Equip deafblind children with skills for life!

DANIEL

If Daniel could express himself, this is what he would say,

“I was born blind. A lot of people have these really strange misconceptions about blindness. They think if you’re blind, life might as well be over. I try to tell people that I’m normal in every other way; the only difference is that you can see and I can’t, so I have to figure out other ways of doing things that you normally would use vision for.It is challenging being blind, but it is a lot less challenging than a lot of other things. It’s not only doable, it’s doable with happiness.”

Daniel, joined the St. Nicholas’ Home DBMH program in 2010 at the age of seven. He is the eldest child among 3 siblings. He was brought up by his grandparents who lived in Perak during his early childhood age. However, his grandmother pass away when he was six and his parents decided enroll Daniel in the Deaf blind Multi-handicapped programme at St. Nicholas Home. When he was first enrolled in this program, he was unable comprehend simple instructions nor communicate verbally. Daniel was also unable to walk or use the stairs unassisted. With deformed left hand, he had difficulty with his grasp and hand coordination. He was totally dependent for all his self-care needs. He hardly communicates and used to be quite aggressive and sometimes bites himself.

After 7 years of patient coaching and guidance, Daniel has improved tremendously in terms of communication skill, capable of understanding and responding to verbal instructions. Cognitively, he can follow his daily schedule, count up to 100 and use the brailler to braille A-J. He has also acquired the essential daily living skills such as self-feeding and caring for his personal hygiene. Daniel has improved so much in his social skill that he has been given the responsibility to deliver and collect laundry for all the kids. 

Daniel likes to play with his friends and he loves the swing. He wants to go as high as he can, laughing the entire time.

Though improved significantly in many areas, Daniel still finds it difficult to grasp and hold long thin objects like sticks due to his deformed fingers. We see potential in Daniel to improve further in basic arithmetic, verbal communication and in his social interactions. We hope that with proper guidance from his teachers and the support of well-wishers, Daniel will be able to achieve a greater level of independence in his daily living.