One word to describe her: Brave
Kyli is a beautiful, busy, sassy four year old with a serious love for life. She always shows concern and compassion for others, and is always trying to help out. Her favorite things to do are ride her bike (thanks AMBUCS!), ride (small) roller coasters at Grady’s, swing at the park, make her sisters laugh, and wear her backpack to school.
Her parents dream for her future is that Kyli is able to be independent and to feel that she can accomplish anything she wants without limits – no matter what they have to do to make it happen. To their family, inclusion means that children of all physical and developmental abilities are able to participate in all the same activities and experience the same joy, excitement, nervousness, and even fear as others. It is also having friends at school and on the playground and being able to enjoy moments that all kids look forward to without feeling different or limited.
To Kyli’s mom, empowerment means that Kyli does not see the boundaries that others/society set for her. It means that even if sometimes things are harder for her, or she has to be creative in how she accomplishes the same things other children are doing, that she always sees a way to get it done and to enjoy her life to the fullest.
Her mom shares that for a long time, Kyli’s insecurities kept her from trying to walk on her own. She is still working on balance and coordination and rather than challenge herself by trying to walk without her walker while in their house, she would nearly always resort to crawling. “When her baby sister began walking at 10 months in June of this year, Kyli’s competitiveness (with a small side of jealousy) flipped a switch in her and she started walking independently almost exclusively that same day. Fast forward a couple of months and Kyli and her sister can be found RUNNING after one another every day.”
