BOY FINDS BLINDNESS NO BAR TO A FULL LIFE : AGENCY HELPS PARENTS RAISE ACTIVE CHILDREN.

Byline: David Kligman Associated Press 

Nine-year-old Hoby Wedler will never gaze at a sunset, drive a car or see his reflection in a mirror.

But don't feel sorry for Hoby, who was born blind. He has learned to cope just fine, even though he wakes up every day to a world he can't see.

``I don't like people treating me like I can't do anything,'' Hoby said. ``I don't want them to see me as disabled.''

Hoby is one of 6,300 California children who since 1949 have graduated to a life of independence with the help of Blind Babies Foundation, a San Francisco agency that teaches blind youngsters to deal with everyday life.

Fifty years ago, Hoby might have been institutionalized. But except for getting to sit closest to his teacher, he receives little special treatment at his elementary school.

Hoby, who has two glass eyes which are replaced annually as he grows, is able to participate in the activities of any 9-year-old boy - with a few minor adjustments. He rides a tandem bike with his best friend, uses a white cane to explore trails near his home and ``watches'' his older brother's Little League games by having his parents describe the action.

``I've found out that there's always a way to do something,'' said Hoby's mother, Terry Wedler. ``Every time Hoby comes up to me and says, `Mom, I want to do this,' I don't say no. I say, `We'll try to find a way.' ''

Of course, things weren't so easy for Terry and Reed Wedler. They had endless questions about Hoby's future. Would he fit in with other children? How would he get around? Would he ever get to participate in an Easter egg hunt?

A nurse at the hospital offered them little comfort.

``She told us not to be so upset, and when he's 3 years old we can send him off on a bus (to special classes for handicapped children),'' Terry Wedler said.

They were referred to Blind Babies Foundation and assigned a counselor, Gail Calvello, who worked with Hoby and taught his parents how to deal with their feelings of grief.

Calvello helped teach Hoby to sit, crawl and remain active, something that is much more difficult for blind babies because they often are coddled by overprotective parents. As Hoby got older, Calvello eased the family into public settings and taught them how to deal with strangers who stare and ask rude questions.

She also teaches parents to get in the habit of describing objects to their blind children. To anyone who can see, the difference between a soccer ball and a basketball is obvious. Not so to a child born blind.

Some images - the vastness of the Grand Canyon or a rainbow - may never be clearly understood.

``When we close our eyes, we have millions and millions of visual images,'' Calvello said. ``We know what trees look like or how the street is laid out. People don't really understand what the challenge is for parents to have to narrate the world.''

One of the foundation's biggest goals is quelling the fears and depression of parents. Nobody knows that better than Dennak Murphy. Like most expectant fathers, he looked forward to someday teaching his son to play baseball.

But when David was born blind because of a loss of oxygen during childbirth, Murphy had to re-evaluate the expectations he had for his child.

``I had images of playing baseball and football with him,'' said Murphy, the organization's executive director. ``It's a really devastating time. It's a time when all your dreams are shattered.''

Blind Babies Foundation tries to instill in parents that just because they have blind children doesn't mean they are doomed to a life without hope, Murphy said.

The organization, formed 47 years ago, includes a staff of 15 that helps nearly 400 infants and preschool children under the age of 6. Counselors drive every morning to 21 Northern and Central California counties to work with children and their parents.

The nonprofit agency also represents California in a seven-state effort to gather statistics on vision disorders among blind children in the United States, he said.

Although there is no registry currently available, Murphy estimated that 1.5 blind children are born for every 1,000 live births in the United States.

Nearly 60 percent of blind children are born with multiple handicaps, according to a 1995 Blind Babies Foundation study. For a child like Hoby, a somewhat normal life is possible because he has no other disabilities.

Hoby said he wants to be a veterinarian. He has had early training by tending to seven pets - two chickens, two rabbits, a dog, a cat and a parakeet - at the family's home in Sonoma County, some 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Terry Wedler has hopes for her son that seem infinitely more possible now than when he was born.

``I see him living by himself, with a job, getting married and being a great dad,'' she said. ``The things all parents want for their children.''

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3 Photos

Photo: (1) Hoby Wedler works on his Braille typewriter.It's one of many skills the youngster has learned to perform with help from San Francisco's Blind Babies Foundation.

(2) Hoby reads homework he's typed in Braille. His parents say the 9-year-old is managing to keep up with his sighted classmates with little extra help.

(3) Hoby Wedler takes out the trash.

Associated Press