"I like the way the letters are formed," Sara said. "It's kind of like art."

Sara came to the United States from China about four years ago to join her new family. When she arrived in July 2015, her mother said, she could speak and write in Mandarin. She picked up English quickly with the help of her sister, Veronica.

"We learned pretty quickly to trust her judgment and let her gauge how much she wants to do and then let her do it," Hinesley said. "That's Sara. She moves through life in this way that you never really see her as having a disability because she has this can-do, I-can-tackle-anything attitude."

In her free time, Sara likes to draw "things that are around me," like sunflowers. She enjoys swimming, playing with Veronica, also 10, and participating in her school's chess club. There's little she isn't willing to try, her mother said.

"Sara is a testament to perseverance and the human spirit," Hinesley said. "Every day I'm amazed at the things she is able to do and that she chooses to do. She doesn't try to find her way to avoid an obstacle, she finds a way to complete the task."