Landon Harp, the youngest of three siblings was diagnosed with oculocutaneous albinism at 12 weeks old. Due to this condition, Landon experiences rapid involuntary eye movement, increased sensitivity to light, reduced vision sharpness and poor depth perception.
Landon is a typical seven-year-old boy who loves spending time with his friends, building worlds in Minecraft and playing baseball.
Landon is a member of the Under 8’s Mets Viking team with the Mets Baseball Club in Catherine Field, NSW. He has been playing with the team for the past three years and recently progressed from playing off the tee to hitting balls from a Zooka, a battery-powered, compressed air machine that pitches balls.
“The team and club have been great at including Landon. The boys on the team have embraced Landon and made small adjustments to include him, like calling out his name when they want to throw a ball to him," said Karissa Harp.
“We also approached the club and asked if they could use yellow coloured balls which are easier for Landon to see. One of the club members painted a ball and got approval to use it so Landon could continue competing in the league.”
Landon is good at catching balls and has successfully hit balls straight from the Zooka. For safety reasons, Landon does not field on first or fourth base, but he still makes a difference in the outfield.
“I have friends with children who have albinism and sometimes they steer away from team sports. If someone else learns Landon’s story it might help them to understand how they can get their child involved,” advised Karissa.
Vision Australia began working with the Harp family when Landon was first diagnosed. At the time, the family lived 12 hours away from Brisbane and occupational therapists would visit him once a year at home. As well as providing guidelines to Landon’s childcare centre, so they could best support him, we also supported his sister, Breah who has albinism but is only affected by glare. Landon was also a member of our Feelix children’s library in his younger years and when the family moved to Sydney, our occupational therapists worked with Landon at home and at pre-school so he was prepared for the school years ahead.
“It has been great to understand how to best cater to Landon’s needs as they change over the years. From how best to feed him solids, mobility issues, to being able to do the buttons up on his shirt in preparation for school.”