A Linwood Elementary School fifth-grade student will be one of three Kansas students participating Saturday in the National Braille Challenge in Los Angeles.

Ashlee Thao, 9, of Bonner Springs, will participate in Saturday’s competition, joining 10-year-old Luther Fuller of Lawrence and Briana Brewer of Kansas City, Kan., who are also representing Kansas. Luther was featured in Thursday’s Journal-World.

They qualified from among 800 of the top blind and visually impaired U.S. and Canadian students. In the challenge, students will be required to transcribe, type and read Braille.

Ashlee, the daughter of Thai Thao and Julie Xiong, was born with congenital cataracts and lost her vision during a surgery to remove them. Her mother and one of her teachers last year, Sharon Stice, said Ashlee has grown into a fast Braille reader.

“She loves to read, and she loves to tell stories,” Xiong said. “She loves to write, and this trip was an added bonus she was really excited about.”