Training

St John’s Guild delivers training programmes in Blind and Deafblind Awareness to parents, carers, community groups, clergy and diocesan workers, professionals and others.

How Would You Cope?

Visually impaired come from all sorts of backgrounds and from all age ranges. Sight loss is rarely total with most blind people being able to see something - even if it is just distinguishing between light and dark.

A person who has a severe visual impairment may also have one or more other conditions or disabilities, i.e. Diabetes, a heart condition, arthritis, cancer, hearing loss etc.

The training can be changed to meet the needs of group members, but generally it will cover:

1. Statistics and key facts.

2. Four common conditions of the eye and its effects.

3. Indications of sight loss.

4. Stereotyping and empowerment.

5. How would you cope?

6. Communication.

7. Improving your environment.

8. Practical exercises.
    

The Aims of the Training Programmes:

a) Providing participants with a better understanding of the main causes of visual impairments and its effects and implications.

b) Identifying aspects of the environment that may detrimentally affect visually impaired people and offering ideas and options that may improve this and the ways we communicate and interact.

c) Exploring ways in which attitudes and stereotyping may sometimes inhibit changes and illustrating distinctive issues on empowerment.

Statistics and Key Facts:

1There are over one million blind and partially sighted people in the UK. Of these approximately 90,000 are of working age, but only about 25% are in paid employment.

2Almost 90% of people with visual impairments are over the age of 60 years.

3Each year over 4000 people of working age are registered blind or partially sighted.

482% of blind and partially sighted people retain potentially useful vision.

5Approximately 4% are totally blind.

6About 14% have perception of light and are able to distinguish light from dark, but not shapes.

 

Stereotyping

How would you answer these questions?

● People who use a white stick have no vision.

True q False q

● All people with poor sight wear dark glasses.

True q False q

● People with sight problems develop more sensitive hearing.

True q False q

● Shiny fabrics and paper help people to see more clearly?

True q False q

● Task lighting is useful to see enable people to see things more clearly?

True q False q

● Differing surfaces or floor coverings alerts a visually impaired person to where they are?

True q False q

● Highly visible, tactile embossed and concise signs are more effective for a visually impaired person?

True q False q

● Bold and large-scale patterns make it easier for visually impaired people to see things and identify objects?

True q False q

What can you do?

Four ways which may generally improve your environment and give empowerment:

1Ensure all printed material is in a larger font. For example: Notice Boards, Newsletters, Correspondence and Books.

2Improve lighting and controlling glare from sunlight and reflections.

Consider:

• Task lighting for notice boards and for individual use.

• Blinds for some windows.

• Using non-glare fabrics.

• Shading fluorescent lighting.

3Use strong contrasts.

• Around light switches and door frames

• At the edge of steps and kerbs.

• For accentuating different floor areas.

• For contrasting door handles, handrails and surface areas.

4Use clear bright colours

• For example black print on cream paper makes for more easeful reading.

• White crockery on a dark tablecloth.

For further information contact:

Richard McEwan
Dunwood House
Rushcroft Road
High Crompton
Oldham
OL2 7PP

Telephone: 01706 840607
E-mail: richard.i.mcewan@googlemail.com