It is a scandal that so many people have unidentified visual problems which may cause pain, lower potential and undermine successful participation in a range of activities. To help identify visual impairment, we have produced a free Focus Factsheet, Looking for eye problems in people with learning difficulties. This contains checklists of possible signs of sight problems. You don't have to talk or read in order to have your sight tested. People have been testing the sight of babies and small children for years.
Some tests require the person to co-operate.
People may need to be able to match two pictures or letters, or objects - such as a fork and a miniature toy fork. Glasses Newly prescribed glasses may change the way some people see their world. Staff and carers often assume that glasses will automatically be rejected by some people, but there are ways of helping people to get used to them. Eye operations are increasingly becoming available to adults with learning difficulties, including people who function as if profoundly disabled. But sometimes staff and carers decide that surgery would be too traumatic for someone, without considering all the options.