A musical laugh. A wide, bright smile. Relentless positivity and intelligence. These are the first words one might use to describe Ayub Abraham, a young man who has been part of the Brighton Center family since 2012 . When Ayub told his mother he wanted to learn the violin and she fretted that this was out of his reach, he smiled and learned violin and viola. Then, when he wanted to learn baseball and she told him he had to use a tee, he shook his head and learned to hit homeruns without it. When he told her he wanted to be an astronaut and she wondered how this was possible, he worked with NASA before he entered high school. Ayub, diagnosed with Morsier Syndrome at 2 days old, might be visually impaired, but he sees his future clear as day.
Ayub is the living embodiment of the Broadway adage “Anything you can do, I can do better”. In fact, Ayub has never seen the point of limiting himself based on others’ perception of his abilities. “I didn’t need the tee, I could hear the ball,” he shrugged, “So I knew I could hit it. And I do!” NASA also saw his prowess, enlisting him to provide feedback on their books in Braille. Did we mention that Ayub is something of a language aficionado? He speaks English and Spanish, as well as reading music and numerous Braille codes.
Ayub fought through Morsier Syndrome to get recognition for his abilities. When his mother, Perla, found Brighton Center, she met Girasol, a consultant for Brighton Center’s Special Education Support Service, who 10 years later is known as “La Tia de Ayub”. Girasol guided Perla through the Special Education system, helping her advocate for her son’s education. When Ayub was in kindergarten, he was coming home with bruises. These bruises were from Ayub trying to walk the halls of the school without an aid or resource. Girasol helped Perla work with the school on creating a safe environment. Years later, Girasol and Perla are now watching Ayub shatter every limitation that other’s place on him. “The sky is the limit, son,” Perla used to say. “The sky is not the limit, Mom, I’ll make it to outer space,” says Ayub. He will.
