Pictures of Hazem

Hazem regularly practices Braille with his primary teacher. By Braille, I mean half a dozen letters of the Arabic alphabet, which he doesn’t yet understand. Unfortunately, it’s still a game to him (and in my less-than-humble opinion, he’s not the one to blame). But at least he enjoys it.

One of Hazem’s favorite past-times is circling around this tree over and over again.

A story from a few weeks ago: after Hazem had been circling clockwise (as he always does) for about five minutes, I stopped him, performed the sign for “rotate,” and nudged him to turn around. (Of course, Hazem doesn’t know the sign for “rotate,” but the idea is to perform many signs with deafblind children and then immediately introduce the items/actions associated with the signs. Over time, their minds will learn to make the associations.) 

I nudged him. He didn’t budge. I took his hand in mine and began to walk around him, so that he could feel me moving counter-clockwise around the tree and then follow me. He let go of my hand. His face spoke confusion and discomfort. 

Then he started moving away. Without his walking stick. Without any clear direction. Slow and steady side-steps, that expression implanted on his face. 

This is a creature of habit, friends.

Most Mondays, Hazem and I do the dishes together. Generally, he does a good job. He likes the hot water a little too much, so he will often just stand there with a hand under the faucet and his mouth open until I tap him, reminding him what he’s supposed to be doing. 

In fact, I tap Hazem around every ten seconds while we’re doing the dishes. Rarely does he perform two steps in a row: he does one thing, and then either gets distracted or simply waits for permission to continue -- permission that I’m trying to convince him he doesn’t need. 

Looks dangerous to you? You’re probably right.

We’re on a field trip to a center for children who are blind and low-vision. This clay smells like bananas, one of Hazem’s most common snack foods. 

Obviously, the deafblind rely more on their sense of smell than we do. Before meals, it’s important to allow Hazem time to sniff out his dish. 

Playing alongside other Blind children at the center

A position that Hazem is in far too often

...this one, too

Asma is a Jordanian Deaf woman who works with Hazem several times a week. You wouldn’t be able to tell from this picture, but Hazem is actually quite scared of her. She tends to be stricter with him than others are, and if he misbehaves, she’ll sign with a ferocity that quickly quiets his body.

This is Mohammed (one of many Mohammeds at our school), who is responsible for eating with Hazem during meal-times. 

Rapidly-shaking hands are an indicator of happiness. 

Air is coming out of a vent and blowing a styrofoam ball upwards. That’s it. And you’ve never had this much fun.