Earlier in March the Nystagmus Network’s Sue attended the annual conference of VIEW, the national association of the Vision Impairment Education Workforce. She met delegates at the exhibition and delivered a workshop on nystagmus friendly learning materials for children at Key Stage 1, a project the staff team have been working on, funded by The Powell Family Foundation.
Work started on the project in January 2024 with the aim to produce a tangible exemplar of nystagmus friendly, highly adaptable, engaging learning materials suitable for Key Stage 1 which can be replicated across multiple settings and used as a model to further develop new materials to drive up academic achievement in children with nystagmus.
When things are working well, learning materials are properly adapted and modified in schools to meet the individual sight needs of the learner with nystagmus in terms of font size and style, simplified diagrams, colour of paper, etc. Sadly, however, it is often the case that learning materials are adapted on a one size fits all basis for visually impaired children. Often already poorly produced worksheets, for example, are blown up on a photocopier from A4 to A3 size. Rather than making the work more accessible this reduces the legibility of the print and any diagrams and the sheet is unwieldy.
The project takes the training and support work the charity already does a stage further., to produce a set of prototype learning materials specifically designed with the child with nystagmus in mind. The purpose is to show by example how learning materials need to be presented and can readily be adapted to the individual learner’s needs, how they can be made engaging and set the child on the path to barrier-free access to learning so that they can reach their academic potential.
As the project nears completion, parents and their children, teachers and their pupils are invited to join Sue and the staff team to review the materials produced. To take part, please contact us on info@nystagmusnet.org
