Educating young blind children for a better future

This is Ari, she is one of the youngest members of our family here at St. Nicholas Home at just 5 years old. When Ari was born she was diagnosed with congenital Hydrocephalus which lead to cortical blindness, she was referred to St. Nicholas at the tender age of 1 year and 5 months. She wasn’t able to turn her body on her own, lacked the motor skills needed for sucking and swallowing and wasn’t responding to stimuli in her environment. Her age also meant that she lacked some basic development, such as control and function of head, arms and legs.

Her condition made it more challenging for our instructors to prioritize which activities would be more critical for her growth and development as a child. Our instructors decided to focus first on motor skills. With the patient guidance of our skilled trainers and Ari’s supportive family we were able to help her improve her motor functions. At our latest visit she was able to sit up, balance herself while standing up and had no redness or swelling in any part of her body as a result of stress on the muscles near the joints. After her training in motor skill got going, we began to work on her social and communication skills. Recently she has been able to recognize not only her teachers but also been able to communicate through gestures and is slowly beginning to comprehend words. This is a huge step forward, as we can begin to show her how she can express how she feels to those around her.

Ari’s journey has not been an easy one; she lives at home with her family in another state, quite a distance from St. Nicholas. We were not able to visit her as often as we’d like but by teaching her family members the exercises and periodically checking in, in-between sessions with the trainer we have been able to help her consistently improve over the years.

We at St. Nicholas Home are very proud of Ari’s progress and it has only been possible because of the donations we are receiving from Global Giving, thank you all for your very generous contributions and support. This support is what allows us to continue to help children like Ari significantly improve their chances for a more independent lives and brighter future.