Brianna's dream
Brianna is a regular six-year-old girl who enjoys climbing trees, swimming, gymnastics, listening to music and reading – except Brianna has been blind since birth.
She has two eye conditions called Leber's congenital amaurosis and macular colobomas, meaning she is totally blind, with perhaps just a little light perception.
Brianna has used a range of Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) services, including orientation and mobility training to help her move around. Before Brianna started receiving services, her mother Anne says "she was a little girl in a bubble, but now she is much more independent and confident".
Brianna also reads and writes using braille, reads tactile books, and loves talking books. She uses the RNZFB's cassette-based library all the time, listening to favourite fairy stories and animal books – her favourite authors are Joy Cowley and Lynley Dodd.
The RNZFB is currently creating a new digital library, which will provide Brianna with the education opportunities that she needs to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher. Anne says, "why not? Blindness doesn't stop her from achieving what she wants!"
