Tag: University College London

Technology use in young people with impaired vision

Guest post from Saima Begum, University College London

I am a student at University College London, studying at the Institute of Education and I am emailing to ask for your help with my Masters research project into Vision Impairment.

This project aims to examine technology use in young people with vision impairment, and whether this influences their educational attainment.

There is much research that has found that technology such as screen-readers on phones have been useful for people with vision impairment to be able to function in everyday life, so my project is aiming to look at whether technology use can also have positive effects on education.

Moreover, because of the increasing use of social media, I plan to look at whether technology use can have a positive effect on friendships. This data is important to collect as it will show how young people with VI use technology, and how this could be utilised so they perform better in school.

Participants are invited, between the ages of 11 and 18.

All questionnaires can be completed online, and participants can do this from the comfort of their own homes.

Click or tap here for the questionnaire 

The questionnaire is accessible for screen readers. The first page of the questionnaire also includes an information sheet with more details regarding the project.

Technology use in young people with impaired vision: a new study

Guest post from Saima Begum, University College London

I am a student at University College London, studying at the Institute of Education and I am emailing to ask for your help with my Masters research project into Vision Impairment.

This project aims to examine technology use in young people with vision impairment, and whether this influences their educational attainment.

There is much research that has found that technology such as screen-readers on phones have been useful for people with vision impairment to be able to function in everyday life, so my project is aiming to look at whether technology use can also have positive effects on education.

Moreover, because of the increasing use of social media, I plan to look at whether technology use can have a positive effect on friendships. This data is important to collect as it will show how young people with VI use technology, and how this could be utilised so they perform better in school.

Participants are invited, between the ages of 11 and 18.

All questionnaires can be completed online, and participants can do this from the comfort of their own homes.

Click or tap here for the questionnaire 

The questionnaire is accessible for screen readers. The first page of the questionnaire also includes an information sheet with more details regarding the project.

Nystagmus and sleep

Parents often report that their children experience problems sleeping and wonder whether there is any connection with nystagmus.

Now a team at University College, London is conducting a research study into vision impairment and sleep patterns.

Jess Marshall is a research assistant at UCL Institute of Education. Jess is working on Dr Jessica Hayton’s project examining sleep in children with vision impairment (aged between 5-11 years). The project is funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme small research grant and is ethically approved by the Ethics Committee at UCL.

The aim of the study is to establish whether sleeping problems are evident in children with vision impairment. To do this, they will be comparing sleeping patterns of sighted children to those of children with a vision impairment. They are now recruiting any sighted child aged 5-11 years and any child with a vision impairment (ranging from partial sightedness to blindness).

The study explores sleep and sleep-related issues using actigraphy (a motion sensitive non-invasive wristwatch), sleep diaries and parental report questionnaire. The sleep diary is to be kept for a minimum of 5 nights if possible and the actigraphy is optional, but it does help!

Participants will not need to travel to London as the actigraphy watch can be posted to a home address.

If any parents/carers might be interested in their child(ren) participating, please email Jess ([email protected] ) or Dr Hayton ([email protected]). Parents and participants will then be provided with more information.

Eye to Eye – you smashed it!

Huge congratulations and thanks to everyone who turned out on a very blustery Sunday morning to walk 4 or 14 miles around the streets of London to raise money for pioneering nystagmus research at Moorfields and UCL.

The final total is still being counted, but we can report that together you have so far raised a massive £7,600 and counting! WELL DONE EVERYONE!

See photos of our fabulous walkers and finishers by clicking here.

Fancy a stroll through London?

At 11am on Sunday 10 March 2019 we’re planning the biggest nystagmus community get together of the year. Team Nystagmus Network will be taking part in the Eye to Eye Walk between the iconic London Eye on London’s South Bank to the equally famous and symbolic eye sign outside Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Please join us.

We’re doing this to raise much needed funding for ground breaking research into nystagmus at Moorfields and University College, London.

You can choose to take the 4 mile or the 14 mile walk. It’s up to you.

To walk with Team Nystagmus you need to set off at 11am.

Bring the family, bring the dog and help the nystagmus cause by raising lots of lovely sponsorship.

Please set up a Justgiving page for your sponsors and link it to the Nystagmus Network.

Registration is now open. It’s free for accompanied children under 16 and is just £20 for the 14 mile route and £15 for the four mile route. We suggest a minimum sponsorship of £100 for every participating adult.

Moorfields will supply:

  • Route maps
  • T-shirts for every participant
  • Fundraising support
  • Refreshments, medal, goodie bag and celebration at the end of the walk at their brand new Ect Venue, (Belvedere Road, London, SE1 7PB) next to the London Eye!

Please sign up today!

Could you walk from Eye to Eye for nystagmus?

At 11am on Sunday 10 March 2019 we’re planning the biggest nystagmus community get together of the year. Team Nystagmus Network will be taking part in the Eye to Eye Walk between the iconic London Eye on London’s South Bank to the equally famous and symbolic eye sign outside Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Please join us.

We’re doing this to raise much needed funding for ground breaking research into nystagmus at Moorfields and University College, London.

You can choose to take the 4 mile or the 14 mile walk. It’s up to you.

Bring the family, bring the dog and help the nystagmus cause by raising lots of lovely sponsorship.

Registration is now open. It’s free for accompanied children under 16 and is just £20 for the 14 mile route and £15 for the four mile route. We suggest a minimum sponsorship of £100 for every participating adult.

Moorfields will supply:

  • Route maps
  • T-shirts for every participant
  • Fundraising support
  • Refreshments, medal, goodie bag and celebration at the end of the walk at their brand new Ect Venue, (Belvedere Road, London, SE1 7PB) next to the London Eye!

Please sign up today!

True dedication!

Nystagmus Network trustees Claire Brinn and Vicky Pitman and Vicky’s husband, Richard finally completed their abseil for nystagmus research on Sunday, 28 October. They scaled down the ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The final 3 of our fabulous team of 10 abseilers finally took their leap for nystagmus, following postponements due to the very British weather.

It was a chilly day, but at least there were no high winds or lashing rain to deter them this time and our courageous trio were all smiles for the camera.

The Nystagmus Network is indebted to all 10 of our abseilers who are all now safely back on the ground: Claire A, Claire B, Glen, Matt, Richard B, Richard P, Tom, Vanessa, Vicki and Vicky. Together they have raised around £7,500 for ground breaking nystagmus research at Moorfields and UCL.

They did it – at last!

The unpredictable British weather finally came good for our intrepid (postponed) abseilers on Sunday 21 September, when Clare A, Glen and Matt finally completed their abseil from the viewing platform of the ArcelorMittal Orbit for nystagmus research.

With not a cloud in the sky nor any hint of wind and rain, our intrepid 3 enjoyed the experience of a lifetime and helped secure the future of ground-breaking nystagmus research at Moorfields and University College, London.

WELL DONE and THANK YOU!

Congratulations all of you. Now you really can say ‘I got the T-shirt!’.

Nerves of steel!

Four of our six remaining Nystagmus Network abseilers will finally (fingers crossed!) make their leap for nystagmus research this Sunday, 21 October, from the viewing platform at the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Vicky, Tom, Vanessa and Richard B managed to complete their abseil last month.

For the remaining Nystagmus Network team members the abseil was postponed last month, and then again earlier this month, due to high winds and heavy rains – not exactly the ideal weather conditions to be dangling by a rope from the UK’s tallest piece of public art.

So we’d just like to say a huge well done to Claire A, Claire B, Glen and Matt, for keeping their nerve and for continuing to raise sponsorship as they waited for their big moment. Every penny raised is going directly into groundbreaking nystagmus research happening right now at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College, London.

It’s almost here (we hope)!

Everyone at Nystagmus Network will be thinking of you and the whole nystagmus community will be cheering you on.

Richard P and Vicky hope to make their leap for nystagmus on 28 October.

 

Walk Eye to Eye for nystagmus research

Supporters of the Nystagmus Network and anyone keen to raise money for nystagmus research at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College, London can now sign up to walk Eye to Eye in March 2019.

The Eye to Eye walk takes a route (you can choose either 4 or 14 miles) from the London Eye on the South Bank of the Thames to the iconic eye sign outside Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Join Team Nystagmus Network for the walk to make sure that every penny you raise in sponsorship goes directly into ground-breaking nystagmus research at Moorfields and UCL.

We’ll be setting off at 11am on Sunday 10 March. Bring the family, bring the dog! Everyone welcome.

Please sign up today!