“The chief handicap of the blind
is not blindness, but the attitude of seeing people towards them.”
An essential part of our work in a VI Resource is the development of our mainstream sighted pupils understanding of what having a visual impairment is like.
Why
are our eyes so important?
What do we see with them?
To this end we aim to deliver VI Awareness sessions to the whole school early on during the academic year.
The sessions are delivered in partneship with 'Open Sight', a local VI charity.
A number of activities are presented to the children to challenge their perceptions of sight loss.
For many children it is through practical hands on activities that they begin to develop some empathy to having either no vision...
...or using a Visual Impairment Simulation on the iPad, for reduced vision.
An important part of the experience is not only what is it like, but also how could I help. All the children recieve brief training on how to be a sighted guide.
Then they get to give it a go, with a blindfolded friend!
Another area that recieves great interest from the pupils is braille.
The children are given an introduction to braille code and how it works. They then try using the code to write their name or messages to each other.
This work can be followed up by pupils by joining the school's 'Braille Club' which meets weekly.
Finally, we ensure the children are made aware of eye health issues ranging from protecting our eyes from the sun to eating a healthy diet.
By ensuring our pupils have an understanding of Visual Impairments, we step closer to our aim of full inclusivity. For the VI pupil, their freinds and peers are an essential element to their education, not just socially but in the classroom during lessons. For their sighted friends, it is good to know how vision is affected and how they can help their VI freind succeed.
Thank You to all at Open Sight who help us to deliver this training every year, in particular Jenny, Terry & Julie.
