There was a wonderful article this week in the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader about a little girl with spinal muscular atrophy who wanted to keep attending preschool, and the technology that allowed it to happen.

Dani Pruitt, who has SMA Type 1 and will turn four years old in the spring, went to preschool at Rosa Parks Elementary for three days each week until recently. It had to come to an end when her mother decided she wasn’t strong enough to survive the viruses that are usually passed around a classroom in the fall and winter. But, Dani wanted to keep going to school. The solution was to place a laptop and a webcam in both the classroom and in Dani’s bedroom. The article picks up the story from there…

Dani insists on participating in all aspects of school. When preschoolers in the Rosa Parks classroom are charged with washing their hands at the sink, Beth Pruitt thinks her daughter can use hand sanitizer.

But Dani presses her.

“With soap and water,” she says. Her mother carries her to the sink.

When it comes time to dance to the Wiggle song, Dani sings along in a whisper as her mother moves her arms, her legs, her fingers so she can make the same motions as her classmates.

“I can’t say enough about Rosa Parks,” says Beth Pruitt. “They look for ways of helping without us asking.”

Dani has outlived the predictions of all of her doctors. Most children with Type I SMA don’t live past two years old. Dani’s mother, Beth, says she doesn’t pay attention to the prognosis anymore.

You can read the entire article here. There’s also a great slideshow of Dani enjoying school, which you can find here.

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