Taya Carmody, an 8-year-old girl with straight ash-blonde hair and eyes that dart around the room, is trying to process some terrible news.

She sits on a piano bench with dolls by her side and her feet barely touching the floor.

The young musician spent her life unable to see due to Optic Nerve Glioma, which resulted from a slow-developing brain tumor that grows near the nerve connecting the eye to the brain. The cause of Glioma is unknown and most cases are detected by five years of age. The odds of developing blindness due to the tumor are less than 5%, but Taya was one of the unlucky ones.

The news she’s just received is that she has a new brain tumor, her fifth. How can a child her age fathom such another diagnosis?

For her, the answer involves creating music.

Like many artists, hardship has inspired her to write a new song to process her life circumstances. So, she looks straight ahead and her fingers begin to glide slowly on the piano relying on her sense of touch.

The sounds her touch creates on the piano, guide her soft voice as she sings: “Once was enough, twice was enough, three times was too many and four times was too many. Now five is just ridiculous.”

Her voice strengthens as she adds: “Now I’m living with sadness inside of me because of this…”

In contrast to the weight of the lyrics, the little girl is beaming.

She claps her hands to her verses and engages in a joyful back-and-forth with her instructor, David Pinto as they look for rhymes that convey the feelings; looking to see the truth without her eyes. As she and Pinto play the piano more energetically, Taya’s feet begin to swing back and forth to the rhythm.

Then in the midst of creating her melody, the song pivots from despair to hope: “Please make me be okay…” she sings.

Taya is one of approximately 60,000 blind childrenin the United States and one of the dozens who study at the Academy of Music for the Blind in Whittier, California.

For a sightless child, music can be a great equalizer. Dr. Andrew E. Budson, a lecturer in neurology at Harvard Medical School, notes that while they may not be able to see their instrument, the notes can help spark unique connections in blind people. They can build networks that are impossible for people who can see to acquire.

Musical creation catapults blind children like Taya to empowerment, connection and “normalcy.” Being blind is the only way of life for these children and we (those who are able to see) have more than a few things to learn about their unwavering hopeful spirit for life.

When interacting with a blind child or adult, many of us can be quick to disregard them or to try to overcompensate for their disability; talking to them slowly, speaking too loudly, staring, or even expressing how sorry we are for their blindness. Monica Adamson, Anabell's mother shares her experiences raising a blind child. She says to save your sympathy. No one should feel sorry for her daughter. Click to listen.

A disability is often associated with hindering someone's ability to achieve their potential. But, these trailblazing musicians have dismantled stereotypes associated with blindness and have cemented themselves as some of the best musicians of all time. Happy listening.