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Meet Liam Kenrick

Liam on a slide.

Liam, who was six years old when this story was filmed, lives in South Dakota and loves reading, playing with friends and family, being outside, running, and going on expeditions in the community. He became deaf-blind from meningitis at age 2 ½ and communicates using American Sign Language (ASL) expressively and tactile ASL receptively. His mother, Sandy, believes strongly in inclusion and has found many creative ways to make home, school, and community as accessible as possible to Liam. She is passionate about literacy and creating tactile books, and Liam’s braille skills have developed rapidly. Sandy is a regular blogger for the Paths to Literacy website.

Watch the videos to meet Liam, his family, and some of the members of his team: Leslee Wallis, his intervener; Joe Harrison, his Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI); and Shaun Keller, his special education teacher and case manager. Check out the box below each video for additional resources, including some of Sandy’s blog posts.

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Meet Liam

Learn more . . .

Meningitis
From The Nemours Foundation's KidsHealth website.

Overview on Deaf-Blindness
From National Center on Deaf-Blindness.

 

Meet Liam

Learn more . . .

Meningitis
From The Nemours Foundation's KidsHealth website.

Overview on Deaf-Blindness
From National Center on Deaf-Blindness.

 

Communication

Learn more . . .

Tactile Signing
A factsheet from Project SALUTE.

Language Work in the Community
A blog post by Sandy Kenrick from the Paths to Literacy website.

 

Literacy

Learn more . . .

Creating a Braille-Rich Environment at Home
A blog post by Sandy Kenrick from the Paths to Literacy website.

Book Making Party!
A blog post by Sandy Kenrick from the Paths to Literacy website.

Movement

Learn more . . .

Hand Use While Walking: Helping Your Child Who Is Blind Understand His Home
From the WonderBaby website, Perkins School for the Blind.

Helping Your Child Who Is Blind or Visually Impaired Get Oriented to a New School Building
From the FamilyConnect website, American Foundation for the Blind.

 

Teaming

Learn more . . .

Maintaining a Home–School Relationship
A factsheet from California Deafblind Services.

Teaming: Thoughts and Tips
A blog post from the Paths to Transition website, Perkins School for the Blind.

 

Community

Learn more...

Using Personal Identifiers with My Deafblind Son
A blog post by Sandy Kenrick from the Paths to Literacy website.

10 Fun Things to Do When Throwing an Accessible Birthday Party!
A blog post by Sandy Kenrick from the Paths to Literacy website.