Common terms relating to visual impairment

The following terms are fairly commonly used.

Visually impaired: an umbrella term for people who have irretrievable sight loss.
Blind: a person can register as blind if they can only read the top line of an optician’s eye chart from three metres or less.
Partially sighted: someone who can read the top line of an optician’s eye chart from six metres or less.

These terms don't really help you to understand and meet the needs of your visually impaired students. It is much more important to try to find out what skills a student may have and the alternative formats of learning materials they prefer to receive. For example, some visually impaired students may prefer handouts in Braille, some will ask for large print and others will require electronic material. It is also essential to be aware of the barriers students face and how you can act to make your teaching inclusive.

Have a quick look at the table below - your students may use some of these terms or descriptions when talking to you.

Type of loss	Example	Cause	Effect
Acuity	Objects look fuzzy and washed out	Cataracts, Nystagmus, Myopia	Loss of detail, sensitivity to glare, loss of depth perception
Peripheral field	Similar to looking down a tube or narrow tunnel	Glaucoma, Retinitis Pigmentosa	Difficulty in moving around, vision worse in low light
Central field	Objects looked at directly are hazy or missing, may appear distorted	Macular disease, some forms of Retinitis Pigmentosa	Difficulty with close work, e.g. reading, and in recognising faces etc.
Patchy or interrupted	Hazy or blind spots distributed across the visual field distort the view	Diabetic Retinopathy or other retinal damage	Difficulty with close work and in moving around, effects may not stay constant
Total, or light perception only	No image at all can be discriminated	Congenital, accident, progressive disease	No useful sight, so alternative communication methods are needed