Today I’m excited to share an interview with Nika, a veteran homeschooler and fellow admin at Strictly Secular + Inclusive Homeschool. Nika brings a wealth of experience and perspective to the homeschooling world, and I’m honored to highlight her family’s story here.
At Rabbit Hole Learning, we believe every homeschool is unique—and those stories deserve to be told. If you’d like to share your own homeschooling journey in a future interview, I’d love to hear from you! You can reach out at admin@rabbitholelearning.org.
How does blindness/low vision affect your home school?
Blindness and low vision have a huge impact on the way we structure and experience homeschooling, however I don’t view it as a barrier, it’s just part of our reality. I’m visually impaired myself, and two of my seven children are visually impaired—one is fully blind, and one has some usable vision like I do. The rest of my kids are sighted. Because of that, we approach learning in a very flexible, adaptive way.
Practically speaking, we adapt by using a lot of accessible tools like braille, tactile graphics, screen readers, and magnification devices. Audiobooks and hands-on learning play a big role in our daily routine. But honestly, the most important part is mindset: we create an environment where it’s normal to adapt, problem-solve, and meet each person’s needs without judgment. We prioritize inclusion in our home school not just for blindness and disability, but for all differences.
Homeschooling my blind/low vision kids doesn’t require a lot of change on my end. They already know how to use all of the adaptive equipment and can write braille, so I am able to access their work with no extra steps necessary. With my sighted kids, it’s a bit more of a convoluted process however, I found a rhythm that works for us. I am a huge fan of digital curriculum because I am able to set it up on an iPad and have my kids fill out any worksheets digitally with an Apple Pencil. I will then screenshot what they wrote, go to my camera roll and zoom in in order to evaluate the assignment. If the writing an assignment where I want them to have near perfect grammar then I will have them type it out on a computer and then attach a refreshable braille display so I can physically read their work rather than relying on a screen reader to read their finished product if it is something like a free right or just filling out a worksheet to show their understanding I will often just ask them to read me their work.
Having a mix of sighted and blind children has actually strengthened our homeschool. My sighted kids have learned empathy, advocacy, and how to think creatively about inclusion. My blind and low vision kids know they’re fully capable of learning anything—they may just take a different route to get there.
Sometimes that means lessons take a little longer, or we skip written worksheets in favor of discussions, experiences, or audio-based learning. But in the end, our kids are learning life skills that go far beyond academics: flexibility, independence, and how to build a world where everyone belongs.
How do you talk to your kids about blindness, low vision and disability?
In our home, blindness, low vision, and disability aren’t taboo topics—they’re just part of life. These conversations happen naturally and often. We use clear, respectful language like blind, low vision, and disabled because we believe those words aren’t negative, they’re simply descriptions of how someone experiences the world. We encourage respectful curiosity, and asking questions.
From a young age, we’ve talked about how bodies and brains work in lots of different ways, and that’s part of what makes humanity beautiful. Disability isn’t something to pity or fear; it’s a normal part of human diversity. I also teach my kids that accessibility isn’t optional—it’s a basic human right. We all have a responsibility to help build a world that works for as many people as possible.
We also talk a lot about ableism, and how society sometimes puts up barriers for disabled people and how we can challenge that by advocating for inclusion, accessibility, and respect. Whether it’s reminding them why we speak up when something is inaccessible, or helping them navigate their own feelings about disability pride, we’re raising kids who understand disability as a fact of life, not something to be ashamed of.
Most importantly, we center the voices and experiences of disabled people. In our family, blindness and disability aren’t problems to solve. They’re identities to understand, embrace, and celebrate.
What do you wish more people understood about blindness and low vision?
I wish more people understood that blindness and low vision aren’t tragic or limiting the way society often assumes. Blindness is just one way of experiencing the world. People who are blind or have low vision live full, rich lives—we work, parent, learn, and create just like anyone else. Sure, there are practical challenges, but most of those come from the way the world is built, not from blindness itself. If environments, technology, and attitudes were accessible, we wouldn’t be seen as inspiring for doing normal everyday things.
I also wish people realized that blindness isn’t one size fits all. There’s a huge range of visual experiences in the blind and low vision community. Some people have no sight at all, and others have a little bit of usable vision. That can change over time or vary day to day. What works for one blind person may not work for another and that’s okay. I would also like to emphasize that blindness doesn’t look a specific way. There are a multitude of different eye conditions, some affect the way the eye looks and others you wouldn’t be able to tell the person has a visual impairment by looking at them. Some of us use canes and guide dogs, some of us are able to get by with minimal Assistive technology or mobility aids. I often receive comments that I don’t look the way they would expect a blind person to look because I enjoy doing my make-up and love fashion. I think it’s important to not have any preconceived biases or limitations on what we think blind people should look like or how we dress. Just like with cited people, there is so much variability in our community.
Lastly, I want people to understand that it’s okay to talk about disability. Using words like blind or disabled. It isn’t rude, it’s honest. Avoiding the topic or treating it like something sad makes it harder for people like my family to feel included and respected. Instead, ask questions, listen with an open mind, and recognize that blindness isn’t something to fix, it’s just part of who we are.
What is something curriculum creators can do to make things more accessible for you?
One of the biggest things curriculum creators can do is design their materials with accessibility in mind from the start, not as an afterthought. For blind and low vision individuals such as myself, that means offering materials in multiple formats: accessible PDFs, alt text for images, audio options, braille ready files, and tactile diagrams when possible.
Unfortunately, a lot of curriculum still comes in print only formats, which simply isn’t usable in our home. Even when a digital version is available, sometimes it’s just a scanned picture of a page rather than actual text. In those cases, I have to use OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert the image into readable text, which is a frustrating and time consuming extra step that shouldn’t be necessary in 2025.
Curriculum creators could also rethink activities that rely heavily on visuals, like worksheets focused on matching pictures, visual puzzles, or color based tasks. Offering multi-sensory activities or verbal instructions allows all kinds of learners, not just blind and low vision ones to fully participate. Ever since joining the online homeschool space, I’ve had the opportunity to communicate with multiple curriculum creators who are open and receptive to feedback and for that I am very grateful.
It’s also important to remember that no two blind learners are the same. Some use braille, others use audio, magnification, or large print. Accessible curriculum should offer flexible options that let families choose what works best.
And most importantly, curriculum companies should involve disabled families in the design process from the beginning. Accessibility isn’t a bonus feature, it’s essential for truly inclusive learning.
What’s one thing you want other families, disabled or not to take away from your story?
If there’s one thing I hope other families, whether disabled or not, take away from our story, it’s that there is no one right way to learn, live, or parent. Disability doesn’t make life less meaningful, it just makes life different, And different can be beautiful.
Our family isn’t thriving in spite of blindness and low vision, we’re thriving with it. We’ve learned to adapt, to advocate for ourselves, and to build a life that works for us rather than trying to fit into someone else’s mold of what education or family life should look like.
For disabled families I want to say, your story matters. You are enough. You don’t have to prove your worth by being perfect or by doing things the way non-disabled families do. And for non-disabled families, I hope our story reminds you that accessibility, inclusion, and empathy aren’t just nice extras, they’re ways we make the world better for everyone.
Whether or not you face disability in your own life, I hope you’ll pause to ask “How can I make space for someone who experiences the world differently than I do?” And then take action, whether it’s adjusting your homeschool, your community, or your mindset.
At the end of the day, our family is like any other, we laugh, we learn, we grow together. Disability is part of our story, but it’s not the whole story.
Nika’s story reminds us that homeschooling is never one-size-fits-all. By centering flexibility, accessibility, and inclusion, she shows how families can create an education that works for them on their own terms.
If her journey has made you reflect on your own, I’d love to feature your story too. Every homeschool has its own challenges, strengths, and creative approaches, and sharing them helps us build a more supportive and inclusive community. If you’d like to be interviewed, reach out at admin@rabbitholelearning.org.
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