The Abrie family is a Kin Culture family from Somerset West in the Western Cape. Kobie Abrie has spent the last nine years parenting two wonderful children in care. What started as taking in a sibling pair, aged two and seven, has blossomed into a “beautiful family” of three, now navigating the complex world of teens and “tweens”.
However, as any foster parent knows, the journey often reveals hidden challenges that require more than just love to overcome. For Kobie’s daughter, that challenge was an invisible barrier to her education and development.
Navigating Educational Challenges in Foster Care
For years, her struggles were a mystery. Despite having 20/20 vision, she was drowning in the classroom. She battled severe ADHD and anxiety, but her schoolwork revealed a different kind of distress.
The problem presented itself in subtle but damaging ways:
-
Classroom Fatigue – She would get incredibly tired and distracted, forcing her to sit at the very front of the class just to keep up.
-
The “Racing” Reflex – Because her eyes couldn’t sustain focus, she learned to work at a frantic pace to finish before her concentration vanished.
-
Spatial Disorientation – In her schoolbooks, her handwriting would drift further and further away from the margins, a clear sign that her eyes weren’t tracking the page correctly.
- Physical Limitations – On the sports field, her hand-eye coordination was severely affected, making ball games like netball a source of frustration rather than joy.The breakthrough finally came during an assessment with a psychologist, who identified a major visual-spatial processing issue. The diagnosis was a revelation, her eyes and brain were effectively “not speaking” to each other.
The Power of Behavioural Optometry
The family found their answer in a specialised field called Behavioural Optometry. Unlike standard eye care, this treatment focuses on retraining the brain to process what the eyes see through “visual rehabilitation”.
The treatment was an intense, three-month “eye gym”. They committed to a rigorous schedule of exercises two to three times a day, including:
-
Focus Drills – Using beads on a thread to train eye convergence.
-
Visual Shifting – Reading numbers rapidly between wall charts and handheld cards to teach the eyes to adjust focus.
-
Neural Training – Strenuous tasks that often caused sore eyes, physical proof that the brain was finally being rewired.
Why Foster Care Support Makes the Difference
Specialised treatments like behavioural optometry are a “quite expensive journey,” and for a single foster mom, the financial weight can be a barrier to care. This is where foster care support through Kin Culture’s services becomes a lifeline.
Kin Culture stepped in to bridge the gap for the family. By negotiating a discounted rate with the specialist and covering a portion of the treatment costs, Kin Culture ensured that this girls past doesn’t determine her future.
“I probably wouldn’t have been able to take her on this journey if it wasn’t for the help of Kin Culture,” Kobie admits.
Partnering for a Brighter Future
At Kin Culture, our mission is to ensure that no foster family has to walk the path of restoration alone. We provide more than just a network; we provide the specialised support families need to address the unique developmental and emotional hurdles that children in care often face.
We believe that when we support the parent, we empower the child. Today, a child’s handwriting is neat, she can sit anywhere in the classroom, and she is finally thriving on the netball court. By providing the right tools at the right time, we help children like this move from just “getting by” to becoming their very best selves.