Questions & Answers 2014

People always have questions about Tommy. Well, this is your chance to ask a question and I'll answer it. I'll start by answering some common questions I get about Tommy.

Why is Tommy blind?
The simple answer is because that's the way he was made. Tommy was born with bilateral (both eyes) retinal detachments due to a condition called Persistent Fetal Vasculature Syndrome. His eyes just did not form correctly. As soon as he was born the doctors knew that Tommy was something special and they began testing and prodding away. We jumped head first into parenting and special needs on day one.

Will Tommy learn Braille? 
Yes. Tommy is already learning pre-Braille skills and being exposed to Braille at school and at home. Just as a sighted child would encounter text in their everyday life, a blind child should encounter Braille. We have labels all over the house and tons of Braille books.

Texture matching puzzles are a great pre-Braille activity.

Tommy is one of the lucky ones. Today less than 10% of blind people are learning Braille. It is expensive to teach Braille. Some schools and some parents fight against teaching it, and would rather have children use audio-books and big print.

But let me tell you, I have never heard someone regret learning Braille, while I have read many accounts of people regretting they did not learn Braille. For someone like Tommy, who only has a bit of light perception, Braille is his only option for literacy. And if you can't spell or write then you are not literate! So bring on the Braille.

How do you stay so positive?
Because I am generally a positive person. A little sarcastic, but still mostly positive. And because our life is not a tragedy. Sure, we have more to deal with than some people, but everyone has something going on if you look deep enough. We all have our challenges. Tom has different challenges due to his blindness, but he also has many unique opportunities BECAUSE of his blindness. He goes to a fabulous preschool at our local school for blind children. I could not hope to afford one that awesome!

Why do you blog?
I blog because people still meet Tommy and feel sad when they look at him. All they can see is his blindness and not the happy child right in front of them. Sometimes sighted people are burdened by their sight. We can't get past our own viewpoint to see that plenty of blind people are perfectly happy. They are not broken sighted people.

Maybe someone that has gone blind might have that feeling, but Tommy never had sight so he does not miss it. And I have seen and met children who have lost their sight who have adjusted to their blindness very well. So here I am, blogging for Tommy until he is old enough to tell you himself.

You never know where you will find Tommy hiding. But he loves slamming doors which is a good giveaway.

How does Tommy get around? 
Very well! He just goes and does what he wants to do. Since he began walking we have been telling him to put his bumpers up. He walks with his hands out a bit to feel for obstacles or walls. We have visual preview and he has tactile preview. A long white can is just another way to preview what is coming up. He also notes the change in flooring for orientation and pays attention to the different sounds different types of flooring makes. When we are somewhere new he almost always reaches down to pat the floor and always takes notice of when flooring transitions from carpet to wood or vice versa.

He has free reign of the house and goes up and down the stairs on his own. We try very hard to treat Tommy as we would treat any four-year-old. It can be hard as a parent but it is the best way. He can't grow up thinking he is made of glass. We wrestle and play. Tommy got a Power Wheels quad this summer and we run around the yard chasing after him when he rides it. Hey, it's good exercise for us!

Any more questions? Leave them in a comment and I'll answer them in a post.