Supporting a child with visual impairment

Testimonial from a SENCO who works closely with a child who has a visual impairment

As part of my role at nursery I am currently SENCO which means I am responsible for supporting children who have additional needs and making sure that everything is accessible to all children.

I take this role very seriously as I believe that inclusive practice is paramount to a child’s development.

During last term I had a child in my care that had an array of additional needs including the eye conditions nystagmus and also ocular albinism, this meant that he couldn’t always see things as clearly as the other children, first we had to establish just how much the child could see and then we could start adapting certain activities to make them more inclusive.

I worked closely with the visual impairment team and we shared different methods on how to make sure the child was always included in all activities.

I made sure that all display boards were clear and visible with not too much going on, I also created a cosy corner with large black and white books and other sensory items and ordered adaptable resources so the child could take part in all activities.

It is so important to make sure that all children have equal opportunities, the child in my care made such amazing progress and that was down to just making small simple changes so that he could join in with all activities.

Some of the changes to activities were just simple changes such as using large books at story time, having larger widgit symbols and laminating using matte laminating sheets as this takes the shine off making it easier to see.