Blind Childrens Center
4120 Marathon Street, Los Angeles, California 90029 (323)664-2153
A family-centered agency serving children with visual impairments
Los Angeles — The Morning Call
April 05, 2001
By Manuel Gamiz, Jr.
Staff Writer
Nine year old Eric Recillas could not see the colorful egg he held in his hands Wednesday morning, but when he found it nestled inside a tree minutes before, he felt the true feeling of the Easter holiday.
Recillas, who was born without vision, was one of many children who participated in a special holiday tradition at the Blind Children’s Center 13th Annual “Beeping Easter Egg Party” in Los Angeles.
“It’s just great to see Eric enjoying himself,” said his mother Lolita, who works as a parent/mentor at the center. “When we first found that he would not be able to see, it was very emotional. We were confused and scared. But this center has really helped out our entire family.”
The eggs, which beeped to allow the children to use their hearing and feeling abilities to locate them, were developed by Telephone Pioneers.
“The beeping eggs allowing blind children to learn and develop their other senses while at the same time experience the fun activities with Easter,” said Mary Ellen McCann, the center’s director of education.
The South Whittier family has shared in the education process with Eric. Eric, who also suffers from autism, began coming to the center shortly after his parents discovered that he was blind, the result of a cyst in his optical nerve. He graduated from the center in 1996, but still returns, mainly because his mother and younger sister, Gabriela, work and attend school at the center.
Gabriela, 4, participates in a reverse education class where she helps students who are visually impaired through classroom exercises aimed at helping students use other senses. She is able to see, but took the class to learn about her brother’s condition.
“I remember she would always pick up a toy and ‘Eric, Eric, look.’ She did not realize that he could not see,” said Lolita, 33. “Since she started coming to the center a year ago, she started handing him toys so he could feel them.”
Gabriela also participated in the egg hunt, helping other children locate eggs. All children who found a beeping egg, which they all did, received an Easter basket filled with candy, toys, and other goodies.
Eric’s father, Rodolfo, was overjoyed, watching his son look for eggs and play with bunnies, chicks, ducks, and a goat, which scampered through the yard as the children looked for eggs.
“It’s so wonderful to watch him like this,” said Rodolfo, 35, who works as a mechanic. “He’s learned to become independent and play and enjoy himself with other kids.”
The Blind Children’s Center, a nonprofit organization, is a family oriented agency that serves children with visual impairments from birth to school age.
It was founded in 1938 and serves about 70 families a year, helping them celebrate life and overcome disabilities.
“Holidays are very difficult because this is when parents start to realize that their children are different,” said Myrna Pineda, a family worker at the center. “I think that participating in these activities give families hope that their child can do the things that everyone else can.”
Blind Childrens Center
4120 Marathon Street
Los Angeles, California 90029-3584
(323) 664-2153 • Fax (323) 665-3828
©2008 Blind Childrens Center
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