Bringing stories to life
Feelix Library books bring storybook words to life.
Rafe was diagnosed with aniridia soon after he was born – in fact, on the day his parents were planning to bring him home from hospital.
Finding out their new son had this eye condition, which affects iris development and therefore limits his vision, came as a shock to his mum Robin and dad David.
"The diagnosis came completely out of the blue, given there was no family history of aniridia,” David recalls of receiving the news four years ago.
Since then Vision Australia has been working closely with Rafe and his family to ensure he achieves life's milestones such as learning how to walk or eat solid foods.
"Children learn by watching,” says Anna McCauley, one of Vision Australia’s Children's Occupational Therapists. “They watch their parents and friends and copy what they do. For children like Rafe, this is more challenging, but Vision Australia teaches the techniques required to compensate."
To assist with Rafe's early literacy skills, David and Robin signed their son up as a member of Vision Australia’s Feelix Library.
Feelix is a unique library service that loans sensory book kits out to young borrowers who are blind or have low vision. Each kit contains an audio book featuring standard print and braille, which is the key to literacy for many children who are blind or have low vision.
The kits also include tactile objects that help children relate to the story and its characters. For example, the Green Eggs and Ham kit includes wooden eggs that the children can play with as they listen to the tale or read the tale back themselves.
"Rafe loves books and the Feelix kits really help bring the stories to life," says his dad, David.
It costs Vision Australia $310 to produce one Feelix kit. However, thanks to the support of our generous donors, this library continues to grow.