In a quiet corner of the Grade 6 classroom at Thika Primary School for the Blind, Janet is finding a new way to learn.

At 25, Janet has already travelled a longer educational journey than most students her age. She is totally blind, has a physical disability, and a profound sensory disability affecting her hands. That last challenge has made something many learners who are blind depend on for education impossible for her: reading and writing Braille.

For most learners who are blind, Braille is a gateway to literacy. For Janet, the raised dots are beyond the reach of her fingertips. She cannot feel them well enough to read or write.

The consequences have followed her throughout her education. Janet remains in Grade 6, not because she lacks the desire to learn, but because the tools available to her have not always matched the way she experiences the world. During assessments, she struggles to access questions independently or provide written answers. While her classmates progress through school, Janet has sometimes found herself feeling discouraged. But discouragement has not taken away her dreams.

Talk to Janet for a few minutes and it becomes clear that she wants to do much more than simply get through school. She wants to participate in co-curricular activities, join clubs, spend time on the field and be part of the music room. She dreams of taking hands-on courses where she can create, build and learn by doing.

“I want to do more,” Janet says quietly.

That simple statement captures what makes her journey so important. Janet does not need someone to lower the expectations placed on her. She needs learning opportunities and tools that recognise how she learns.

Finding another way to learn

At Thika Primary School for the Blind, teachers are working with Janet to find that way. Through inABLE’s Assistive Technology Lab, Janet is being introduced to digital skills, assistive technology, audio-based learning and digital navigation. Instead of asking Janet to adapt to tools that do not work for her, her teachers are exploring tools that can adapt to her needs.

“Janet reminds us that inclusion is not one-size-fits-all. When one tool does not work for a learner, we have to find another way,” says Valary Olesia, Assistive Technology Instructor, inABLE Thika Primary School for the Blind Assistive Computer Lab Station.

Working with Janet has also required patience and creativity from her teachers. There are days when a new skill comes together and she smiles through an entire lesson. There are other days when nothing seems to work and she withdraws but she keeps coming back.

“There are difficult days, but what keeps us going is that Janet keeps trying. Every small breakthrough gives her another reason to believe that she can do more,” Valary shares.

Her progress may not always be measured in the traditional ways. Sometimes it is a new digital skill. Sometimes it is navigating a device independently. Sometimes it is simply the confidence to try again. Each of these moments matters.

Education must adapt to the learner

Janet’s story is about much more than disability. It is about a young woman who wants to learn, participate and build a future for herself, despite having multiple disabilities that have made traditional approaches to education difficult.

It is also a reminder that accessibility cannot stop at providing a single tool and assuming it will work for everyone. For some learners, Braille opens the door to education. For Janet, technology may help open another door.

That is why inABLE’s work matters. Through Assistive Technology Labs and digital skills training, we help students who are blind or have low vision discover new ways to access information, communicate, learn and participate independently.

Janet’s journey is still unfolding. We do not know exactly where it will take her. But we know what she wants: to do more. And so, together with her teachers, we are walking that journey with her, one digital skill, one lesson and one day at a time.

Written by Valarie Olesia, inABLE’s Computer Instructor at Thika School For The Blind