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Special-Needs Parenting Blogger Is Finalist in About.com Contest

Jessica Kovacs of Wilkins Township is asking for votes for 'Thomas Marshall Does It All,' a blog about her son that's up for 'Favorite Special-Needs Parenting Blog.'

The blog that Jessica Kovacs writes about her son Tommy, Thomas Marshall Does It All, is a finalist for About.com's Favorite Special-Needs Parenting Blog.

(For voting information, see end of story.)

Tommy, who is 3-and-a-half years old, was born with bilateral persistent fetal vasculative syndrome, which resulted in him being blind in both eyes. Kovacs said while the syndrome itself isn't rare, to have it in both eyes and as severely is rare. He has only light perception.

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He also has a feeding tube because of difficulty eating, though Kovacs said he's made progress and enjoys macaroni and cheese, pretzels and ice cream. Tommy enjoys music and riding his tricycle outside.

"People are most surprised he's more like other children than he is different," she said.

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Kovacs, a Wilkins Township resident, started the blog in 2011 to draw some attention to the challenges children who are blind face, while also showcasing the many things children who are blind can do. She said she hopes it is a nice example of a family living with disabilities—and showing people she, Tommy and her husband, Derek Kovacs, are "doing okay."

"At the beginning my husband and I were just holding on," Kovacs said. "Tom had five eye surgeries before he was six months old. Our experience as new parents was so completely different from anyone else we knew. All the information I found on the Internet was either horrifying or unrelatable. I couldn't find any information about a family that was living life with their blind child, so I started one myself."

The blog resonates with parents and special-needs teachers, too, some of whom provide helpful suggestions.

"It amazes me. Bilateral PHPV is very rare so the blog is really the only way to connect with other moms and share information. It makes staying up late at night to write blog posts worth it."

By writing posts two or three times a week, Kovacs is able to share Tommy's progress with relatives and friends in one place. For instance, it was a way she could gently share with people that they should not buy Tommy regular books, but braille books.

Tommy attends Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Oakland, where he is learning orientation and mobility skills, such as using a cane to aid travel, and learning braille. Kovacs said she was surprised that only 10 percent of people who are blind read braille. Most, she said, rely on audio books, leaving them "technically illiterate."

"It's an amazing school," Kovacs said, talking about her making the decision of whether to enroll Tommy in private school or in a regular school inclusion program. "There is training you can only get there (at the School for Blind Children)."

The school offers art classes, a horticulture program and works with the children to help them understand where their body is in space since they cannot see, she said.

Kovacs' blog also won CBS Pittsburgh's Most Valuable Health, Medical or Fitness Blog in 2011. The blog also has a Facebook page.

By clicking on this link, About.com's page to Vote for Favorite Special-Needs Parenting Blog, people can vote for "Thomas Marshall Does It All" every day until Tuesday, March 19.

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