Story Archive

The Dumb Leading the Blind

When she was just 4 days old, Lily-Grace Hooper of Bristol, England, had a stroke, which left her blind. Now 7 years old, she gets along quite well with the use of a white cane. Or, at least, she did, until Hambrook Primary School told her she could not use her cane at school for “health and safety reasons” — because there’s a “high risk” she “could” trip teachers or other students with it. Her furious mother says she doesn’t want her daughter to become dependent on someone leading her around. “It is a disability,” Kristy Hooper says, “but I want to celebrate it and make sure she can become independent.” Several charities for the blind have come out in support of Lily-Grace, as well as lawyers, who are offering to represent her in actions against the school. (RC/Bristol Post) ...It’s unclear what the school intends to do, since someone took away their sign language interpreter.