My Can:Do journey
“My name is Adeline Roe.
I am fifteen years old and live with my Mother Amy,
father Adrian and sister Alex.”.
I’m very passionate about blind cricket and play for Blind Cricket SA (BCSA); I
enjoy going to the gym, particularly focussing on strength and conditioning for cricket and everyday life. I like to go on runs with my sister, we’re competitive but keep it fun; I like to watch movies and TV shows with my family; I also really enjoy listening to music and reading.
I was diagnosed with Cone Dystrophy at six months old. Cone Dystrophy means that people affected have either little to no cone function in their eyes. Cones are part of your retina and help people to see in the day, they also assist with fine vision and colour vision and this effects my overall visual acuity and means my colour vision is very limited. I also have photophobia,I’m told that I had many more appointments with Ophthalmologists and Neurologists for
meaning that bright light conditions can reduce my vision to zero.
Electroretinograms (ERG’s) to measure my retina function. These were conducted under standard conditions and also under anaesthetic at ages under one and then again at three.
When I was diagnosed with Cone Dystrophy, the Ophthalmologist recommended the services of Can:Do 4Kids to my parents, which we are truly grateful for to this day.
Although I have very few memories of my early Can:Do days, I can remember going to playgroups like jumping beans and getting to meet other kids with vision and hearing disabilities. I remember that Jumping Beans was a lot of fun and I made some good
friends. I also remember going to many Can:Do 4Kids Christmas parties at the Modbury centre and also at Townsend House and more recently outside at a park with jumping castles and other fun activities.
I can remember supporting my Mum and dad with their many fundraising activities for Can:Do 4Kids, even participating in the city to bay with Can:Do 4Kids since before I can remember (my first time was while I was in a pram). We even ran a few quiz nights which were fun.
I have had many therapists from Can:Do 4Kids over the years who helped me with everything from independent living skills to gross and fine motor skills, assistive technology and Orientation and Mobility (O&M).
I have been lucky to have been supported by fantastic therapists like Belinda, Bec, Adele, Kerryn, Jordana, Alex, Tristan, Justin and Adriana. With them I learnt things like how to ride a bike with Alex, how to use an iPad and its accessible features with Tristan and how to cook with Jordana – I still use the spaghetti bolognese recipe I learnt when I cook for my family. More recently, I participated in the WHISPA support group and we did more social stuff like going bowling and travelling down to Glenelg on the tram to have lunch at the surf lifesaving club.
All together Can:Do 4Kids has helped me from before I can remember
to become the independent young woman I am. I am forever grateful
for the life skills they have assisted me to build, I look forward to
continuing to grow together and helping Can:Do 4Kids reach out to
more families for support.
Help us support Adeline’s dream of reaching out to support more families like her own, click here to donate and brighten the life of a visually challenged child today.
Can:Do Connections
