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Holding his small right hand on top of hers, quietly and patiently, he asks, “What does it say?”
Feeling a line of raised bumps on a page, she replies, “I can eat pizza.” Moving to the next line, she reads aloud, “We will play in the snow.”

“Good job,” he says.

He is Malachi Williams and she is Aryana Dread. They are first graders at Townsend Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District. Since kindergarten, the two have been joined together in a unique friendship. Aryana is blind. Malachi has taken it upon himself to help her in any way he can.

Aryana candidly said, “I was sick,” to explain how she lost her vision. Her right eye is a prosthetic. Her left eye is her natural eye, but she has an extremely limited ability to see. So much so that when she looks at something, she holds it close to her face and cocks her head to the right at an angle that looks as if it might hurt. She says she can see some shadows and some crayon colors.

She is learning to use a Braille typewriter. It looks nothing like a regular typewriter. It looks like a big, metal lunchbox with a single row of keys shaped like shoe horns, and it is not electric. It’s manual. She gets help with the machine from Gail Mayer, a Special School District teacher assistant. Aryana also gets help with math skills and learning to read and write in Braille from Steve Berman, a SSD vision itinerant.

Today, Malachi went with his friend to her session with Berman, who gave her a page of sentences in Braille with the words written in blue Sharpie beneath. Across the table was Mayer, watching as Aryana rubbed her fingertips across the paper, sounding out words and letters. Sitting next to Aryana was Malachi. If she missed a letter or a word, he would say, “You missed one, you have to go back.” Or, “Try that again.” He always ended with words of praise.

In front of him was a small card of Braille lettering. He is learning Braille to help Aryana, but not because he’s being made to do it, it’s because he wants too.

When asked if he remembers why he started helping her in kindergarten, he said shyly, “Because my mom encourages me to do good things.”

He didn’t begin helping her right way. He said he “waited a little while” before he started helping her with things like arts and crafts, her coat and book bag, and helping her put her chair up at the end of the day.

Aryana remembers that in kindergarten, he helped her with math “and at the listening center,” where the students listened to books on tape.

Now, when it comes to classroom lessons, he is especially helpful to her in math and science, where they often get to experience hands-on interactions.

Cheryl Walsh, their teacher, notes the impact that working with Aryana has on Malachi.
“The time he works with Aryana does enhance his learning because he is explaining the activity to her. After explaining, he will actually participate in the activity with her.”

The two sit across from each other in class, and although they seem to spend a lot of time together, they do spend time apart with other classmates and friends. If there is ever a time when Malachi is absent, Walsh said there is another student “who is equally prepared to assist Aryana.”

There are “at least five other children in the classroom who understand Aryana’s learning style and would assist her in an instant if necessary.”

Aryana seems to move around the classroom comfortably without the use of her cane. Walsh said the tables are arranged in a way that keeps the room’s perimeter open, and aside from reminding all of her students to pick up things off of the floor or to push in their chairs, she has had to make very few accommodations for Aryana.

“It truly was not so difficult to adapt to having a visually impaired student because she has a wonderful support system with Ms. Mayer,” she said.

Yvette Wren taught the pair as kindergarteners. She recalls the beginning of their partnership.

“I remember that at first, Malachi would help Aryana when I would ask him to. But the more he got to know her, he would help her all on his own when he saw that she needed some support.”

Walsh and Wren have similar thoughts on why Malachi and Aryana work well with one another.

“Malachi and Aryana were both very eager to learn,” said Wren. “They listened and followed directions very well. Both of them are very sweet and kind children. I believe that is why they work so well together.”

“They are both so easygoing and enjoy being with one another,” said Walsh. “Malachi encourages Aryana to keep trying and work up to her potential. They are close friends due to their working together so closely for the past two years.”

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