Meet Sadaya Paige: 11-year-old visually-impaired SF girl raises awareness about her disability
"Even if you have septo-optic dysplasia, I think it's a blessing, because not everyone has that same kind of diagnosis as I do."
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- On Blindness Awareness Month, a visually-impaired San Francisco girl is raising awareness about her disability.
Sadaya Paige, 11, of San Francisco says it's a celebration for people like her.
She has a large Instagram following and shares with her followers her challenges, triumphs and the realities of being blind.
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She sings, "I like to sing and play the piano," in what she calls her "blindness song."
"I was born with septo-optic dysplasia, which for me makes me completely blind," she sings in the song.
She goes on to sing that she likes to do things normal kids do despite her disability.
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"The optic nerve that's going from her eye to her brain, it's underdeveloped, and that was not detected during my pregnancy," mother Dora J. said. "I was holding Sadaya in my arms, and I noticed that her eyes were moving uncontrollably."
"Even if you have septo-optic dysplasia, I think it's a blessing, because not everyone has that same kind of diagnosis as I do," Sadaya Paige said. "But I still think that people with this diagnosis would have an amazing journey like I would."
She got a device called OrCamMyEye that helps her identify products and people. It can even read books to her.
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Her mom said the company gifted her the device. She said social media has allowed them to get support and connect with other visually-impaired children and families.
ABC7 Reporter Gloria Rodriguez has a "Good Stuff with Gloria" segment every Thursday on our digital streaming show, "ABC7@7."
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