Small adjustments, big difference

There are around 351,000 children in the UK who live with a learning disability according to Mencap, and these children are 28 times more likely than the average child to have serious sight problems. However, a report released by special needs eye care charity SeeAbility in 2019 found that only one in 10 of these children had any history of attending a community optician.

Following the release of that report and campaigning from SeeAbility, NHS England has committed to the charity’s blueprint and is now rolling it out across the country. The model sees optometrists and dispensing opticians embed themselves with special schools, providing the children that attend them with a stable point of contact and a familiar environment that can more easily accommodate the needs of the students.