Serena is 8 years old. She was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye condition known as Aniridia, which she has in common with her dad. The most significant feature of Aniridia is the underdevelopment of the iris in both eyes. Serena’s central macular, the area responsible for fine visual acuity, is also affected by this condition, meaning she is legally blind.
Due to her condition, Serena has severely reduced long distance vision, difficulty with glare sensitivity and adjusting to changed lighting conditions.
Serena was struggling at school to access the required class materials, prompting her parents and teachers to meet and discuss ways to support her learning. One idea was to purchase Serena an iPad Pro to assist her accessibility needs–but this was prohibitively expensive.
Fortunately, Variety Queensland was able to assist with a grant.
Serena’s teacher Trixibelle shares, “The iPad Pro is great! Serena is very confident using it. I would say the best skill-building I’ve been doing with her this year is using an app called Notability. It allows me to send her PDF versions of worksheets which she can import and then use her apple pencil to write and add colour directly on them.
“Notability has a function where handwriting can be converted into text and Serena is then able to select an option to have it read back. The goal is to provide alternative ways to access text and lessen any visual fatigue she might experience from relying on her eyes constantly and the iPad Pro is an excellent size for these activities.”
Serena is using the iPad almost every day and we are so excited to hear how this simple tool has made such a big difference for her.
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