Mom adds special braille message to her manicure for visually impaired son—his reaction moves the internet

People who have visual impairment might not get to experience the world and moments the way we do. However, the braille technique has been designed to give them a glimpse of it all in their own unique way. A mom named Karissa Livia (@karissalivia) was stoked to surprise her 15-year-old son. Shay, by getting her nails done with a special braille message, per PEOPLE. The mom, who constantly shares how she involves the boy in her world on TikTok, left many tear-eyed at this surprise. As soon as Shay started feeling the braille message and decoding it, his reaction prompted a joy like no other. 

The National Federation of the Blind revealed that the braille technique is an arrangement of dots in a particular way to determine a letter, thereby creating words and communication for those with visual impairments. It is believed that many blind people can read as many as four hundred words per minute. Karissa noted that getting braille nails done was another way “to make him feel included in the world.” In her video, she showed her set of nails with blood red polish and began describing them to her son. He excitedly and patiently listened as the mom gave away details. 

She then noted that there was “something black” on it. The mom was referring to the rhinestones the nail technician had used to create the braille writing. As he began to feel the nail, he immediately realized that it was braille. “You got braille on your nails?” he asked, with a wide smile. “Ouuu! Hype, baby, hype,” he added. Starting with the littlest finger, he started sounding out the alphabet in the order that the letters were made on the nails. He then carefully paid attention and read out loud, “Love, U [sic] Shay!” By the time he reached his name and decoded the message, he was all smiles. “So cool,” he remarked. 

When Karissa asked whether her son liked the surprise, his unfading smile and remark, “The fact that you wrote ‘Love U Shay!?” gave away that he was beyond excited. “For him, having that touch sense was really big,” the mom said. In several other videos, she continued with gestures to include him in her world or just tap into his. In one of the videos, the mom visited a Braille Nail Center (BNC) to mark Braille Literacy Month. It was an experience of a kind. In another video, Karissa shared the braille nails she got done for her son from the BNC to surprise Shay yet again. 

Unfortunately, the message she had gotten on her nails — “BACONATOR” was accidentally given away by her beforehand. Nevertheless, the boy was happy to feel the braille on her nails and decode it tangibly. “I want to make sure that I do everything I can to help him thrive and be the best that he can be because I feel like if he knows I or other people feel bad for him, then he's just gonna feel bad for himself. I wanted to ensure that I’m able to instill resilience in him,” the mom remarked. She has inspired many others to be more accepting and open to fun techniques of inclusion with her gesture. “Everybody is different and it’s important that we all work to make everyone feel included,” she said. @lenaa.du said. "This is the cutest thing ever." @chronically_connor added, "Okay, now I need braille nails." 

You can follow Karissa Livia (@karissalivia) on TikTok for more content on visual impairment awareness and parenting.