Lighting the Way for Children With Special Needs

Imagine the rush of thrilling emotions that comes with preparing to adopt for the very first time. Making it through the selection process. Learning the name of your new child. Eagerly anticipating their arrival in your home, and your new life together as a family. Gina couldn’t wait to welcome baby Kennedy. 

But when Kennedy arrived, Gina’s excitement turned to worry. Baby Kennedy was supposed to be a perfectly healthy three-month-old, but the infant was just six weeks old, and something seemed to be very wrong. 

“She didn’t cry at all for the first eight months,” Gina says. “And when her eyes were open, she’d just stare into a corner.”

Gina learned that Kennedy had been exposed to methamphetamine in the womb, that she was legally blind, and that her development had been severely delayed. Doctors gave little hope of Kennedy ever recovering her vision. 

“I didn’t know what I could possibly do for her,” says Gina.

Then Wayfinder Family Services stepped in. Since its founding as Junior Blind 70 years ago, the nonprofit has earned a strong reputation for helping children and families that many other organizations are unable to serve. Based on the belief that those facing the greatest challenges deserve the chance to thrive, Wayfinder has more than 20 comprehensive programs that provide expert, individualized services and support to an increasingly diverse population of children, youth, adults, and families. 

Bertha, a Wayfinder child development specialist, was assigned to work with Kennedy when she was just four months old. Wayfinder’s Child Development Services provide early intervention statewide to children with vision impairment or multiple disabilities. 

Bertha started making home visits. Among other items, Bertha brought an iPad with a glowing red bunny. Week after week, Bertha would work with Kennedy to follow the slow-moving red bunny with her eyes. “Babies’ brains are amazing,” Gina says. “The improvement happened over months, but it was quick. She started seeing.”

When Kennedy was one year old, “the bunny was bouncing all over the iPad, and Kennedy was following it,” says Gina. This is the power of early intervention. Research shows that every $1 spent on early intervention saves $17 in future care and support. Today Kennedy is a typical elementary school student and does not need special education services.

“Early intervention was totally life-changing for Kennedy,” Gina says. “I don’t know where she’d be now without Wayfinder. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”