When Layla was a toddler, it was nearly impossible for her mother, Tijona, to imagine taking her daughter to a restaurant or on a plane for a trip.

Born blind, any foreign senses were shocking and scary to Layla causing her to become frequently overwhelmed and overstimulated.

“When you get the diagnosis that your child is blind, you just feel so down,” says Tijona.

However, thanks to the critical support from people like YOU, Layla and Tijona found a way up through Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired.

Through Missouri First Steps, Layla’s mom discovered CCVI, receiving the essential guidance to parent Layla effectively and set her up for success.

For years, therapists and Teachers for the Visually Impaired provided support at Layla’s home. Layla’s mom learned techniques like narrating to her daughter to manage the overwhelm Layla felt in new environments.

Once connected to CCVI through Missouri First Steps, the statewide early childhood education agency, Layla was enrolled in the Early Intervention Program. This is the largest program at CCVI, sending certified teachers and therapists with specialties in vision into the home of kids like Layla. Layla’s therapists remember music always being the way to her heart.

“Those home visits,” Tijona pauses and reflects. “Those were where I learned to be a mother.”

Once Layla was old enough to attend CCVI’s center-based program, the Early Learning Academy (formerly known as CCVI’s preschool program), she received classroom instruction with other children who were blind or visually impaired and how to navigate a school environment while still receiving intensive therapy and Braille instruction.

"She was the girl that didn’t trust anyone and grew to be the girl who had confidence," says Michelle Tovar, Layla’s Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI)

That connection was one of many meaningful, magic currents that lit up Layla’s tenacity, confidence, and strength.

Now, Layla, a child that her mother once had hesitancy bringing to grab a bite to eat, has aspirations to become a music producer and has already flown all over the world, including on a trip to the Dominican Republic-- and thanks to you, she’ll be ready for any new adventure.