Bucks County Mother On A Mission To Change The Perception Of Blindness
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Changing the perception of blindness is the mission of a Bucks County mother who has two blind children.
And for her efforts, Kristin Smedley is being honored.
She has been invited to speak at a prestigious event called "Risk Takers, Change Makers."
Kristin fits both of those descriptions and the title of her talk is "How I Learned To See Through The Eyes Of My Sons".
Her sons Mitchell and Michael are blind but that hasn't held them back very much.
It doesn't stop the Bucks County brothers from playing a round of air hockey.
They've learned to play not by watching the puck but by listening for it.
"Sight is not what should hold anyone back, it's just a minor inconvenience," says Mitchell.
Mitchell is 13 years old and his big brother is 17 years old.
They were both born with a rare inherited eye disease called Leber congenital amaurosis or LCA.
"Having 2 blind kids, initially that was the most devastating news," said Kristin.
But that devastation turned into amazement for Kristin as she learned how well her boys could adapt and even excel.
Michael is an accomplished musician and is involved with school productions.
"Sometimes at school they look at me and say, 'Wait, you're the blind kid running the lights' yeah and you send the blind kid on the cat walk," says Michael. "So there's nothing you can't do."
"The stuff they can do is unbelievable," says Kristin.
She's writing a book called "Thriving Blind" and has a big following on Facebook helping other families with blind children.
Kristin started a foundation called "Curing Retinal Blindness" that raises money for research.
She's organizing a fundraiser and is putting the finishing touches on the presentation she's been invited to give at a TEDx event which highlights innovative ideas.
"It's like that dream come true moment," says Kristin.
TED stands for technology, entertainment and design.
She's excited to share her message of conquering fear and understanding that blindness can be powerful.
She says those are lessons she learned from her sons.
"Their brains work at a higher level than ours too." she said. "Because my son Michael will say, 'you're so distracted, you sighted people are all distracted by the stuff you see, focus mom focus', its amazing."
The boys are enrolled in regular classes at school.
They use a Braille notepad and have big plans for a future that include college and big careers.
For Michael and Mitch, being blind isn't much of a consideration.
"I really don't think it's that big of an issue," says Mitch.
Kristin's TEDx speech is March 30 in New York City.
Invitations to speak at TEDx are very selective and prestigious and the event will be giving Kristin's message a big international forum.
