A Student’s Journey
Seeing the World Through
Kian’s Hands
Kian’s journey began as a baby. After 11 months of not taking milk and
not getting the nutrition he needed, Kian’s parents decided to take
him to the doctor where they were given news no parent ever wants to
hear: Kian had a brain tumor.
The family made a trip to St. Jude, but despite the doctors’ efforts, on
Christmas Eve, the tumor burst. Kian was left blind, and his parents
were left with a world of unanswered questions. At this time, one of
our certified low vision therapists and assistive technology service
providers, Lynda Crouch, was introduced to Kian and his family at a
private therapy clinic. Kian was not able to crawl, dress, feed himself,
or use his right hand, but his journey was not over. While working with
Lynda, Kian began trying to crawl. He started to play with toys, and
that was just the beginning. Kian was enrolled in our developmental
program around age 4 when a spot miraclulously opened for him to
attend LLH. Since then, Kian went from using a kid walker to a modified
PVC pipe walker that Lynda created herself. This walker caused Kian to
gain independence and to use more of his own strength to move rather
than putting all of his weight on a normal walker.
Currently, Kian continues to make incredible strides, experiencing the
world through touch. With the aid of a mobility cane and trailing with
textured tiles, Kian is learning to navigate his way from his classroom at
the end of the hall to the braille room and back. He is practicing early
braille literacy on classroom signs along the wall and learning how to
use his braille writer with scribbling by pushing the keys in random
order. In the braille room, he has learned his name and, so far, letters
A-G. Braille is also a tactile experience that strengthens and engages
Kian’s brain in a different way than auditory experiences. Not only does
this give him the ability to read, but also to write. These skills will be
translated when he is older into using additional assistive technology
that will prepare him for independence and employment.
Throughout the years at the Little Light House, Kian has learned that
his strength comes from the Lord. When Kian is having a tough day,
we remind him to seek joy, to which he replies, “Whoo Hoo!” and
starts singing “I’ve got that Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy…” Though blind, Kian
never stops seeing more of the world, and we know that this is just the
beginning of his incredible journey!
8 | JOURNEY