHINGTON, March 2, 2020 - The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 BADIE Awards (the Benefits of Audio Description In Education), a “Listening Is Learning” initiative of the Council’s Audio Description Project (ADP) in collaboration with the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP).
The winners of this year’s honors (all young people who are blind) are:
Grand Prize Winner:
Mina Lamarra – Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of Curiosity Quest: Guide Dogs
Senior Category (ages 16 to 21):
First Place – Zacheriah Allen, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of Drive Thru History: Kosciuszko, Von Steuben & The Revolutionary War
Second Place – Taylor Cox, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of Houdini
Third Place – Hunter Ruhl, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of Career Connection: Sound Engineer
Junior Category (ages 11 to 15):
First Place – Mina Lamarra, Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, CA - Review of Curiosity Quest: Guide Dogs
Second Place – Isabella Patterson, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks
Third Place – Eli McCalmont, Pacific Cascade Middle School–Issaquah, WA – Review of Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens
Sophomore Category (ages 7 to 10):
First Place – Shaelin Shakespeare, Margaret Ross Elementary School-Aliquippa, PA – Review of Guide Dog
Second Place – Hunter Knotts, West Virginia School for the Blind-Romney, WV – Review of The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top
Third Place – Searra Kline, Mountainview Elementary School-Morgantown, WV – Review of Space to Play Perimeter
The premise of the BADIE program is simple: kids love movies. If a young person can’t see or can’t see well, audio description provides access to all the visual images of the movies that their sighted peers enjoy. Description benefits children who are blind and others who have learning disabilities and it has been shown to boost literacy and understanding for all children.
The BADIE program asked young people who are blind or have low vision to submit short reviews of any described movie.
“Audio Description uses words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative to convey the visual image from television, film, DVDs, theater, museums and many other settings,” stated Dan Spoone, president of the American Council of the Blind. "The young people honored with these awards not only appreciate the ability to enjoy films and television right along with their peers—description helps them and their sighted friends develop language skills through exposure to varied word choice, synonyms, metaphors and similes. I love audio description, and wish I’d had access to it when I was growing up myself!”
Additional information about ACB’s Audio Description Project is available at: www.acb.org/adp; more information about the Described and Captioned Media Program is at: www.dcmp.org.
About the American Council of the Blind
The American Council of the Blind is a national membership organization. Its members are blind, visually impaired, and fully sighted individuals who are concerned about the dignity and well-being of blind people throughout the nation.
Formed in 1961, the ACB is one of the largest organizations of blind people in the world, with more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates and a nationwide network of chapters and members spanning the globe.
For more information about the American Council of the Blind, contact: Eric Bridges, Executive Director, American Council of the Blind, 1703 N. Beauregard St., Suite 420 Alexandria, VA 22311; phone (202) 467-5081 or toll-free, 1-800-424-8666; or visit the web site, www.acb.org.
About the Described and Captioned Media Program
The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides premium media designed for students with disabilities and leads as a resource for families and teachers, supported by the Department of Education.
Originally known as Captioned Films for the Deaf, Inc. and later known as Captioned Films and Videos and the Captioned Media Program, DCMP is a national nonprofit founded in 1950 and is managed by the National Association of the Deaf. The DCMP provides services designed to support and improve the academic achievement of students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.
For more information about the Described and Captioned Media Program, contact: Jason Stark, Director, 1447 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307 Voice: 864-585-1778 visit the web site, www.dcmp.org.