Blending in to Stand Out
Hair in braids, wearing a Bengals jersey, Kylie Smallwood poses for the traditional “mom picture” posted on Facebook commemorating day one at her first job selling sports gear. This 15 year old Beta Club member likes reading, hanging out with friends, and listening to Taylor Swift. If you walked into her store and saw her,…
Hair in braids, wearing a Bengals jersey, Kylie Smallwood poses for the traditional “mom picture” posted on Facebook commemorating day one at her first job selling sports gear. This 15 year old Beta Club member likes reading, hanging out with friends, and listening to Taylor Swift. If you walked into her store and saw her, you’d think she was like any other teenager in the south end of Louisville, Kentucky. That is until she reached for a jersey, and you noticed she did it mostly with one hand.
“I tell people that my left hand is sort of the boss, and my right hand is like it’s assistant.” Kylie was born with a rare genetic disorder called HHT that doctors think caused a stroke, leaving her with limited use of her right hand. From 18 months old through kindergarten, therapists worked to improve function on her right side through constraint casting. “She wore a cast on her good arm, so she was forced to do things with the other hand,” explained mom Samantha. “She’d go six weeks on and then two weeks off for many years. It did wonders and she gained a lot of function.” Therapy was not always easy, but Kylie took it in stride and always tried to do her best.
As she got older, the goal of therapy changed to being able to do daily life tasks more easily so she could fit in among her peers. “When you have to do most things with one hand, that’s the first thing people see. My goal was for them to notice me and not my hand. Ironically, I didn’t want to “fit in” so I could be just like everyone else. I want people to see me and what makes me unique. But in order for people to see who I am I had to sort of blend in so the main thing they notice would not always be my disability.”
A rising high school sophomore, Kylie’s sights are now set on a career where she can give back. “When I was little, I did a fashion show at the Kids Center where I got therapy. They had a questionnaire for parents that asked what does your child want to be when they grow up? In the early years, my answer was always a movie star and pop star. Then as I got older it turned to occupational therapist or pediatric nurse.” She chose Fairdale high school because of a program exposing students to various aspects of nursing. “I feel like I have to give back. So many people helped me. I am driven to help other kids because so many people helped me. I feel this so strongly that I don’t think I have a choice.”
When asked what advice she’d give young children with a disability and parents raising these kids, Kylie said don’t let your disability define you and don’t set smaller goals in life just because you are different. Kylie’s determination and passion for giving will no doubt have her impacting a lot of young lives very soon.