A visual impairment (VI) means than wearing glasses will not be able to correct your vision.

It can be defined as a loss of clear vision. Most children / young people with vision impairment have some useful visual function and only a small proportion are totally blind.

General signs

• Regularly needing longer to complete tasks
• Irregular eye movements
• Difficulty focusing on / following objects
• No reaction or over reaction to bright lights
• Unusual appearance of eyes, for example cloudy, red
• Rubbing of eyes and complaining of headaches
• Holding learning materials / objects too close or too far away
• Poor concentration and attention span and can tire easily
• Sensitivity to light / difficulty in accommodating varying levels of lighting
• Often bumps and misjudges objects
• Difficulty in negotiating steps and detecting changes in gradients
• Finds the playground environment challenging due to the busy unpredictable movement
• Unable to orientate in the school environment.

Next steps

If you are concerned that your child / young person may have a visual impairment which is impacting their learning, take them to an Optician and talk to your child / young person's school / college. 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.