Is Blindness Scary?

Kellin has been home for over three weeks now.  And here's something I have realized - the majority of Kellin's delays and difficulties do NOT appear to be directly caused by his blindness.  Most of his delays are from neglect and institutionalization, not from his lack of vision.  Now certainly his delays are indirectly related to his blindness; that is, he probably would not have experienced the level of neglect he did if he had normal vision.  It is likely that a seeing child of his age would have been allowed out of his crib to play, interacted with other children, given solid food and allowed to feed himself, etc.

Blindness is not a scary disability.  But the effects of an orphanage environment on a blind child ARE scary!  Consider a typical, healthy baby boy.  How would he develop if he was left in a crib most of the time, interacted with only when it was time for diaper changes and when he was handed a bottle a few times a day?  His development would be severely affected.  Now consider the same scenario, but with a healthy baby boy who also happens to be blind.  In addition to not experiencing anything outside of his crib, he also cannot see what is going on around him.  He has no opportunity to observe others and learn from watching.  You would expect that his delays would be even more significant.  We believe this is what happened to our Kellin.  And it happens to many, many other blind orphans around the world.  As the years go by, blind children in these settings who were born with the potential to learn and develop typically become more and more isolated in their own worlds, more and more disabled, never learning to be independent in anything, until they completely lose the capacity to learn and develop in any sort of typical way.  It's a scary, sickening thought.

Blindness is not a scary disability.  Children who are blind or have limited vision can learn to talk, move around independently, read, care for themselves, do chores, have jobs . . . the possibilities are endless.  A few months ago, our family had the opportunity to meet a man who has been blind since birth.  During that meeting, we learned that he runs his own computer repair business and lives a fully independent life.  In addition, he is an outgoing, talkative guy with a great sense of humor.  He was such an inspiration for us!  He is a wonderful example of what we hope Kellin can achieve!

Once again, I am going to post a picture and link for this little boy who I desperately hope gets to experience a family.  He is five years old and blind, and unlike many orphans, he lives in a group home for children who are blind or visually impaired.  He is well cared for and is being taught skills that will help him prepare for independent living.  He's awfully cute too. :)  He would do so well in a family!  Take a minute to go and read about Jesse, share his story, help me to find him a family.


http://reecesrainbow.org/59002/jesse

Now a quick Kellin update:
-He is tolerating being on his tummy more and will let us put him into a hands-and-knees position.
-He is sleeping more and going back to sleep more easily when he wakes in the night.
-When I put food into his mouth with my finger, sometimes he swallows it.
-He reaches for our hands to indicate that he wants to sing "Open, Shut Them."
-He is less scared by the noise his brothers make when they start tearing around the house.
-He seems to be enjoying his bath more.
-When he drops a toy, he uses his hands to "look" for it.
-He will cruise along the couch (in a very slow, shuffling kind of way).