Whiz Kid: Fourth Grader to Compete in National Braille Challenge

• Grade: Fourth
• School: 
• Achievement: Griffin, a fourth grader born blind, was honored by the West Bloomfield Optimist Club before competing in the National Braille Challenge this weekend. The Optimist Creed, a statement recited by the club at its weekly meetings, was transcribed into Braille and recited by Griffin June 19 in what was an emotional moment for one member.
  
  "As I sit in another board meeting now, I must reflect on how blessed my day started. It is because of each of you that our days are filled with joy as we all serve our wonderful youth in the community," wrote President Robert Brooks in a release.
  
  It's the third year that Griffin, whose intelligence quotient has been tested and scores possibly as high as 190, will compete in the contest. He plays guitar and piano and is studying music theory at the college sophomore level. Griffin also has a special teacher since he is doing 11th-grade math, currently advanced algebra. He knows English, German, Spanish and is studying Mandarin Chinese, said mother Rachel Miller.
  
  His I.Q. has been tested and scores possibly as high as 190, which puts him in the category of Genius, according to the Stanford-Binet- Scale of Intelligence. 

• What's next: Griffin is one of 60 who were selected to compete out of more than 900 preliminary round contestants from 42 states and two Canadian provinces. Contests include reading comprehension, Braille speed and accuracy, proofreading, spelling and reading tactile charts and graphs.
  
  He won three years ago, and was advanced to an older group of children last year where he finished third. Griffin feels he has a good chance of winning this year because he will be among the oldest students in his test group.

Do you know our next Whiz Kid?

West Bloomfield Patch welcomes suggestions for students, youth groups and even sports teams who wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email the information to editor Tim.Rath@patch.com. Please include all these details:

• Nominator's name
• Whiz Kid's name and age
• Whiz Kid's school
• Whiz Kid's accomplishment
• What makes him or her successful