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I thought it was about time to have a positive post! I am so pleased that Joshua has settled in to mainstream school brilliantly. He loves it. He is very sociable and his teacher has told me that he is very popular within the school.

He is very keen to learn and his Nystagmus currently is not effecting his confidence at all. He has bounced in everyday and hasn’t said once that he doesn’t want to go in.

His school originally tried to get 15 hours a week funding for a Teaching Assistant but were denied. I was originally slightly worried about the amount of hours they were hoping to get as  I wanted to see how he gets on first. They assured me the TA would just be an additional member of staff so they could teach in smaller groups etc. They however did not get the funding and at the moment Joshua has excelled and doesn’t need it. This of course is at present he is only in reception and will probably need more assistance as he gets older…..but its a good start!!!

His teacher and school have been fantastic and have the correct equipment (laptop. CCTV etc) and are aware of his additional need but have not put the impairment before Joshua. He is treated exactly the same as his peers.

Joshua has a Visual Impairment Advisory Teacher who goes into the school to help with his I.E.P and to make advisorys. When ours recently visited she put a request that the concrete steps where highlighed in yellow on the edges and the black supporting post located around the school were painted with yellow stripes. Also a hat and sunglasses box were put in place near the back door for easy access. A VI Teacher usually visits every half term.

Joshua is progressing at exactly the same rate as his peers.

All in all it has been a better school start than i could have ever dreamt of!!!

This is one of the scariest questions you may be asked. It is one of those subjects that only you as a parent can decide if its best for you/ your child or not. I have to ask this question to many of my patients and its often the time they will feel the lowest.

Remember you or your child are exactly the same person before you were asked this. It does not mean the vision is worse or it will be worse it is just clarification on what your childs vision is. It is a voluntary process and you can take your child off it at anytime. Many parents think that this will stop their child from having the right to choose whether to drive ot not. If he/she decides they want to give driving a go and there vision is now sufficient according to driving regulations they can be taken off the register.

It will always help with a DLA claim which may come in handy if you need to purchase some lovely expensive magnification equipment for your child – Its always good to have the extra cash for assistive technology or resources that your child may need.

It will help with concessions. Why should you pay full price when visiting the Zoo when your child can only see half of the animals?? Many of them are camouflage or hiding making it very difficult for someone with a visual impairment to see.

The most important pro of having your child registered is the involvement of your local Sensory Team and Visual Impairment Advisory Teacher. As soon as you child is in a setting whether it is a nursery/playgroup or school the visual advisory teacher will come out to the setting and do exactly as the title says……Advise them on how they can help a child with a visual impairment access everything the others do. For example:

Where they should sit in class

Give teachers ideas on practical issues like having a glasses and hat box near the door for easy access at playtime.

painting the edges of steps yellow

Use of high contrast

The list is endless – They are wonderful.

Registration can also feel a weight off your mind when you don’t have to keep proving your child is visually impaired, You have a yellow card that does it for you!!

It helps access all the great support groups and activity fun for partially sighted children. LOOK, Actionnaires, Blind childrens society.

Charities that have the word Blind in them always put me off but since working for Action for Blind people it has made me realise it is a name and they all cover anybody with a slight visual impairment to severe.

Some parents feel that registering your child as sight impaired or Severely sight impaired is “a label” Its a choice and everyone feels differently. I however feel if your child falls into the registration criteria (ask your ophthalmologist at your next appointment) then the fact is  they are already sight impaired and a piece of paper will not change this. The way we look at it is visual impairment will always be part of Joshua’s life and we want him to be confident about how it effects him and and not to shy away! As soon as  Joshua was registered the support and servces found us instead of us searching for them and information.

All of the things mentioned can be accessed without a registration. If your child has a visual impairment they are entitled to the above, it just helps  prove it quickly. If you want access to the VI teacher but do not want registration  you can self refer by calling your local Social Services helpline.

You can request a booklet on the “Benefits of Registration” either at your local hospital, RNIB – also online or through social services.

All advice and information is purely based on my parental experience and views.

After attending the NN open day on Saturday it is very clear that education is a big worry and concern for parents. I will update the blog on helpful tips  for your child starting school. For example what an I.E.P is Statements etc.

I will also put a bit on about Who’s Who and what they do – Hospital staff and professionals you will come into contact with.

If there are any other subjects you would like more information on please email me!

On Wednesday Joshua started his first day at big boys school. I’ve added a new category appropriately named “School“ for future blogging about this topic. Watch this space for updates on how he gets on, support and development at primary school…

Such a brave little boy, and so smart.

Joshua’s playgroup has recently receiving funding  for a ClearView CCTV Magnifier.

Objects placed on the movable reading table can be magnified on the crystal clear display. This is a great tool to help Joshua with reading small font, viewing tiny objects as well as having fun magnifying objects. These photos were taken at playgroup showing Joshua magnifying a leaf and his hand.

The design enables easy magnification of any object at the twist of a button. A great device to help Joshua. A big big thankyou to his Playgroup and Visual Imparement Team for sourcing this. This is a great example to show there is help available out there you.

This has really helped Joshua with his drawring at Pre school and I can imagine will be very helpful when he starts to write.

http://www.crossboweducation.com/Pencil_grips.htm#Writing Slope

I have purchased a book to lend to Joshua’s teachers and to keep at home and its brilliant. Its called

Including children with visual difficulties in the foundation stage.

featherstone education

julie jennings

http://www.acblack.com/featherstone/Books/details.aspx?isbn=9781408114490&title=+Including+Children+with+Visual+Difficulties

Well i thought i must post a new update as Joshua started Pre School in January.  Joshua finds new surroundings quite difficult and has taken a while to settle, but i can now say with confidence he loves it. The teacher is brilliant and is very aware of things Joshua may need extra support in.  I arranged Joshua’s visual impairment teacher to go along to Joshua’s first day to help his keyworker to understand his condition and what they need to be aware of.  They have set up and I.E.P which is a record of support which has all of his future targets written down and special requirements on, such as must be to the left of a book when sharing etc. I am really impressed with the way the teachers are taking it seriously. He was previously was at a nursery where they really didnt get it. As Joshua doesn’t wear glasses they couldnt understand that his vision was impaired. Everytime i picked him up they were telling me about all the things he could see which yes was lovely but was frustrating that they didnt understand he was probably “coping” rather than reaching his full potential.

The School have ordered a writing slope to help when Josh paints pictures of does and reading/writing which really seems to help him. They always make sure he is postition correctly and at the front when a story is being read or show and tell etc.

I am always going to be open with parents and children about Joshua’s condition and try and teach Josh to do the same. I think when people start to gossip or children start to bully its when they are kept in the dark and are ignorant to what the situation is. I hope that if Joshua is confident about expaining Nystagmus and how it effects him then hopefully people will just except it and treat him the same as everyone else in the class. fingers crossed.

Jen