Visual Awareness Training Lions International Clubs MD 105

Things that people ask and say • If someone is registered blind does that mean that they can see nothing? • If they are having trouble reading the print should I just enlarge it? • I’ve known someone with a visual impairment before, should I just do the same for another person? • I’ve been told that he has a visual impairment, but I can’t see what the problem is. He moves around without a problem and reads normal sized print.

What is a Visual Impairment • Includes blindness as well as sight impairment. • Can range from no sight, to merely light perception, to varying degrees of useful vision. • No two people are the same, even if they have the same condition.

Visual impairment certification and registration • Certification is something that can only be done by a consultant at the Eye Hospital (following referral by GP) • Registration is the process following on from certification, is voluntary not compulsory and is carried out by the local social services department. All data is secure and cannot be shared without the persons permission.

Low Vision Services • A low vision service aims to provide people with the skills and knowledge needed to enable them to regain and maintain their independence. • It can vary dependent on where people live, and can have slightly different components • It can be in differing settings ie. hospital, opticians or local society for blind. • It should include information and support re social and leisure activities, special equipment, magnifiers, technology, emotional support, mobility and rehabilitation

Technology • General technology – computers, smartphones (with or without built in adaptations) , numerous apps, (Be my Eyes, Seeing A 1, 3 -D sound maps, Soundscape, etc) and GPS devices (Or. Cam) • Assistive technology – screen readers and screen magnifiers, braille readers, talking watches (and virtually everything else) and ALEXA…

Other special equipment • • Liquid level indicators. Big letter keyboards Talking alarm clocks Adapted phones C-Pen reader Talking kitchen (and bathroom)scales. Sheet magnifiers Daylight table lights.

Visual acuity Simply, this means the ability to see fine detail

Factors affecting visual acuity • level of background illumination • the contrast of the target against its background • the distance between the eye and the target E. g. it is easier to see a black letter on a white background or Yellow letters on a black background in electronic documents than dark grey letters on a lighter grey background or consider the size of grid lines on a graph

Visual Acuity We need vision to guide movement and reaching. Would you like to climb the stairs in the middle image? Does black tape on the stair edges (far right) make them easier to climb?

Visual field The visual field is the area of space in which all objects are visible simultaneously Normal visual field Central visual field loss

Interrupted visual field

Organisations and Support • There are over 200 local, regional and national organisations, working together to provide the 2 million plus visually impaired people in UK with the services and support they need. Sightline directory www. sightlinedirectory. org. uk or Visionary www. visionary. org. uk will help you to find one near you. • There also numerous eye condition related organisations all with their own websites.

Eye condition related websites. • Macular Degeneration www. macularsociety. org. • Glaucoma – glaucoma. uk • Diabetic Retinopathy - diabetes. co. uk • Retinitis pigmentosa Retinauk. org. uk (previously Fight for Sight)

Sightloss Quiz • How many people in UK are living with sight loss a) 750, 000 b) 1, 500, 000 c) 2, 000 • A totally blind person can hear better than a sighted person a) true b) false • What percentage of people with sightloss can read braille a) 5% b) 20% c) 65% • What proportion of people with sight loss are over 65 a) 23% b) 65% c) 75% • How many people in UK have a guide dog • a) 8000 b) 5000 c) 3000

Answers !! • How many people with sight loss – approx. 2 million • Can totally blind people hear better – false • Percentage able to read braille – less than 5% • 75%+ of all people with sight loss are over 65 • Number of guide dogs in UK – just under 5000

Finally • Consider each person as an individual with specific needs. • Give clear instructions, avoiding general statements such as “from here to there” “pick it up like this” • Ask if you feel you need help with ‘guiding ‘ a visually impaired person • Don’t assume that if a person appears to be managing they are really ok. • Don’t worry about saying ‘see you tomorrow’

Contact and Further Information Lion Sue Taylor E mail suetaylor@lionsclubs. co. uk 07871714957