Children and young people with Multi-sensory Impairment (MSI) have impairments of both sight and hearing.

Many children / young people also face other challenges, such as medical conditions or physical disabilities.

General signs

Vision loss:

• constant eye rubbing or chronic eye redness
• extreme light sensitivity
• squinting, closing one eye, or misaligned eyes
• poor focusing or trouble following objects
• inability to see objects at a distance
• inability to read a whiteboard or blackboard etc., or trouble reading
• eyes look cloudy
• one eye is bigger than the other, or the pupils are different sizes
• you notice a change in how your child / young person's eyes usually look
• your child / young person seems to consistently tilt their head when they look at things.

Hearing loss:

• inattentiveness - your child / young person doesn't acknowledge when you speak or sounds around the house
• having to be closer to a speaker or television
• not reacting to loud sounds
• surprise when the child / young person hears their name
• this can have an impact on speech development.

Next steps

If you are concerned that your child / young person may have a Multi-Sensory Impairment that is impacting their learning, speak to the class teacher or Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) and they will be able to work with you and work out what happens next. If your child is under 5 years old, you need to speak to your Health Visitor.