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A young boy named Harvey Hind, who is both deaf and blind, recently made his first appearance as an actor on the popular BBC One soap opera EastEnders. Harvey, who is five years old and from Clitheroe, Lancashire, portrayed the character Arlo, a preschool-aged child registered as blind, in an episode aired on Wednesday. This milestone has filled his mother, Kimberly, with pride and hope that his role will help break down barriers for children with disabilities.
Kimberly expressed her desire for Harvey’s appearance on the show to serve as inspiration to other disabled children, particularly those who share his deafblind condition. She said, “I hope Harvey featuring in EastEnders shows other disabled children, especially those who are deafblind, that they can achieve anything.” She also emphasized that while Harvey enjoys the attention that comes with being on screen, their main goal is to raise awareness and help ensure that disabled children have access to the same opportunities as their peers.
In the episode, Arlo visits Lauren Branning and Peter Beale’s home, where he plays with their son Jimmy, who was introduced in a previous storyline as a child living with blindness. Arlo’s mother provides Lauren with advice on raising a blind child. Outside of the show’s narrative, Harvey’s own journey began early. When he was around four weeks old, he failed the newborn hearing screening test, and his mother noticed a flicker in his eye at about the same time. After a private consultation, he was diagnosed as blind when he was three months old.
Harvey navigates the world with the help of a red-and-white striped cane, a tool specifically used by deafblind individuals, and he communicates through British Sign Language (BSL). He also wears cochlear implants, which allow him to perceive sound. Kimberly shared that the first couple of years with Harvey were challenging due to communication difficulties and that she had to give up work to care for him as he struggled in a mainstream nursery setting. The involvement of Sense, a disability charity that provided a deafblind specialist, was a crucial support for the family. Kimberly reflected on her experience saying, “I was so anxious when I found out Harvey was deafblind, so his character’s storyline resonated with me a lot. I didn’t have any experience with disability and I kept imagining the worst-case scenarios. Luckily, with the support of organisations like Sense, Harvey is now a really happy child who is eager to learn, loves exploring and has a cheeky personality.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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